This study evaluated the sensitivity of juveniles of two freshwater unionid mussel species (Villosa iris [Lea] and Lampsilis fasciola [Rafinesquel) to un-ionized and total ammonia. Five concentrations of ammonium chloride were tested using 96-h static-renewal toxicity tests at 12 and 20 degrees C. Based on their respective mean 96-h lethal concentration to 50% (LC50s), V. iris (0.11 mg/ L NH3-N...

The appearance of thick filament proteins organized into supramolecular complexes was studied by SDS-PAGE and Western-blot analysis at different developmental stages of the mussel Mytilus trossulus. Paramyosin appeared at the egg stage, while twitchin and myorod appeared at the blastula stage (12 h after fertilization). In addition, RT-PCR analysis showed that the twitchin genes were expressed ...

The September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) resulted in a massive plume of dust and smoke that blanketed lower Manhattan and part of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary (HRE). The NOAA National Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program has long-term monitoring sites in the area and thus had an opportunity to assess the effect of the WTC attack on PAH and PCB contamination of the surroundi...

The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis has been reared along the Normandy coast line since the 1960s. The gonadal cycle of this mussel species shows a sharp decrease in meat quality during the winter period after spawning. This decline in meat quality is so severe that sales have to be suspended from December to July. Another species of mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, which is reared in the lagoons...

During the period 1997-1998, macroalgae, sea snail, mussel, fish and sediment samples were collected at different stations of the Turkish Black Sea coast in order to establish the concentration of selected heavy metals. Heavy metals analyzed were Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Zn, Fe, Mn, Pb and Cu. The results showed that the Turkish Black Sea coast is facing heavy metal pollution. The metal concentrations i...

We report a versatile approach for the design of substrate-independent low-fouling surfaces via mussel-inspired immobilisation of zwitterionic peptides. Using mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) coatings, zwitterionic glutamic acid- and lysine-based peptides were immobilised on various substrates, including noble metals, metal oxides, polymers, and semiconductors. The variation of surface chemis...

Bioinvasions are a major cause of biodiversity and ecosystem changes. The rapid range expansion of the invasive quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) causing a dominance shift from zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) to quagga mussels, may alter the risk of secondary poisoning to predators. Mussel samples were collected from various water bodies in the Netherlands, divided into size ...

Batch-type experiments were used to study competitive As(V) and P sorption on various soils and sorbent materials. The materials assayed were a forest soil, a vineyard soil, pyritic material, granitic material, coarsely and finely ground mussel shell, calcinated mussel shell ash, pine sawdust and slate processing fines. Competition between As(V) and P was pronounced in the case of both soils, g...

We used (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to describe key metabolites of the polar metabolome of the freshwater mussel, Elliptio complanata. Principal components analysis documented variability across tissue types and river of origin in mussels collected from two rivers in North Carolina (USA). Muscle, digestive gland, mantle and gill tissues yielded identifiable but overlapping meta...

Mussel seed, obtained from the intertidal zone and permanently immersed collector ropes, was cultivated on ropes suspended from three rafts located at three different sites within the Ria de Arousa (Galicia, NW Spain). Sites were characterized by different levels of phytoplankton availability. The source of seed stock had a marked influence upon subsequent mussel growth; seed originating from c...