Abstract
Strontium is required in artificial seawater for the formation of the calcareous embryonic shell of the bivalves Mercenaria mercenaria (Linne, 1758) and Bankia gouldi (Bartsch, 1908). Embryos reared in defined media without strontium chloride become swimming larvae that appear normal except that the mineralized portion of the prodissoconch I shell is absent. Calcification is sensitive to small differences in strontium concentrations and a level of 6–8 ppm is required for normal development. Structural defects also result at high concentrations of this element, 3 to 10 times that of natural seawater, or when barium is substituted for strontium. Exposure to strontium is required only between hours 15–30 of the 40–45 hour embryonic period. Shell mineralization is initiated at hour 20 while the organic layer is observed with SEM at hour 18 and appears complete by hour 26. Larval shell growth (prodissoconch II) and statolith formation in M. mercenaria do not require the presence of strontium. These results are compared with those obtained earlier for the gastropod Aplysia californica (Cooper, 1863) and the implications are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
ANDERSON, O.R., 1981. Radiolarian fine structure and silica deposition. In Silicon and Siliceous Structure in Biological Systems (ed. T.L. Simpson and B.E. Volvani ), pp. 347–349. New York: Springer-Verlag.
BIDWELL, J.P., PAIGE, J.A. and KUZIRIAN, A.M., 1986. Effects of strontium on the embryonic development of Aplysia californica. Biol. Bull., 170: 75–90.
BLACKWELDER, P.L., WEISS, R.E., and WILBUR, K.M., 1976. Effects of calcium, strontium and magnesium on the coccolithophorid Cricospltaera ( Hymenomonas) carterae, I. Calcification. Mar. Biol., 34: 11–16.
BRULAND, K.W., 1983. Trace elements in sea-water. In Chemical Oceanography (ed. J.P. Riley and G. Skirrow ), pp. 157–220. London: Academic Press.
CARRIKER, M. R., 1961. Interrelation of functional morphology, behavior, and autecology in early stages of the bivalve Mercenaria mercenaria. J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 177: 168–242.
CULLINEY, J.L., 1975. Comparative larval development of the shipworms Bankia gouldi and Teredo navalis. Mar. Biol., 29: 245–251.
DODD, J.R, 1967. Magnesium and strontium in calcareous skeletons: a review. J. Paleont., 41:1313–1329. EYSTER, L.S., 1983. Ultrastructure of early embryonic shell formation in the opisthobranch gastropod Aeolidia papillosa. Biol. Bull., 165: 394–408.
EYSI’ER, L.S., 1986. Shell inorganic composition and onset of shell mineralization during bivalve and gastropod embryogenesis. Biol. Bull., 170: 211–231.
EYSTER, L.S. and MORSE, M.P., 1984. Early shell formation during molluscan embryogenesis, with new studies on the surf clam, Spisula solidissima. Amer. Zool., 24: 871–882.
GUILLARD, R, 1975. Culture of phytoplankton for feeding marine invertebrates. In Culture of marine invertebrate animals (ed. W.L. Smith and M.H. Chantey ), pp. 29–60. New York: Plenum Press.
GUNATILAKA, A., 1975. The chemical composition of some carbonate secreting marine organisms from Connemara Island. Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. Ser., B75: 543–556.
GUNATILAKA, A., 1981. Biogeochemistry of strontium. In Handbook of Stable Strontium (ed. S.C. Skoryna ), pp. 19–46. New York: Plenum Press.
JABLONSKI D. and LUTZ, R.A., 1983. Larval ecology of marine benthic invertebrates: paleobiological implications. Biol. Rev., 58: 21–89.
KNIPRATH, E., 1981. Ontogeny of the molluscan shell field: a review. Zool. Scripta, 10: 61–79.
LA BARBERA, M., 1974. Calcification of the first larval shell of Tridacna squamosa ( Tridacnidae: Bivalvia). Mar. Biol., 25: 233–238.
LOWENSTAM, H.A., 1964. Ca/Sr ratio of skeletal aragonites from the recent marine biota at Palau and from fossil gastropods. In Isotopic and Cosmic Chemistry (ed. H. Craig, S.L. Miller, and G.J. Wasserburg ), pp. 114–132. Amsterdam: North Hollan Publishing Co.
NATION, J.L., 1983. A new method using hexamethyldisilazane for preparation of soft insect tissues for scanning electron microscopy. Stain Techn., 58: 347–351.
RAVEN, C.P., 1966. Morphogenesis: The Analysis of Molluscan Development. 366pp. New York: Pergamon Press.
SIMKISS, K., 1983. Trace elements as probes of biomineralization. In Biomineralization and Biological Metal Accumulation, Biological and Geological Perspectives,(ed. P. Westbroek and E.W. DeJong), pp. 363–371. Holland: Reidel, Dorcrecht.
WALLER, T.R., 1981. Functional morphology and development of veliger larvae of the European oyster, Ostrea edulis Linne. Smithsonian. Contr. Zool., 328: 1–70.
WEINER, S., 1984. Organization of organic matrix components in mineralized tissues. Amer. Zool., 24: 945–952.
WEISS, R.E., BLACKWELDER, P.L. and WILBUR, K.M., 1976. Effects of calcium, strontium and magnesium on the coccolithophorid Cricsophaera (Hymenomonas) carterae. II. Cell division. Mar. Biol., 34: 17–22.
WILBUR, K.M. and SALEUDDIN A.S.M., 1983. Shell formation. In The Mollusca. vol. 4. Physiology Part I. (ed. A.S.M. Saleuddin and K.M. Wilbur ), pp. 235–287. New York: Academic Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gallager, S.M., Bidwell, J.P., Kuzirian, A.M. (1989). Strontium is Required in Artificial Seawater for Embryonic Shell Formation in Two Species of Bivalve Molluscs. In: Crick, R.E. (eds) Origin, Evolution, and Modern Aspects of Biomineralization in Plants and Animals. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6114-6_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6114-6_28
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-6116-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-6114-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive