Mehler, Knut; Steinmann, Anna; Rick, Johannes J (2026): Mytilus edulis growth rates from a three-month mesocosm experiment, Sylt, 2022 [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.992646 (DOI registration in progress)
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Published: 2026-03-16
Abstract:
This dataset contains individual-level measurements of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis collected during a controlled mesocosm experiment at Sylt, Germany. Data were collected over a three-month period from 2 April 2022 to 27 June 2022. The experiment comprised twelve mesocosms, with four maintained at ambient temperature, four maintained at +1.5°C above ambient, and four at +3 °C above ambient. Observations include shell length, shell-length growth rates, and multiple biomass fractions, including total wet weight, wet tissue mass weight, shell-free dry weight, and ash-free dry weight, from which weight-based growth rates were calculated. All measurements were obtained using standard, traceable laboratory and field instruments. The dataset documents individual-level growth responses of M. edulis under controlled warming conditions and provides a reproducible resource for studies on physiological responses of coastal bivalves to temperature changes.
References:
Dummermuth, Angelika; Wiltshire, Karen Helen; Kirstein, Inga Vanessa; Brodte, Eva-Maria; Wichels, Antje; Shama, Lisa N S; Bergmann, A; Hofmann, Claudia; Fischer, Philipp; Mölter, Kerstin; Strasser, Matthias (2023): Marine Stations Helgoland and Sylt operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. Journal of large-scale research facilities JLSRF, 8(1), https://doi.org/10.17815/jlsrf-8-184
Mehler, Knut; Steinmann, Anna; Scotti, Marco; Ito, Maysa; Joly, Léa J; MacNeil, Liam; Rick, Johannes J (2025): Bridging the gap between field and lab: Applicability and performance of the Sylt mesocosms facility to simulate climate change scenarios on intertidal benthic communities. Limnology and Oceanography, 70(S2), S404-S416, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.70231
Project(s):
Funding:
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grant/award no. 03F0913C: DAM sustainMare - iSeal, AWI
Coverage:
Latitude: 55.022035 * Longitude: 8.438192
Date/Time Start: 2022-03-16T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2022-06-23T00:00:00
Minimum DEPTH, water, experiment: 0.4 m * Maximum DEPTH, water, experiment: 0.4 m
Event(s):
Sylt_Medulis_2022 * Latitude: 54.516830 * Longitude: 8.700000 * Date/Time: 2022-03-16T00:00:00 * Method/Device: Sampling by hand (HAND) * Comment: Original sampling location of the specimens in the field. Specimens were sampled during the day and directly transferred to the mesocosms after sampling.
Sylt_Mesocosm_2022_abiot * Latitude: 55.022035 * Longitude: 8.438192 * Date/Time Start: 2022-03-23T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2022-06-23T00:00:00 * Method/Device: Mesocosm experiment (MESO)
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Type of study | Study type | Mehler, Knut | |||
| 2 | Sampling date/time, experiment | Date/time sampling exp | Mehler, Knut | |||
| 3 | LATITUDE | Latitude | Mehler, Knut | Geocode | ||
| 4 | LONGITUDE | Longitude | Mehler, Knut | Geocode | ||
| 5 | Mesocosm label | Meso label | Mehler, Knut | 12 mesocosms | ||
| 6 | Treatment: temperature description | T:Temp descr | Mehler, Knut | ambient, ambient +1.5°C, ambient +3°C | ||
| 7 | DEPTH, water, experiment | Depth water exp | m | Mehler, Knut | Geocode | |
| 8 | Temperature, water | Temp | °C | Mehler, Knut | Handheld multiparameter instrument, WTW, ph 330i | |
| 9 | Specimen identification | Spec ID | Mehler, Knut | Mussel ID: Each mussel was labelled with a letter and number | ||
| 10 | Size class | Size class | Mehler, Knut | Each mussel was categorized into a size class based on shell length | ||
| 11 | Mytilus edulis, shell length | M. edulis shell l | mm | Mehler, Knut | Digital caliper, The Noble Finn, Model 150 mm | |
| 12 | Mytilus edulis, wet mass | M. edulis wm | g | Mehler, Knut | Laboratory balance, Sartorius, 00AC | TWW: Total Wet Weight (including shell) |
| 13 | Mytilus edulis, shell free wet mass | M. edulis sf wm | g | Mehler, Knut | Laboratory balance, Sartorius, 00AC | WMW: Wet Meat Weight refers to Wet Weight without the shells |
| 14 | Mytilus edulis, shell free dry mass | M. edulis sf dm | g | Mehler, Knut | Laboratory balance, Sartorius, 00AC | SFDW: Shell Free Dry Weight refers to the Dried Meat Weight |
| 15 | Mytilus edulis, ash free dry mass | M. edulis af dm | g | Mehler, Knut | Laboratory balance, Sartorius, 00AC | AFDW: Ash free dry weight calculated as shell free dry weight minus ash weight |
| 16 | Mytilus edulis, shell length, growth rate | M. edulis shell l µ | mm/day | Mehler, Knut | Calculated | Growth Rate calculated as daily increase in shell length |
| 17 | Mytilus edulis, wet mass, growth rate | M. edulis wm µ | g/day | Mehler, Knut | Calculated | Growth Rate calculated as daily change in TWW |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
10029 data points
Download Data
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