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Effects of oil pollution on the freezing tolerance and solute concentration of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis

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Abstract

Exposure of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) to oil-polluted sea water for 7 d in the laboratory did not affect their body fluid concentrations of inorganic ions and free amino acids. Mussels exposed to-4°C for 12 h did not freeze, whereas freezing occurred invariably in mussels exposed to-7°C or lower temperatures for the same period. Following freezing at-10°C, oil polluted mussels resumed normal activity considerably more slowly than unpolluted ones, but oil-polluted as well as unpolluted mussels showed normal activity 3 h after thawing. Freezing at-15°C was invariably lethal to individuals of both groups. One possible explanation of the delayed recovery of oil-polluted mussels frozen at-10°C may be that oil components had become concentrated to toxic levels as the amount of solvent water diminished during freezing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Trondheim, N-7055, Dragvoll, Norway

    A. V. Aarset & K. E. Zachariassen

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  1. A. V. Aarset
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  2. K. E. Zachariassen
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Hamburg

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Aarset, A.V., Zachariassen, K.E. Effects of oil pollution on the freezing tolerance and solute concentration of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis . Mar. Biol. 72, 45–51 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00393946

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00393946

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