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The detection of heightened sea-water copper concentrations by the mussel Mytilus edulis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

John Davenport  and
Andrew Manley
John Davenport
Affiliation:
N.E.R.C. Unit of Marine Invertebrate Biology, Marine Science Laboratories, Menai Bridge, Gwynedd
Andrew Manley
Affiliation:
N.E.R.C. Unit of Marine Invertebrate Biology, Marine Science Laboratories, Menai Bridge, Gwynedd
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Extract

An acute toxicity threshold of 0·09–0·10 ppm added copper was determined for specimens of Mytilus edulis from the Menai Strait which were exposed to copper (as CuSO4) in a flowing sea-water system.

Results are presented which show that the closure response of the mussel to added copper is a three-part process. First, a sharp adduction of the shell valves is seen at a mean total copper concentration of only 0·021 ppm, then as the copper concentration rises, ‘testing’ behaviour is observed and finally the shell valves close to isolate the animal from its environment. The complete valve closure mechanism only operates at added copper concentrations of 0·2 ppm or more. The initial behavioural reaction of valve adduction at low concentration occurred at a significantly higher mean total copper concentration (0·16 ppm) in mussels which had been previously acclimated to 0·02 ppm total copper in sea water for 10 days.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 58 , Issue 4 , November 1978 , pp. 843 - 850
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1978

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References

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