共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 15 毫秒
1.
Fleur E. Champion de Crespigny Nina Wedell 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(8):1229-1235
The maternally inherited bacterium Wolbachia pipientis generates strong reproductive incompatibilities between uninfected females and infected males (cytoplasmic incompatibility),
significantly reducing both female and male reproductive success. Such fitness costs are thought to place selective pressure
on hosts to evolve pre-copulatory preferences for mating with compatible mates, thereby enabling them to avoid the reproductive
incompatibilities associated with Wolbachia. Therefore, uninfected females are predicted to prefer mating with uninfected males, whereas infected males are predicted
to prefer mating with infected females. Despite these predictions, previous investigations of pre-copulatory mate preferences
in Wolbachia-manipulated Drosophila have not found evidence of female preference for uninfected or compatible males. However, none of these studies utilised
a design where focal individuals are provided with a simple choice in a relatively non-competitive situation. We examined
both female and male pre-copulatory mate preference based on mate infection status in Drosophila simulans and D. melanogaster using simple choice assays involving between 30–50 replicates per treatment. Although we found no evidence of female pre-copulatory
mate preferences in either species, male D. simulans exhibited some preference for mating with females of the same infection status. However, this preference was not evident
when we repeated the experiment to confirm this finding. Consequently, we conclude that neither male nor female D. melanogaster and D. simulans exhibit significant Wolbachia-associated pre-copulatory mate preferences. 相似文献
2.
Nataliya Voloshchuk Mona Knop Thomas Colby Erich Kombrink Lothar Hennig Diana Hofmann Dieter Sicker Andrej Gryganski Margot Schulz 《Chemoecology》2007,17(1):1-12
Summary. Doratomyces stemonitis (Hyphomycetales, Dematiaceae) is a saprotrophic fungus belonging to the mycobiota of the cereal rhizosphere. The fungus is
able to metabolize benzoxazolin-2-(3H)-one and a variety of its derivatives including higher plant detoxification products, microbial degradation products and
the chemically rather stable 2-amino-(3H)-phenoxazin-3-one. D. stemonitis can use all of these compounds as sole C-sources but their utilization, especially that of microbial degradation products
and 2-amino-(3H)-phenoxazin-3-one, seems to be highly energy consuming, resulting in slow mycelium growth and a change of colony morphology.
Benzoxazolin-2-(3H)-one derived compounds induce the synthesis of different isoforms of a glycosylated protein with sequence homologies to the
endo-1,3-β-glucanase Asp f2, an allergen from Aspergillus fumigatus and other Asp f2-like proteins e.g., from Verticillium dahliae or PRA1 antigen from Candida albicans. The induction of the protein is regarded as a stress response. 相似文献
3.
Juan Camilo Marín Loaiza Carlos L. Céspedes Till Beuerle Claudine Theuring Thomas Hartmann 《Chemoecology》2007,17(2):109-115
Summary. The occurrence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in Pittocaulon (ex Senecio) praecox (Asteraceae) a species endemic to Mexico was established. The aboveground plant organs contain the 1,2-saturated monoester
7-angeloyl-dihydroxyheliotridane together with a small proportion of its 9-angeloyl isomer as major alkaloid. The monoesters
are accompanied by the macrocyclic otonecine derivative senkirkine. Roots contain only related macrocyclic PAs with senecionine,
senkirkine and platyphylline as major components; monoesters are absent. The broom-like succulent stems of P. praecox are infested by the scale insect Ceroplastes albolineatus conspicuously visible by its huge wax cover. All life-history stages, i.e. females, eggs, first instar nymphs (crawlers)
and the wax cover were found associated with PAs. The measured PA concentrations clearly indicate sequestration. The highest
PA concentrations (mg / g dry weight) reached are: mature females, 0.44; eggs, 0.58; crawlers, 0.37; wax cover, 0.08. The
host plant as well as in the infesting scale insect contain the PAs exclusively as free bases. As a phloem-feeder C. albolineatus must acquire the PAs with the ingested phloem sap. This appears plausible since in Senecio species PA are transmitted and circulated through the phloem path. It is suggested that PAs may protect particularly the
crawlers as the most endangered stage in the life-cycle of the scale insect. 相似文献
4.
Offspring should be selected to influence maternal effort to maximize their own fitness, whereas mothers are selected to limit
investment in present progeny. In mammals, this leads to a conflict over the amount of milk provided and the timing of weaning.
