Standardization of the juvenile mussel bioassay: Dietary requirements
- Clemson Univ., Pendleton, SC (United States). Dept. of Environmental Toxicology
Optimizing a feeding regime is essential for establishing juvenile mussels (Utterbackia imbecillus) as a standard toxicity test organism. Although very little is known about their dietary requirements, these juveniles appear to derive adequate nourishment for survival and growth in batch culture from a diet of the green alga Chlorella vulgaris and Ankistrodesmus falcatus. However, results of previous studies have suggested that mussel diet in culture prior to exposure influences the sensitivity of these organisms to aqueous copper and cadmium exposure. Dietary components included three species of live algae (A. falcatus, C. vulgaris, and Scenedesmus quadricauda) and a suspension of rehydrated, dried Spirulina sp. Less than 24-hr laboratory cultured juveniles were fed all four components or combinations of three algal species daily to determine which mixtures promoted maximal growth. Preliminary data showed growth of control mussels receiving no food was comparable to those organisms fed all four algal species in combination. The greatest increase in shell length of juvenile mussels over 6 days was obtained with the tri-algal combination of A. falcatus, C. vulgaris, and S. quadricauda. The mixture resulting in the least growth included A. falcatus, S. quadricauda, and dried Spirulina sp.
- OSTI ID:
- 372511
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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