Search results for "Mussel"
showing 10 items of 136 documents
Aquaculture impact on benthic microbes and organic matter cycling in coastal Mediterranean sediments: a synthesis
2003
Microbial assemblages and organic matter composition as well as their response to the disturbance induced by mussel and fish-farm biodeposition were compared in several areas of the Mediterranean: La Spezia (Ligurian Sea), Gaeta (Tyrrhenian Sea), Cattolica (Adriatic Sea) and Cyprus (Levantine Sea), on both unvegetated and Posidonia bed sediments. In all systems investigated, organic matter (as biopolymeric carbon) accumulated in aquaculture impacted sediments. Among the main biochemical classes, lipids appeared to be a good tracer of aquaculture impact, especially in fish-farm sediments. Exoenzymatic activities displayed higher values in sediment beneath the cages, indicating faster organic…
Mussels as a model system for integrative ecomechanics.
2015
Copyright © 2015 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved. Mussels form dense aggregations that dominate temperate rocky shores, and they are key aquaculture species worldwide. Coastal environments are dynamic across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales, and their changing abiotic conditions affect mussel populations in a variety of ways, including altering their investments in structures, physiological processes, growth, and reproduction. Here, we describe four categories of ecomechanical models (biochemical, mechanical, energetic, and population) that we have developed to describe specific aspects of mussel biology, ranging from byssal attachment to energetics, population growth, an…
Immediate biomarker responses to benzo[a]pyrene in polluted and unpolluted populations of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) at high-latitudes.
2008
Immediate biomarker responses of two high-latitude populations of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) were evaluated. Mussels collected from a clean and a polluted site in southwest Iceland were exposed to the nominal dose of 100 μg B[a]P L−l for 3 h, after 4 days of acclimatization in clean seawater. To test the sensitivity to the toxicant and immediate biological responses, the following biomarkers were used: DNA single strand breaks, heart rate and feeding rate.All the biomarkers revealed differences between the study sites. Irrespective of the origin of the organisms, the short time exposure to the high B[a]P concentration did not induce DNA single strand breaks or …
Trace element and PAH bioaccumulation in caged mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from an industrial area (Augusta Bay, SE Sicily)
2014
Heterotrophic bacteria community and pollution indicators of mussel--farm impact in the Gulf of Gaeta (Tyrrhenian Sea).
2001
Field studies were carried out to determine and compare the impact of organic loads due to the biodeposition of a mussel farm on the water quality and sediment in a coastal area of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean). A total of five environmental and five microbial parameters were examined from March, 1997 to February, 1998 on a monthly basis at three stations: the first was located under the mussel farm, the second located at about 40 m away from the mussel farm, while the third designed as a control was at about 1-km. No clear changes in the physical characteristics of the water masses were observed, comparing the three sampling sites and the water column generally showed homogene…
Growth of Mytilus galloprovincialis (mollusca, bivalvia) close to fish farms: a case of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture within the Tyrrhenian Sea
2009
A current practice of marine aquaculture is to integrate fish with low-trophic-level organisms (e.g. molluscs and/or algae) during farming to minimise effects of cultivation on the surrounding environment and to potentially increase economic income. This hypothesis has been tested in the present article experimentally, by co-cultivating fish and mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in the field. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) experiments were started in July 2004 by transplanting mussel seed at two depths (-3 and -9 m) within 1,000 m downstream to fish cages and at 1,000 m upstream from cages. Mussels were cultured in nylon net bags for 12 months and the growth recorded biometri…
Lipid and fatty acid biomarkers as proxies for environmental contamination in caged mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis
2015
Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were transplanted from a reference site (Syracuse harbour) to an impacted site (Augusta Bay) from January to July 2013 to assess the biochemical response of caged mus- sels to high trace element and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, using lipid and fatty acid (FA) biomarkers. Sediment and mussels were analysed to assess contaminant bioavailability in the study sites and bioaccumulation in mussel tissue. Trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) and PAHs were significantly higher in mussels from Augusta than in those from Syracuse, mirror- ing the different environmental contamination. The biological impact quotient (BIQs…
The effect of fish farming organic waste on food availability for bivalve molluscs (Gaeta Gulf, Central Tyrrhenian, MED): stable carbon isotopic anal…
2001
Stable carbon isotope (δ13C) analysis was used in a fish-farming impacted Mediterranean area (the Gulf of Gaeta, Central Tyrrhenian) to determine the predominant carbon sources available to bivalve molluscs cultivated around fish cages. Wether the organic matter generated by fish farming was taken up by the bivalve molluscs was also investigated. Stable carbon isotope values were measured in the particulate organic carbon (POC) of samples from potential organic matter sources such as fish-pelleted feed, mollusc faecal waste and bivalve flesh. The sources of organic matter affecting the study area water column and benthic communities appeared to be terrigenous-continental, autochthonous (phy…
An improved non-invasive method for measuring heartbeat of intertidal animals
2013
Since its emergence two decades ago, the use of infrared technology for noninvasively measuring the heartbeat rates of invertebrates has provided valuable insight into the physiology and ecology of intertidal organisms. During that time period, the hardware needed for this method has been adapted to currently available electronic components, making the original published description obsolete. This article reviews the history of heartbeat sensing technology, and describes the design and function of a modern and simplified infrared heartbeat rate sensing system compatible with many intertidal and marine invertebrates. This technique overcomes drawbacks and obstacles encountered with previous …