The intensity and time course of such conflict has so far mostly been investigated experimentally in altricial rodents. However,
it is expected that offspring options for conflict will depend on developmental state. We therefore investigated in the highly
precocial domestic guinea pig (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) who decides over nursing performance and weaning and how pup state influences these decisions. Specifically, we tested whether
a threshold mass of pups predicts weaning time. By exchanging older litters against neonates and vice versa, we produced a
situation in which females differed in lactational stage from the cross-fostered pups. Our results indicate that females decide
about the timing of weaning, as cross-fostered younger pups were weaned at a much younger age than controls and older pups
benefited from continuing lactation of foster mothers. Growth rates did not differ in the treatment groups, and different
weaning ages resulted in differing weaning mass refuting the hypothesis that weaning is based on a threshold mass of offspring.
This constitutes clear evidence that in a precocial rodent, the guinea pig, decisions about maternal care are primarily determined
by maternal state and little influenced by pup state despite the extreme precociality of offspring. We suggest that precocial
pups show little resistance to early weaning when food is abundant, as they reach sufficient nutritional independence by the
middle of lactation to enable independent survival. 相似文献
5.
Summary. Males of dacine tephritids, Bactrocera carambolae and B. dorsalis are strongly attracted to, and compulsively feed on methyl eugenol (ME), a potent attractant for many Bactrocera species. While ME was shown to be biotransformed into phenylpropanoids, 2-allyl-4,5-dimethoxyphenol and (E)-coniferyl alcohol, and temporarily stored in the rectal gland of male B. dorsalis prior to release during courtship at dusk, B. carambolae male produces only the latter compound along with its de novo synthesized pheromone components. Both species were also shown to have different age-related response, sensitivity and consumption
levels of ME. Here, we monitored and compared temporal changes in the accumulation profiles of these phenylpropanoids by the
two sibling species, with male rectal glands being individually excised at different time intervals from 15 minutes to 20
days after initial ME feeding and analysed quantitatively. Results are discussed in light of plant-fruit fly co-evolution
relationship. 相似文献
6.
Rachel Vallender Vicki L. Friesen Raleigh J. Robertson 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(12):1797-1807
We examined two components of reproduction in a population of golden-winged warblers in the initial stages of hybridization
with blue-winged warblers. First, we used genetic analyses of mate choice to determine whether copulations outside the social
pairbond (extra-pair copulations; EPCs) occur in these species and their hybrids. Second, we compared several aspects of reproduction
(pairing success, clutch size, hatching success, fledging success, and loss of paternity) in nests raised by phenotypic golden-winged
warblers to those raised by hybrid individuals. Together, these data provide us with the first quantitative analysis of reproduction
within this hybrid system. Our data suggest several reasons why the level of hybridization between these species is likely
being underestimated. First, many birds in our population showed only subtle phenotypic signs of introgression indicating
that hybrid status can only be determined by close examination. Second, high rates of extra-pair paternity indicate that we
cannot base our estimates of hybridization on pairbond data alone. More than 30% of nestlings were the result of EPCs, occurring
in 55% of all nests. Third, there was no difference in the number of hybrid or “pure” golden-winged warbler males chosen as
social mates, relative to their abundance. Indeed, based on several components of nesting success, it appears as though hybrids
are having as great realized reproductive success as are phenotypic golden-winged warblers in our population. Accordingly,
we argue that hybrid reproductive success and extra-pair fertilizations are likely playing a major role in the ongoing hybridization
between blue-winged and golden-winged warblers. Studies such as this one are important to our understanding of the process
and implications of hybridization, and findings may be applicable to other hybrid zones. 相似文献
7.
Johannes Stökl Robert Twele Dirk H. Erdmann Wittko Francke Manfred Ayasse 《Chemoecology》2007,17(4):231-233
Summary.
Ophrys flowers mimic the female produced sex pheromone of their pollinator species to attract males for pollination. The males try
to copulate with the putative female and thereby pollinate the flower. Using electrophysiological and chemical analyses, floral
volatiles released by O. iricolor as well as the female sex pheromone of its pollinator species, Andrena morio are investigated. Overall, 38 peaks comprising 41 chemical compounds, were found to release reactions in the antennae of
male A. morio bees. Analyses using coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed the presence of alkanes and alkenes with 20 to
29 carbon atoms, aldehydes (C9 to C24) and two esters. Almost all of those compounds were found in similar proportions in
both, the floral extracts of O. iricolor and cuticle surface extracts of A. morio females. The pattern of biologically active volatiles described here is very similar to that used by other Ophrys species pollinated by Andrena males. 相似文献
8.
