Mollusk Shell Growth: External Microgrowth Ridge Formation is Uncoupled to Environmental Factors in Mytilus edulis

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 1163-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Bérard ◽  
Edwin Bourget ◽  
Marcel Fréchette
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Blue Mussel ◽  
Shell Growth ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Ridge Pattern ◽  
Similar Growth ◽  
External Growth

Low-frequency (e.g. annual) external ridges have been used in the study of bivalve population dynamics, and it has been suggested that ridges produced at high frequencies are related to environmental factors. Using laboratory and field experiments, we examined the usefulness of fine external growth ridges as markers of cyclic growth patterns in the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis. Shells of M. edulis were analyzed to examine coherence of patterns of ridges on the shells. Analysis was carried out in two steps: (1) An objective method was developed to characterize the ridges by their height and thickness (precision 0.5 μm) and (2) laboratory and field experiments were carried out to determine the influence of environmental factors (immersion and emersion, algal concentration) and biological factors (valve closure) on the periodicity of growth ridge formation. All mussels exhibited unique growth ridge patterns. There was no concordance between growth ridge patterns of individual mussels grown together in the laboratory or in the field. These results refute the hypothesis of a similar growth ridge pattern between individuals in Mytilus at small scales. No relation was found between the mechanical closure of the valves and the formation of growth ridges.

Food resource, gametogenesis and growth of Mytilus edulis on the shore and in suspended culture: Killary Harbour, Ireland

1984 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Rodhouse ◽  
C. M. Roden ◽  
G. M. Burnell ◽  
M. P. Hensey ◽  
T. McMahon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Shell Growth ◽  
Larval Settlement ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Aerial Exposure ◽  
Annual Cycles ◽  
Detrital Carbon ◽  
Settlement Growth

Mussels, Mytilus edulis L. grow on the shore and are cultured on ropes in Killary Harbour, a fjordic inlet on the Irish west coast. The food resource available to cultured mussels differs from that available to wild mussels on the shore. Although phytoplankton densities as estimated from chlorophyll a concentrations are similar, the shore environment in the inner part of the inlet is characterized by high mean POC concentrations. This is because of the presence of variable amounts ofallochthonous detrital carbon.The annual cycles of flesh weight and ash content of wild and cultivated mussels were followed over two years. These cycles were related to the reproductive cycle observed by taking histological samples of mussel gonad, by plankton sampling for larvae and by monitoring larval settlement. Shell growth was measured in wild mussels by reading seasonal growth patterns on sectioned shells and in cultured mussels by following progress of the modal shell length of cohorts on ropes.Wild mussels have a partial spawning in early spring and spawn completely in the summer. Cultured mussels spawn twice during the summer, in the year following settlement. Growth rate of wild mussels decreases with increasing aerial exposure. The fastest growing mussels, at o % exposure, take about 6 years to attain the length attained by the mode of the cultured mussels after 18 months, when they are harvested.We conclude that wild mussels utilize a mix of phytoplankton and detritus as food during the summer and that large wild mussels can use detritus during the autumn and early winter for an increase in flesh weight and gametogenesis.

scholarly journals Effect of ocean acidification on the early life stages of the blue mussel <i>Mytilus edulis</i>

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 2051-2060 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Gazeau ◽  
J.-P. Gattuso ◽  
C. Dawber ◽  
A. E. Pronker ◽  
F. Peene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Blue Mussel ◽  
Shell Growth ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Environmental Disturbances ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Settlement Success ◽  
Hatching Rates

Abstract. Several experiments have shown a decrease of growth and calcification of organisms at decreased pH levels. There is a growing interest to focus on early life stages that are believed to be more sensitive to environmental disturbances such as hypercapnia. Here, we present experimental data, acquired in a commercial hatchery, demonstrating that the growth of planktonic mussel (Mytilus edulis) larvae is significantly affected by a decrease of pH to a level expected for the end of the century. Even though there was no significant effect of a 0.25–0.34 pH unit decrease on hatching and mortality rates during the first 2 days of development nor during the following 13-day period prior to settlement, final shells were respectively 4.5±1.3 and 6.0±2.3% smaller at pHNBS~7.8 (pCO2~1100–1200 μatm) than at a control pHNBS of ~8.1 (pCO2~460–640 μatm). Moreover, a decrease of 12.0±5.4% of shell thickness was observed after 15d of development. More severe impacts were found with a decrease of ~0.5 pHNBS unit during the first 2 days of development which could be attributed to a decrease of calcification due to a slight undersaturation of seawater with respect to aragonite. Indeed, important effects on both hatching and D-veliger shell growth were found. Hatching rates were 24±4% lower while D-veliger shells were 12.7±0.9% smaller at pHNBS~7.6 (pCO2~1900 μatm) than at a control pHNBS of ~8.1 (pCO2~540 μatm). Although these results show that blue mussel larvae are still able to develop a shell in seawater undersaturated with respect to aragonite, the observed decreases of hatching rates and shell growth could lead to a significant decrease of the settlement success. As the environmental conditions considered in this study do not necessarily reflect the natural conditions experienced by this species at the time of spawning, future studies will need to consider the whole larval cycle (from fertilization to settlement) under environmentally relevant conditions in order to investigate the potential ecological and economical losses of a decrease of this species fitness in the field.

