Normoxic and anoxic heat output of the freshwater bivalves Pisidium and Sphaerium

Abstract

In fasting Pisidium amnicum and Sphaerium corneum, regular periods of behavioural and metabolic quiescence were shown to occur in the normoxic, constant environment of the flow-through chamber of a heat-flow microcalorimeter. The metabolic rate was suppressed to 7.5% of normal at 10° C and to 8.5–9.7% at 20° C for periods exceeding the period of active metabolism by a factor of 3.5 at 10° C and 8.3 at 20° C. The rate of heat output during normoxic quiescence was equal to that during environmental anoxia, suggesting spontaneous achievement of body anoxia by complete shell closure. The mass-specific integrated heat output during closure periods was independent of size. Parallel observations on clam behaviour suggested that metabolic quiescence coincided with shell closure, and bursts of heat flow with active ventilation. Shell closure was accompanied by pronounced bradycardia, down to 20% of the active rate. In a constant environment, the rhythmic quiescence is regulated by shell closure which is probably triggered by lack of food. Regular quiescence of fasting bivalves may conserve energy reserves considerably, the amount depending on the possible excretion rate of the end products, and the post-quiescence recovery costs, which were not measured. Heat output during the active period was close to the average metabolic rate found earlier for Sphaeriidae. However, all the values determined so far are likely to be underestimates of the natural metabolism because the effects of digestion and growth are not included.