Mussel aquaculture is an expanding industry offering significant socio-economic and ecological benefits. In southern Chile, where wild mussel populations and benthic species could be facing a decline due anthropogenic and environmental stressors, mussel aquaculture presents a promising avenue for habitat creation and ecosystem restoration. This study investigates the ecological effects of mussel farming at varying scales—micro, meso, and macro—in the Inner Sea of Los Lagos Region, assessing their biogenic habitat-building capabilities that influence benthic community structure and environmental quality
Conducting field surveys across multiple locations, we analyzed community composition, habitat complexity and organic enrichment indicators on the benthic environment beneath mussel farms and adjacent reference sites over three years.
Our findings demonstrate that small-scale farms foster the development of diverse benthic communities, characterized by higher species richness and diversity, compared to larger farms (Fig. 1). Conversely, larger-scale operations, despite enhanced mussels cover (Fig. 1), induce organic enrichment, leading to shifts in community composition. In general mussel aquaculture promote habitat-forming species such as endemic bivalves, macroalgae, and invertebrates, which might contribute to benthic habitat recovery.
Our results underscore the capacity of mussel aquaculture to serve as a cost-effective, environmentally friendly strategy for habitat enhancement, with implications for biodiversity, conservation, fisheries, and ecosystem resilience. We propose that integrating farming volume and site-specific management practices that leverage these natural biogenic habitat-forming processes can optimize the ecological benefits of mussel aquaculture, encouraging sustainable coexistence with natural benthic ecosystems