Sourcing and evaluating detritus as a supplemental diet for bivalve aquaculture using stable isotopes and fatty acid biomarkers

Conventional bivalve aquaculture relies on areas with high natural abundances of phytoplankton to be successful. Since bivalves are known to ingest detritus, the question arises; Can detritus supplement bivalve growth and expand sustainable site selection of aquaculture? To address this question the contribution of nearshore primary producers to the detrital pool of a temperate estuary-bay system and the diet of Mytilus edulis was determined using ¹⁴C and ¹⁵N stable isotopes along with fatty acid biomarkers. Diet feasibility was assessed using the contribution to bivalve diets as well as nutritional quality determined by C:N and fatty acid profile.