Piyamas Nanork Siriwat Wongsiri Benjamin P. Oldroyd 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(10):1509-1514
Honey bee workers are able to distinguish queen-laid eggs from worker-laid eggs, and remove (‘police’) worker-laid eggs. The
cue that police workers use is as yet unidentified but is likely to be a chemical signal. This signal benefits queens for
it ensures their reproductive monopoly. It also benefits collective workers because it allows them to raise more closely related
queen-laid males than the less-related sons of half sisters. Because both parties benefit from the egg-marking signal, it
should be stable over evolutionary time. We show that Apis mellifera workers can distinguish queen-laid from worker-laid eggs of the dwarf honey bee A. florea, a phylogenetically distant species that diverged from the A. mellifera lineage 6–10 mya. However, A. mellifera workers are unable to distinguish worker-laid eggs of A. cerana, a much more recent divergence (2–3 mya). The apparent change in the egg-marking signal used by A. cerana may be associated with the high rates of ovary activation in this species. 相似文献
9.
A. Machias S. Somarakis N. Papadroulakis M.-T. Spedicato M. Suquet G. Lembo P. Divanach 《Marine Biology》2003,142(1):45-52
The wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) is a panoceanic, long-lived, deep-water demersal species, characterized by an extended pelagic juvenile phase associated with floating objects. In the present study morphometric data from 435 specimens collected from Greece (Crete), Italy (Ionian Sea) and the Atlantic coast of France from September 1999 to March 2001 were analyzed to estimate the settlement size of the species and associated changes in morphology. The fishery sample included specimens from both the pelagic and the demersal stage. Length-at-settlement (TL50) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by fitting a logistic function. Eleven morphometric characters were analyzed, and the existing inflection points, reflecting alterations in body shape, were defined: (1) iteratively, as the transition point, splitting the data set into two groups, for which the reduced major axis functions, between a character and total length, of the successive groups best fit (minimum sum of squares of residuals) the combined data set and (2) where the second derivative of the fitted third-order polynomial functions to morphometric ratios equaled zero. The main size range within which wreckfish settled was 56-65 cm, and the means of the inflection points defined by the two methods were 61 and 64 cm. These results indicate changes in functional morphology associated with settlement. The monitoring of wreckfish juveniles caught in the wild and kept individually in captivity showed changes in growth and food intake at approximately the estimated settlement length and suggested that temperature was the most likely factor triggering settlement. 相似文献
10.
Individual-level variation in resource use occurs in a broad array of vertebrate and invertebrate taxa and may have important
ecological and evolutionary implications. In this study, we measured the degree of individual-level variation in prey preference
of the hunting wasp Trypoxylon albonigrum, which inhabits the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. This wasp captures several orb-weaving spider genera to provision
nests. Individuals consistently specialized on a narrow subset of the prey taxa consumed by the population, indicating the
existence of significant individual-level variation in prey preferences. The population niche was broader in the wet season
in terms of both prey size and taxa. In the case of prey size, the population niche expansion was achieved via increased individual
niche breadths, whereas in the case of prey taxa, individual niches remained relatively constrained, and the population niche
expanded via increased interindividual variation. The observed pattern suggests the possibility of functional trade-offs associated
with the taxon of the consumed prey. The nature of the trade-offs remains unknown, but they are likely related to learning
in searching and/or handling prey. We hypothesize that by specializing on specific prey taxa, individuals increase foraging
efficiency, reducing foraging time and ultimately increasing reproductive success. 相似文献
11.
Peter Korsten Oscar Vedder István Szentirmai Jan Komdeur 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(12):1933-1943
Structurally based ultraviolet (UV)-reflective plumage parts can be important cues in mate choice. However, it remains largely
unknown if UV plumage variation can also function as a signal of social status during competitive interactions. In blue tits
(Cyanistes caeruleus), the UV-reflective crown plumage functions as a female mate choice cue that probably indicates male quality, as males with
higher UV reflectance have been shown to have better chances of over-winter survival. Possibly, the UV crown plumage acts
as a status signal in the competition over scarce food sources during winter. To test this idea, we related dominance of individuals
at an artificial food source during adverse winter conditions to spectrophotometric measurements of their crown plumage. However,
while controlling for the confounding effects of sex, age, and distance from territory, we found no significant effect of
crown UV reflectance on dominance. Consistent with this result, we also found no relation between crown UV reflectance and
over-winter survival. We conclude that the structurally based UV reflectance of the blue tit crown feathers plays little role
in competition between individuals during winter despite its importance as a cue in mate choice. 相似文献
12.
