1. Feeding, particle selection and carbon absorption inMytilus edulisin different mixtures of algae and resuspended bottom material
- Author
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Thomas Kiørboe, O. Nøhr, and Flemming Møhlenberg
- Subjects
biology ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Aquatic Science ,Silt ,biology.organism_classification ,Mytilus ,law.invention ,Animal science ,Algae ,chemistry ,law ,Botany ,Ingestion ,Dry matter ,Phaeodactylum tricornutum ,Carbon ,Filtration - Abstract
Mytilus edulis (average length 3.7 em) were fed mixtures of algae (10000 Phaeodactylum tricornutum cells · ml-1) and natural silt (0 to 55 mg · l-1), and the effects of silt concentration on filtration behaviour, food uptake and carbon budget were studied. Particle clearance averaged 66 ml · min-1 at 3.5 mg silt · l-1, and decreased at higher and lower concentrations. Increasing amounts of material were retained by the gills with increasing silt concentration, but an increasing proportion of this was rejected as pseudofaeces. Pseudofaeces was produced at silt concentrations above 1 mg · l-1, and the amount produced increased lineally with the amount of material retained (regression line: pseudofaeces produced (mg · min-1) = 0.98 x material retained (mg · min-1) - 0.057; r = 0.98). Dry matter ingestion increased with increasing concentration of silt. (Regression line: ingestion rate (μg · min-1) = 4.36 x In concentration (mg · l-1) + 31.98; r = 0.52). The mussels were able to select between algae ...
- Published
- 1980