A Review of Feeding Behavior, Growth, Reproduction and Aquaculture Site Selection for Green-Lipped Mussel, Perna viridis

Green-lipped mussel, Perna viridis is a warm water mussel species that is distributed widely in the Indo-Pacific regions. It is a commercially important species and has demonstrated a great culture potential in tropical countries. The feeding behavior of P. viridis is influenced by both seston concentration and its nutritional values. It is shown the mussels exhibit higher ingestion rate when the organic content of the seston is higher. Interestingly, several studies have reported that P. viridis can demonstrate selective feeding behavior towards phytoplankton. Short term studies have shown that the P. viridis exhibits preferentially ingestion of dinoflagellates, while long term studies show that the P. viridis has a higher growth rate during diatom blooms. Nevertheless, spawning of P. viridis is induced by high primary productivity at relatively high sea water temperature. In the temperate countries, spawning is seasonal but normally occurs in summer. In the tropical countries, however, the P. viridis has been shown to spawn all year-round with two peaks which coincide with monsoon seasons. The site selection is critically important when considering the green mussel culture. Feasibility study for P. viridis farming is normally carried out first in order to evaluate the environmental conditions of the site. This paper attempts to review the current knowledge of biology, selective feeding behaviour, growth, reproductive and the aquaculture site selection methods for green-lipped mussel.