scholarly journals Effect of ocean acidification on the early life stages of the blue mussel (<I>Mytilus edulis</I>)

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 2927-2947 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Gazeau ◽  
J.-P. Gattuso ◽  
C. Dawber ◽  
A. E. Pronker ◽  
F. Peene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Blue Mussel ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Shell Growth ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Environmental Disturbances ◽  
Hatching Rates

Abstract. Several experiments have shown a decrease of growth and calcification of organisms at decreased pH levels but relatively few studies have focused on early life stages which are believed to be more sensitive to environmental disturbances such as hypercapnia. Here, we present experimental data demonstrating that the growth of planktonic mussel (Mytilus edulis) larvae is significantly affected by a decrease of pH to a level expected for the end of the century. Even though there was no significant effect of a 0.25–0.34 pH unit decrease on hatching and mortality rates during the first 2 days of development nor during the following 13-day period prior to settlement, final shells were, respectively, 4.5±1.3 and 6.0±2.3% smaller at pHNBS~7.8 than at a control pHNBS of ~8.1. Moreover, a decrease of 12.0±5.4% of shell thickness was observed. More severe impacts were found with a decrease of ~0.5 pHNBS unit during the first 2 days of development which could be attributed to a decrease of calcification due toslight undersaturation of seawater with respect to aragonite. Indeed, important effects on both hatching and D-veliger shell growth were found. Hatching rates were 24±4% lower while D-veliger shells were 12.7±0.9% smaller at pHNBS~7.6 than at a control pHNBS of ~8.1. Although these results show that blue mussel larvae are still able to develop a shell in seawater undersaturated with respect to aragonite, decreases of hatching rates and shell growth suggest a negative impact of ocean acidification on the future survival of bivalve populations potentially leading to significant ecological and economical losses.

scholarly journals Differential Segregation Patterns of Sperm Mitochondria in Embryos of the Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis)

Genetics ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 166 (2) ◽  
pp. 883-894
Author(s):  
Liqin Cao ◽  
Ellen Kenchington ◽  
Eleftherios Zouros
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Blue Mussel ◽  
Uniparental Inheritance ◽  
Male Gonad ◽  
Doubly Uniparental Inheritance ◽  
Organelle Genomes ◽  
Somatic Tissues ◽  
Tight Linkage ◽  
Mitotracker Green

Abstract In Mytilus, females carry predominantly maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) but males carry maternal mtDNA in their somatic tissues and paternal mtDNA in their gonads. This phenomenon, known as doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) of mtDNA, presents a major departure from the uniparental transmission of organelle genomes. Eggs of Mytilus edulis from females that produce exclusively daughters and from females that produce mostly sons were fertilized with sperm stained with MitoTracker Green FM, allowing observation of sperm mitochondria in the embryo by epifluorescent and confocal microscopy. In embryos from females that produce only daughters, sperm mitochondria are randomly dispersed among blastomeres. In embryos from females that produce mostly sons, sperm mitochondria tend to aggregate and end up in one blastomere in the two- and four-cell stages. We postulate that the aggregate eventually ends up in the first germ cells, thus accounting for the presence of paternal mtDNA in the male gonad. This is the first evidence for different behaviors of sperm mitochondria in developing embryos that may explain the tight linkage between gender and inheritance of paternal mitochondrial DNA in species with DUI.

Are bio-based and biodegradable microplastics impacting for blue mussel (Mytilus edulis)?

2021 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 112295
Author(s):  
Amina Khalid ◽  
Aurore Zalouk-Vergnoux ◽  
Samira Benali ◽  
Rosica Mincheva ◽  
Jean-Marie Raquez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Blue Mussel

Three-dimensional stromatolites from Maastrichtian–Danian Yacoraite Formation, Argentina: modelling and assessing hydrodynamic controls on growth patterns

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Patricio Guillermo Villafañe ◽  
Carlos Cónsole-Gonella ◽  
Paolo Citton ◽  
Ignacio Díaz-Martínez ◽  
Silvina de Valais
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
External Morphology ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Microbial Composition ◽  
Depositional Processes ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Internal Arrangement

Abstract Stromatolites are biogenic sedimentary structures formed by the interplay of biological (microbial composition) and environmental factors (local hydrodynamic conditions, clastic input and/or water chemistry). Well-preserved, three-dimensional (3D) fossil stromatolites are key to assessing the environmental factors controlling their growth and resulting morphology in space and time. Here, we report the detailed analysis of well-exposed, highly informative stromatolite build-ups from a single stratigraphic horizon within the Maastrichtian–Danian Yacoraite Formation (Argentina). This study focuses on the analysis of depositional processes driving intertidal to shallow subtidal stromatolites. Overall depositional architecture, external morphology and internal arrangement (mega, macro, meso and microstructures) of stromatolite build-ups were analysed and combined with 3D photogrammetric models, allowing us to decipher the links between stromatolite structure and tidal dynamics. Results suggest that external morphology and architecture of elongated and parallel clusters grew under the influence of run-off channels. The internal morphology exhibits columnar structures where the space between columns is interpreted as recharge or discharge channels. This work supports the theory that stromatolites can be used as a high-resolution tool in the assessment of water dynamics, and provides a new methodological approach and data for the dynamic reconstruction of intertidal stromatolite systems through the geological record.

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