Experimental Assessment of the Effects of Temperature and Food Availability on Particle Mixing by the Bivalve Abra alba Using New Image Analysis Techniques

PLoS One. 2016 Apr 26;11(4):e0154270. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154270. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The effects of temperature and food addition on particle mixing in the deposit-feeding bivalve Abra alba were assessed using an experimental approach allowing for the tracking of individual fluorescent particle (luminophore) displacements. This allowed for the computations of vertical profiles of a set of parameters describing particle mixing. The frequency of luminophore displacements (jumps) was assessed through the measurement of both waiting times (i.e., the time lapses between two consecutive jumps of the same luminophore) and normalized numbers of jumps (i.e., the numbers of jumps detected in a given area divided by the number of luminophores in this area). Jump characteristics included the direction, duration and length of each jump. Particle tracking biodiffusion coefficients (Db) were also computed. Data originated from 32 experiments carried out under 4 combinations of 2 temperature (Te) and 2 food addition (Fo) levels. For each of these treatments, parameters were computed for 5 experimental durations (Ed). The effects of Se, Fo and Ed were assessed using PERmutational Multivariate ANalyses Of VAriance (PERMANOVAs) carried out on vertical depth profiles of each particle mixing parameter. Inversed waiting times significantly decreased with Ed whereas the normalized number of jumps did not, thereby suggesting that it constitutes a better proxy of jump frequency when assessing particle mixing based on the measure of individual particle displacements. Particle mixing was low during autumn temperature experiments and not affected by Fo, which was attributed to the dominant effect of low temperature. Conversely, particle mixing was high during summer temperature experiments and transitory inhibited by food addition. This last result is coherent with the functional responses (both in terms of activity and particle mixing) already measured for individual of the closely related clam A. ovata originating from temperate populations. It also partly resulted from a transitory switch between deposit- and suspension-feeding caused by the high concentration of suspended particulate organic matter immediately following food addition.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animal Feed
  • Animals
  • Bivalvia / physiology*
  • Bivalvia / ultrastructure
  • Feeding Behavior / physiology*
  • Luminescent Measurements / methods*
  • Particle Size
  • Particulate Matter / analysis*
  • Suspensions
  • Temperature
  • Time-Lapse Imaging / instrumentation
  • Time-Lapse Imaging / methods*

Substances

  • Particulate Matter
  • Suspensions

Grants and funding

Guillaume Bernard was supported by a doctoral grant from the French “Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche”. This work was funded through the IZOFLUX (ANR blanche), BIOMIN (LEFE-CYBER and EC2CO-PNEC), the “Diagnostic de la Qualité des Milieux Littoraux” and the « OSQUAR » (Conseil Régional Aquitaine) programs. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.