Abstract
The interest in Arctica islandica growth biology has recently increased due to the widespread use of its shell as a bioarchive. Although temperature and food availability are considered key factors in its growth, their combined influence has not been studied so far under laboratory conditions. We tested the interactive effect of temperature and food availability on the shell and tissue growth of A. islandica juveniles (9–15 mm in height) in a multi-factorial experiment with four food levels (no food, low, medium, and high) and three different temperatures (3, 8, 13 °C). Shell and tissue growth were observed in all treatments, with significant differences occurring only among food levels (2-way ANOVA; P-value < 0.05). Siphon activity (% open siphons), however, was affected by temperature, food, and the interaction between them (2-way ANOVA; P-value < 0.05). Siphon observations, as indication of feeding activities, played a key role to better understand the growth variation between individuals.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 67-77 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Marine Environmental Research |
| Volume | 133 |
| Early online date | 6 Dec 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2018 |
Funding
Thanks to Cyril Degletagne and Doris Abele for providing the specimens for this study. Thanks to Evaline van Weerlee and Evelien Witte for their assistance with the laboratory tasks. Special thanks to Andrés Parra González for his unconditional help and support throughout all the experiment. This work was funded by the EU within the framework (FP7) of the Marie Curie International Training Network ARAMACC ( 604802 ). Appendix A
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Seventh Framework Programme | 604802 |
| European Commission |
Keywords
- Bivalve
- Phytoplankton concentration
- Sclerochronology
- Shell and tissue growth
- Siphon activity
- Temperature
