Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-wpx69 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-18T03:33:05.020Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The effect of geographical location on the cellular composition of the mantle tissue of the mussel, Mytilus edulis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

D. M. Lowe
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH
P. N. Salkeld
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH
M. R. Carr
Affiliation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH

Extract

The cellular composition of the mantle tissue of Mytilus edulis L. was determined, using quantitative microscopy (stereology) techniques, in three populations of mussels from differing environments, and the data compared. The results indicated that mussels from an estuarine or sheltered coastal environment had a greater proportion of adipogranular tissue than animals from an exposed, open coastal environment. The difference in cellular composition was attributed to differences in nutrient availability in the water column between the various sites. A 15-month transplantation of mussels from an open coast to estuarine conditions resulted in a decrease in the proportion of vesicular connective tissue in the mantle and an increase in gamete production. This suggests that Mytilus edulis can exhibit a high degree of phenotypic plasticity by using not only the more conservative strategy of nutrient storage during periods of high food availability, but also the more opportunistic approach of maximizing gamete production when conditions are favourable.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bayne, B.L., 1976. Aspects of reproduction in bivalve molluscs. In Estuarine processes. Vol. 1. Uses, stresses and adaptation to the estuary (ed. M., Wiley), pp. 432448. New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conover, W.J., 1980. Practical nonparametric statistics, 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Culling, C.F.A., 1963. Handbook of histopathological techniques, 2nd ed. London: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Froutin, G.H., 1937. Contribution à I'étude du tissu conjonctif des mollusques et plus particulièrement des lamellibranches et des gastropodes. Doctor of Science Thesis, Paris.Google Scholar
Gabbott, P.A., 1983. Developmental and seasonal metabolic activities in marine molluscs. In The Mollusca. Vol 2. Environmental biochemistry and physiology (ed. P.W., Hochachka), pp. 165217. London: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gabbott, P.A., Whittle, M.A., Head, E.J.H. & Runham, N.W., 1981. Glycogen storage in the mantle tissue of Mytilus edulis L. Proceedings of the Third European Society Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry Meeting, Amsterdam, pp. 109110. [Abstract.] Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Hawkins, A.J.S. & Bayne, B.L., 1985. Seasonal variation in the relative utilization of carbon and nitrogen by the mussel Mytilus edulis: budgets, conversion efficiencies and maintenance requirements. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 25, 181188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowe, D.M., Moore, M.N. & Bayne, B.L., 1982. Aspects of gametogenesis in the marine mussel Mytilus edulis L. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 62, 133145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubet, P., 1959. Recherches sur le cycle sexual et l'émission des gamètes chez les Mytilidés et les Pectinidés. Revue des Travaux de I'Institut des Pêches Maritimes. Paris, 23, 389548.Google Scholar
Lucas, M.I., Newell, R.C., Shumway, S.E., Seiderer, L.J. & Bally, R., 1987. Particle clearance and yield in relation to bacterioplankton and suspended particulate availability in estuarine and open coast populations of the mussel Mytilus edulis. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 36, 215224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lunetta, J.E., 1969. Fisiologia da reprodução dos mexilhoes (Mytilus perna - Mollusca Lamellibranchia). Boletim da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras. Universidade de São Paulo (Zoologia e Biologia Marchina), no. 26, 33111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newell, R.I.E., Hilbish, T.J., Koehn, R.K. & Newell, C.J., 1982. Temporal variation in the reproductive cycle of Mytilus edulis L. (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) from localities on the east coast of the United States. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, 162, 299310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pipe, R.K., 1987. Ultrastructural and cytochemical study on interactions between nutrient storage cells and gametogenesis in the mussel Mytilus edulis. Marine Biology, 96, 519528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, H.A., 1982. An analysis of factors determining seasonal variation in the byssal attachment strength of Mytilus edulis. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 62, 147155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sebens, K.P., 1982. The limits to indeterminate growth: an optimal size model applied to passive suspension feeders. Ecology, 63, 209222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waite, J.H., 1983. Adhesion in byssally attached bivalves. Biological Reviews, 58, 209231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weibel, E.R., 1979. Stereological methods. Vol. 1. Practical methods for biological morphometry. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Young, G.A., 1985. Byssus-thread formation by the mussel Mytilus edulis: effects of environmental factors. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 24, 261271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar