Effect of Temperature on Filtration in the Blue Mussel, Mytilus edulis—Our Present Understanding

The effect of temperature on the filtration rate of filter-feeding bivalves is controversial. Some studies show a clear increase in filtration with an increase in temperature, in agreement with a decrease in kinematic viscosity with increasing temperature and a simultaneous increase in beat frequency of the water-pumping lateral cilia. However, other studies show little or no effect. Here, we present our understanding of the effect of temperature on the filtration rate of the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, primarily based on our own previously published experimental studies. We point out the possible pitfalls associated with findings of little or no such effects, most likely caused by erroneous use of the method for measuring the filtration rate and failure to separate the factors that may affect it, e.g., the temperature-tolerance interval and the algal-concentration interval within which the mussel is optimally filtering at a specified temperature.