Olivier Roux Charles Gers Josèphe Nathan Tene-Ghomsi Laurence Arvanitakis Dominique Bordat Luc Legal 《Chemoecology》2007,17(1):13-18
Summary. Cotesia plutellae is a specialist parasitoid of Plutella xylostella. This specificity is potentially under the control of several factors before and after oviposition. Thereby, the stimuli
that lead female parasitoids to host locations and to oviposition, might be at the basis of the specificity. We explore here
the response of C. plutellae females exposed to host cuticular lipids. A total cuticular lipid extract of host caterpillars was fractionated into a hydrocarbon
fraction and a non-hydrocarbon fraction. Neither fraction alone had any effect on oviposition behaviour in C. plutellae but the hydrocarbon fraction alone did seem to have a positive effect on the rate of antennal contact by the females. To
induce oviposition behaviour, both fractions were necessary and reflect cooperation between at least one compound in each
fraction. Identification of cuticular lipids shows that hydrocarbons were dominant (77%). Non-hydrocarbon compounds were mainly
represented by 15-nonacosanone (18% of the total lipid extract). This ketone is rare in insect cuticle lipids and is thought
to originate from the cabbage epicuticle where it is dominant with n-C29 and 14- and 15-nonacosanol also found among the cuticular lipids of the host caterpillar. 相似文献
13.
Susanna Andersson 《Chemoecology》2003,13(1):13-20
Summary. To better understand the biological role of floral scents for
butterflies, electrophysiological responses to floral scents were
investigated using combined gas chromatography and electroantennographic
detection (GC-EAD). The antennal responses of three butterfly species,
Aglais urticae L. (Nymphalidae), Inachis io L. (Nymphalidae), and
Gonepteryx rhamni L. (Pieridae) to floral scent compounds from both
natural and synthetic mixtures were examined. Floral scents were
collected from the butterfly nectar plants Cirsium arvense (L.)
(Asteraceae), and Buddleja davidii Franchet cv. (Loganicaeae) with
dynamic head-space methods on Tenax-GR and eluted with pentane. These
eluates, composed of natural floral scent blends, represent an array of
compounds in their natural state. In the GC-EAD analyses eleven
compounds were identified from C. arvense with the benzenoid compound
phenylacetaldehyde in highest abundance. Seventeen compounds were
identified from B. davidii with the irregular terpene oxoisophorone in
highest abundance. Thirty-nine synthetic floral scent compounds were
mixed in pentane, in equal amounts; about 35 ng were allowed to reach
the antennae. The butterflies showed antennal responses to most of the
floral scent compounds from both natural and synthetic blends except to
the highly volatile monoterpene alkenes. Certain benzenoid compounds
such as phenylacetaldehyde, monoterpenes such as linalool, and irregular
terpenes such as oxoisophorone, were emitted in relatively large amounts
from C. arvense and B. davidii, and elicited the strongest antennal
responses. These compounds also elicited strong antennal responses when
present in the synthetic scent blends. Thus, the butterflies seem to
have many and /or sensitive antennal receptors for these compounds,
which points to their biological importance. Moreover, these compounds
are exclusively of floral scent origin. For B. davidii, which depends
highly on butterflies for pollination, the exclusive floral scent
compounds emitted in high abundance could be the result of an adaptive
pressure to attract butterflies.
Received 2 Septemter 2001; accepted 9 September 2002. 相似文献
14.
Susanna Andersson 《Chemoecology》2003,13(1):1-11
Summary. For butterflies to be efficient foragers, they need to
be able to recognize rewarding flowers. Flower signals such as colours
and scents assist this recognition process. For plant species to attract
and keep butterflies as pollinators, species-specific floral signals are
crucial. The aim of this study is to investigate foraging responses to
floral scents in three temperate butterfly species, Inachis io L.
(Nymphalidae), Aglais urticae L. (Nymphalidae), and
Gonepteryx rhamni L. (Pieridae), in behavioural choice
bioassays. The butterflies were allowed to choose bet-ween flower models
varying in scent and colour (mauve or green). Flowers or vegetative
parts from the plants Centaurea scabiosa L. (Asteraceae),
Cirsium arvense (L.) (Asteraceae), Knautia arvensis (L.)
