Thermal tolerance of Limnoperna fortunei to gradual temperature increase and its applications for biofouling control in industrial and power plants

Abstract

The acute upper lethal temperature (AULT) at different rates of increase was evaluated as a tool for the design of cheaper and environmentally friendlier control strategies for the invasive bivalve Limnoperna fortunei. Survivorship of 6 ± 2 mm and 20 ± 2 mm mussels acclimated to 12, 23 and 28°C and subjected to different heating rates (1°C per 5, 15 and 30 min) was estimated in the laboratory. The temperatures required to kill 50% (LT₅₀) and 100% (SM₁₀₀) of the mussels, and the mean death temperature (MDT) varied between 42.2 and 51°C over 54 experiments. Heating rates significantly (p < 0.001) affected LT₅₀, SM₁₀₀, and MDT. AULT was not affected by mussel size and acclimation temperatures. Limnoperna appears to be more resistant to high temperatures than Dreissena polymorpha, a mussel invasive in the USA and Europe. Lethal temperatures of L. fortunei are within the current thermal operational industrial capacities, suggesting that heat treatment is a viable alternative for controlling its fouling in utility systems.

Keywords:

• golden mussel
• Limnoperna fortunei
• upper lethal temperature
• heat treatment

Acknowledgements

This article was financially aided by grants PICT 2004–25275 and PICT 2007–1968 (from the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica), and UBA EX-020 (from the University of Buenos Aires). Critical comments by four anonymous reviewers greatly helped to improve the original version of this publication.