Eureka! Institutional Repository

The variation of chlorophyll, dissolved and particulate organic carbon was investigated in an experimental mussel culture located in the marine environment of Thessaloniki’s Gulf, NW Greece, in order to assess food availability for the growth of mussels. Water samples were collected from three depths, 1, 5 and 10 m, in four handlings of different mussel density, during monthly samplings in the field, from April 2014 to April 2015. Chlorophyll a was determined by the spectrophotometric method after the extraction with acetone, while dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was measured with the catalytic oxidation method in a TOC-V CSH/CSN instrument. Total particulate matter, organic particulate matter and the ratio f: POM/TPM, were also determined as a quality index of the food in particulate form ingested by the mussels. The study focused on the investigation of the impacts of mussel density in the ecological cycle of the cultured mussels and the availability of food as chlorophyll and organic carbon for the growth of healthy and commercially valuable mussels.