Mussel larval responses to turbulence are unaltered by larval age or light conditions

Larval responses to hydromechanical cues potentially have important effects on larval dispersal and settlement. This study examined the behavior of mussel larvae (Mytilus edulis) in laboratory-generated turbulence representative of nearshore currents. We video recorded the behavior of early- and late-stage veligers in a grid-stirred tank at five turbulence levels under light and dark conditions. Water velocities and kinetic energy dissipation rates were measured using particle image velocimetry and acoustic Doppler velocimetry. We characterized the vertical velocity distributions for sinking, hovering, and swimming modes in still water and calculated the average larval behavioral velocity in turbulence. In still water, young larvae had more positive (upward) velocities than old larvae, and both stages had more positive velocities in light than in dark. In turbulence, the mean larval vertical velocity varied from positive at low dissipation rates to negative at dissipation rates above a threshold of 8.3 × 10 ^− 2 cm² s ^− 3. At this threshold, the Kolmogorov length scale (η = 590 μm) was two to three times the mean larval shell lengths (171–256 μm), implying that turbulence is detectable even by larvae that are smaller than the smallest eddies. Responses to turbulence were unaffected by larval age or light conditions and contributed substantial behavioral variation. By sinking in strong turbulence, mussel larvae could increase their flux to the bed in energetic coastal flows, particularly over rough substrates like mussel beds. The response to turbulence by early-stage larvae will also affect their dispersal and may help larvae remain near coastal populations.