Growth performance and detoxification of mussels cultured in a fjord enhanced by forced upwelling of nutrient rich deeper water

A previous study in the Lysefjord was the first full-scale experiment to use submerged brackish water discharged in a controlled manner to force upwelling in a fjord area providing enhanced phytoplankton concentration and production. In this project we hy pothesize that this enhanced phytoplankton production can efficiently be exploited to mitigate algal toxicity and increase meat yield in mussels cultured for human consumption. The project will study how mussel feeding and growth performance responds to t he specific environment of enhanced phytoplankton production from forced upwelling. By implementing and applying the DEB model we will study how food quantity (e.g. chlorophyll a, phytoplankton abundances) and quality (phytoplankton species), as well wate r temperature, can explain the variability in mussel growth. By using the DEB-based model, we expect to get new insight and explanation on the contribution from dilution processes (e.g. due to mussel growth) vs active detoxification processes in the uptak e-excretion kinetics of toxins by the bivalve.