Water acidification, temperature increases and changes in seawater salinity are predicted to occur in the near future. In such a global climate change (GCC) scenario, there is growing concern for the health status of both wild and farmed organisms. Bivalve molluscs, an important component of coastal marine ecosystems, are at risk. At the immunological level, the ability of an organism to mainta...

To reveal the feeding habits of 3 bivalve species and the effects on the sediment and benthic diatoms, a field experiment was conducted in the estuarine Gamo lagoon, Japan, using enclosures stocked with bivalves. The surface-deposit feeder Macoma contabulata reduced silt–clay, total nitrogen, and total organic carbon content and the δ13C value of the sediment, while the surfacedeposit feeder Nu...

Kaustuv Roy,* David Jablonski and James W. Valentine Section of Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution, Division of Biology, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093–0116, USA. Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5734 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Palaeontology, University of California...

Many species of bivalve mollusks (phylum Mollusca, class Bivalvia) are important in fisheries and aquaculture, whilst others are critical to ecosystem structure and function. These crucial roles mean that considerable attention has been paid to the immune responses of bivalves such as oysters, clams and mussels against infectious diseases that can threaten the viability of entire populations. A...

Benthic bivalves are important links between primary production and consumers, and are essential intermediates in the flow of energy through estuarine systems. However, information on the diet of filter feeding bivalves in estuarine ecosystems is uncertain, as estuarine waters contain particulate matter from a range of sources and as bivalves are opportunistic feeders. We surveyed bivalves at d...

Bivalves influence both the ecology and the economy of coastal regions. By filterfeeding on particles in the water column, these organisms reduce turbidity and link benthic and pelagic production. In addition, production and sales of harvested bivalves are a source of income in coastal areas like the Eastern Shore of Virginia (USA). Phytoplankton are known to be a main food source to many bival...

We measured the transfer of radiocesium in a marine food chain from phytoplankton to bivalves and finally to a predatory gastropod (Babylonia formosae habei). The assimilation efficiency (AE) of radiocesium in both green mussels (Perna viridis) and the gastropods feeding on different diets was measured by a pulse-chase feeding radiotracer technique. The AEs of 137Cs in the green mussels ranged ...