The effects of water flow and oxygen concentration
on mussel settlement were tested within
seawater tanks at the Leigh Marine Laboratory, The
University of Auckland. The experimental set-up
involved a combination of three water flow regimes
(~1, 5, and 10 cm/s) and three oxygen concentrations
(~6, 9, and 12 mg/L) to mimic a range of natural
conditions. Three replicate water tanks contained one
of nine unique combinations of water flow and
oxygen concentration, for a total of 27 tanks. Each
tank (30 cm in diameter and 20 cm height) was
constructed with a hermetically sealed lid to maintain
the required oxygen concentration inside the tank.
The tanks had free-flowing filtered seawater with a