Abstract
Two species of bivalve molluscs, Mercenaria mercenaria Linné and Crassostrea virginica Gmelin, were maintained in an identical laboratory environment and fed the same diet for 1 month prior to measuring the quantity of ammonia which they excreted per gram dry weight. Data derived from juveniles and adults of these species were fitted to a log-log equation. M. mercenaria excreted more ammonia per gram body weight than C. virginica, and considerably more scatter is evident in the fit of the data from M. mercenaria to the log-log relationship. Experiments showed that neither temperature fluctuation during the experiments nor decomposition of organic nitrogen in the test water account for the scatter of points. Behavioral differences between the two species of organisms may explain these differences.
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Communicated by M.R. Tripp, Newark
This work is the result of research sponsored by NOAA Office of Sea Grant, Department of Commerce, under Grant No. 04-3-158-30.
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Sma, R.F., Baggaley, A. Rate of excretion of ammonia by the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria and the American oyster Crassostrea virginica . Mar. Biol. 36, 251–258 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389286
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389286