Respuestas de comportamiento de Venerupis decussata (Linnaeus, 1758) y de Venerupis pullastra (Montagu, 1803) a sedimentos marinos contaminados con cobre con el método de spiking

The burrowing behaviour of two marine clam species, Venerupis decussata (Linnaeus, 1758) and Venerupis pullastra (Montagu, 1803), was assayed in laboratory tests. By standardising abiotic and biotic factors, a routine static-renewal biotest for laboratory assays with V. decussata and V. pullastra wa...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Kaschl, A., Carballeira, A.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2001
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/319546
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/319546
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Medio Marino
Bioensayo
parámetros de toxicidad subletales
respuestas de comportamiento
cobre
bivalvos marinos
Venerupis
Descripción
Sumario:The burrowing behaviour of two marine clam species, Venerupis decussata (Linnaeus, 1758) and Venerupis pullastra (Montagu, 1803), was assayed in laboratory tests. By standardising abiotic and biotic factors, a routine static-renewal biotest for laboratory assays with V. decussata and V. pullastra was conducted, using burial as the principal sublethal endpoint. Measured burial times in marine sediments with different textures showed that both clam species are generalist burrowers for a wide range of medium-to-fine sand sediments with up to 40 % silt content. Sandy sediment was spiked with copper to examine clam response to heavy-metal contamination. Slowing of burial was observed in relation to added copper. After 24 h clams were observed to re-emerge from sediment. By counting re-emerged clams on the surface 4 days after starting the assay, a relation between re-emergence behaviour and spiked copper was observed. Experimental data suggest that porewater Cu concentrations, rather than sediment Cu concentrations, were responsible for both burial delay and re-emergence. Whereas burial delay cannot be viewed as a directed behavioural response, re-emergence might be part of a survival strategy to avoid toxic sediment conditions. The LC₅₀ in a 10-day exposure period compared to significant levels of the burial endpoint, while re-emergence and reburial ability after 10-day exposure were considerably more sensitive. Since the observed threshold concentrations are in naturally occurring ranges, an application of the assay, especially with the endpoint of re-emergence, to examine contamination in the field seems possible.