Review of immediate cardiac response in intertidal gastropods limpets at varying temperature, salinity and air exposure

In 1990 Depledge and Andresen developed a #eld/laboratory, non-invasive technique to monitor the immediate response of cardiac activity in bivalves. Since then, several researchers have experienced and tested the variability of heart beat rate (HBR)and of associated metabolic rates under di$erent conditions in intertidal molluscs. Review of HBR immediate response in acute exposure and acclimation to changes of salinity, thermal stressors and air exposure were examined to test di$erent hypothesis. In intertidal Mediterranean and tropical limpets, the decrease in metabolic rate with a decrease in salinity was di$erent in animals experiencing di$erent degrees of salinity !uctuation in their re…

Variations in cardiac activity and heat shock proteins in congeneric Mediterranean limpets: connection between thermal stress and different zonation

Adaptations to thermal variation in two Mediterranean limpets - cardiac response and haemocyte lysosomal stability

Patella rustica and Patella caerulea are two congeneric limpet species, both occurring along the rocky shores of the Mediterranean but on different tidal heights. P. rustica is dominant in the upper intertidal zone while P. caerulea is more abundant in the lower part of the same zone. Understanding variations in physiological adaptations to thermal stress is vital when investigating intertidal species' distribution. Hence, to investigate the relationship between their physiological thermal tolerance and intertidal zonation, laboratory experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that the lower zoned P. caerulea has reduced upper thermal limits when compared with higher zoned P. rustica,…

Heart beat rate: a physiological response to thermal stress in blue mussels species.

Non-native species often have ecological impacts on invaded communities. The quanti#cation of features of invaders and recipient ecosystems facilitating and/or interfering with successful invasion remains a challenge because of several factors may in!uence the success of invasions. Among them, life history strategies (e.g., reproductive potential, body size), ability to avoid predators, disease resistance and physiological compensatory mechanisms to adapt to changing habitats are among the most important factors. The latter has been often invoked as the key to success for many intertidal invasive invertebrates and have been suggested as key indicators of invasibility rate and the ultimate d…