(Dipsacaceae), Buddleja davidii Franchet (Loganicaeae), Origanum vulgareL. (Lamiaceae), Achillea millefolium L. (Asteraceae), and
Philadelphus coronarius L. (Hydrangiaceae) were used as scent
sources. All visits to the models — those that included probing and
those that did not — were counted, as was the duration of these
behaviours. Both flower-naive and flower-experienced (conditioned to
sugar-water rewards, the colour mauve, and specific floral scents)
butterflies were tested for their preference for floral versus
vegetative scents, and to floral scent versus colour. The butterflies
were also tested for their ability to switch floral scent preferences in
response to rewards. Flower-naive butterflies demonstrated a preference
for the floral scent of the butterfly-favourable plants C.
arvense and K. arvensis over the floral scent of the non-favourable
plants Achillea millefolium (Asteraceae), and Philadelphus
coronarius cv. (Hydrangiaceae). Most of the butterflies that were
conditioned to floral scents of either C. arvense, K. arvensis,
or B. davidii readily switched theirfloral scent preferences to
the one most recently associated with reward, thus demonstrating that
floral scent constancy is a result from learning. These findings suggest
that these butterflies use floral scent as an important cue signal to
initially identify and subsequently recognize and distinguish among
rewarding plants.
Received 2 September 2001; accepted 9 September 2002. 相似文献
15.
Nestmate recognition for eggs in the honeybee (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis> L.)
Christian W. W. Pirk Peter Neumann Randall Hepburn 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(11):1685-1693
Colony integrity is fundamental to social insects and is threatened by the reproduction of non-nestmates. Therefore, discrimination
between eggs derived from nestmates and non-nestmates would constitute an adaptation to prevent exploitation of the entire
cooperative group by unrelated individuals. The removal of nestmate and non-nestmate queen and worker-laid eggs was evaluated
in honeybees using colonies of Apis mellifera capensis to test female and of A. m. scutellata to test male eggs. The data show that honeybees can distinguish between nestmate and non-nestmate eggs of both sexes. Moreover,
non-nestmate female queen-laid eggs were removed significantly faster than nestmate female worker-laid eggs in A. m. capensis, indicating that nestmate recognition cues can override caste-specific ones. While the experimental manipulation accounts
for 37.2% (A. m. scutellata) or 1.6% (A. m. capensis) of variance in relation to egg removal, nestmate recognition explains 33.3% for male eggs (A. m. scutellata) and 60.6% for female eggs (A. m. capensis), which is almost twice as high as the impact of caste (16.7% A. m. scutellata; 25% A. m. capensis). Our data show a stronger effect of nestmate recognition on egg removal in the honeybee, suggesting that cues other than
caste-specific ones (viability/kin) can dominate egg removal behavior. In light of intraspecific social parasitism, preventing
the reproduction of unrelated individuals (group selection) rather than preferring queens’ eggs (kin selection) appears to
be the driving force behind the evolution of egg removal behavior in honeybees. 相似文献
16.
Structure and complexity of the substrate are important habitat characteristics for benthic epifauna. The specific growth and mortality rates and inducible defence characters on medium-sized blue mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) exposed to shore crabs (Carcinus maenas L.) were examined on three different substrate types in combined field and laboratory experiments. The experiments showed that complexity of the substrate increased blue mussel survival significantly, through a decrease in predation pressure. However, increased intraspecific competition for food on the complex substrate resulted in significantly lower growth rates of the mussels. Inducible defence characters were also influenced by substrate type. Blue mussels were more affected by predators on the structurally simple substrate, where they developed thicker shells and a larger posterior adductor muscle. 相似文献
17.
Maria I. Sandell 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,62(2):255-262
In the European starling, Sturnus vulgaris, optimal mating systems differ between males and females. Males gain from polygyny, whereas monogamy increases female fitness.
The cost of polygyny to females lead to intense female–female competition, and it has previously been shown that the intensity
of female aggression during the pre-breeding period can predict the realised mating system. The physiological regulation of
such female aggression in starlings is not yet known. This study examines the role of testosterone in mediating aggressive
behaviours involved in intra-specific reproductive competition in female starlings. Testosterone levels were experimentally
elevated with testosterone implants in females during the pre-laying period. To simulate a situation in which an additional
female tried to mate with the focal female’s mate, a caged female was presented close to a nest-site to which the male could
attract a secondary female. Testosterone was significantly related to several behaviours involved in female–female interactions.
