Mussel Bed Sampling. Version 1.2. Standard Operating Procedure, v. 1.2, Southwest Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Network.

摘要

Pacific blue mussels are a common and important species in shallow marine habitats throughout much of the north Pacific. They can occupy a large proportion of the intertidal zone and occur across a variety of habitats. They are filter feeding bivalve that relies on both phytoplankton and detrital kelps. They transfer their secondary production to a wide array of higher trophic level consumers that include predatory invertebrates, birds and mammals. Here we describe a procedure for annual monitoring of mussels at sites within Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park and Prince William Sound. Sampling occurs along fixed horizontal transects that allow estimation of: 1) the size of the mussel bed, 2) the density of mussels larger than 19mm, and 3) the density of all mussels within the mussel bed. Sample design provides for the statistical expansion of mussel estimates across each region.