Tolerance to stress differs between Asian green mussels Perna viridis from the impacted Jakarta Bay and from natural habitats along the coast of West Java.

It is an open question whether adverse habitat conditions, characteristic for many anthropogenically impacted coastal habitats, can determine resistance to abiotic stress in populations of residing invertebrates. We tested experimentally for differences in stress tolerance between individuals of the Asian green mussel Perna viridis stemming from the heavily impacted Jakarta Bay and from two natural sites, Lada Bay and Pelabuhan Ratu, West Java. Mussel performance under hyposalinity and hypoxia was assessed in laboratory assays by measuring fitness-related response variables, e.g. body condition index, relative shell weight, byssus production, respiration rates and survival. We found stress-specific and population-specific differences in mussel resistance to adverse conditions: Individuals from the impacted Jakarta Bay performed better under hypoxia than their conspecifics from the natural sites, whereas the latter were more resistant to hyposalinity. We explain these differences by differential acclimation to environmental conditions in the respective habitats and by diverging degrees of food supply.