Females with testosterone implants spent significantly more time close to the caged female and produced more song bouts than
control females. In contrast, male behaviour was unrelated to the experimental status of the mate. Females mated to males
that attracted a secondary female were less aggressive towards the caged female than those that remained monogamously mated.
The effect of exogenous testosterone in this study indicates that androgens may mediate social behaviours in female starlings
during the breeding season. 相似文献
18.
Alfonso Marzal Maribel Reviriego Florentino de Lope Anders Pape Møller 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(10):1573-1580
Immune responses constitute a major way for hosts to defend themselves against parasites. Because hosts do not habitually
produce strong responses all the time, immune responses might be costly to produce or maintain. We tested experimentally if
the production of a response to a challenge with a novel antigen resulted in a cost in terms of fitness using the highly colonial
house martin Delichon urbica as a model system. We injected adult breeding birds during laying of the first clutch with either Newcastle disease virus
(NDV) or a control injection, and the clutch was subsequently removed to induce relaying. NDV stimulates the non-specific
immune system, causing production of antibodies during a period of more than 2 weeks. Accordingly, we found an increase in
leukocyte counts in experimental birds compared to controls. Experimental treatment reduced the frequency of re-laying, caused
a delay in timing of relaying and a reduction in brood size. Quality of nestlings in terms of body size, body mass and T-cell-mediated
immune response did not differ significantly between treatments. Overall, seasonal reproductive success differed significantly
between treatments, showing that the production of an immune response by adult birds is costly in terms of future fecundity. 相似文献
19.
The reproductive cycles and abundance of the sympatric colonial ascidians Pycnoclavella brava, Pycnoclavella aurilucens and Pycnoclavella communis from two Northwestern Mediterranean sites over a period of 2.5 years are reported. The species showed some differences in
their biological patterns. Gonad maturation and larval brooding took place during autumn and early winter for P. communis, during spring for P. aurilucens and during late winter and spring for P. brava. Summer was found to be the unfavorable season for all species, and an aestivation period occurred in P. communis and P. brava. Maximum abundance for the three species was observed during winter. Growth rates of the most abundant species, P. communis, were also monitored and found to peak during the initial phases of reactivation after aestivation. Growth rates decreased
afterwards, becoming negative as water temperature started to increase after the winter minima. Reproductive activity and
growth rates for P. communis displayed a temporal lag that suggested partitioning of resources to either reproduction or growth in this species. 相似文献
20.
Olivier Maire Jean-Michel Amouroux Jean-Claude Duchêne Antoine Grémare 《Marine Biology》2007,152(6):1293-1307
The filtration activity of the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, was assessed under different concentrations and compositions of seston by using a new automated image acquisition and analysis
system. This approach allowed for frequent and simultaneous measurements of valve gape and exhalant siphon area. Filtration
rates were measured through clearance measurements whereas pumping rates were measured using hot-film probes. The average
filtration rate (17.5 l g h−1 DW−1 for a 0.36 g DW mussel) recorded during the present study was higher than those available for Mytilus edulis when standardized to flesh dry weight but almost equivalent (17.5 l h−1 g DW−1 for a 53 mm shell length mussel) to those rates when standardized to shell length. Immediately after the addition of algal
cells (Isochrysis galbana; 4.5 μm in size), valve gape, exhalant siphon area and filtration rate increased quickly as mussels reached their maximum
filtration activity. These three parameters then gradually decreased until complete closure of the shell. The algal cell concentration
inducing this transition was close to 800 cells ml−1 and 0.5 μg Chl a l−1. When algal concentration was maintained above this threshold by successive algal additions, both valve gape and exhalant
siphon area remained maximal. Temporal changes in the exhalant siphon area were continuous as opposed to those of valve gape.
Therefore, despite the significant correlation between these two parameters, valves and siphon were sometimes dissociated
due to a reduction of the area or even a closure of the exhalant siphon while the valves remained open. The velocity of exhaled
water tended to be constant irrespective of exhalant siphon area and thus pumping rates were a linear function of exhalant
siphon area. Consequently, reductions in exhalant siphon area and pumping rate were almost similar in M. galloprovincialis. Our results thus clearly support the hypothesis that exhalant siphon area constitutes a better proxy of pumping rate than
valve gape as already suggested for Mytilus edulis. Finally, the high filtration rates measured during the present study together with the high concentrations of inorganic
matter (> 40 mg DW l−1) requested to alter those rates suggest that the studied mussels were well adapted to oligotrophic waters featuring strong
hydrodynamism and frequent sediment resuspension events. 相似文献