Ingestion rates and absorption efficiencies of Abra ovata (Mollusca: Bivalvia) fed on macrophytobenthic detritus

Ingestion and absorption were investigated in the deposit-feeding bivalve Abra ovata fed on C-14-formaldehyde-labelled detritus derived from II macrophytes: Posidonia oceanica, Cystoseira compressa, Padina pavonica, Stypocaulon scoparium, Colpomenia sinuosa, Cystoseira mediterranea, Dilophus spiralis, Rissoella verruculosa, Ulva rigida, Corallina elongata and Codium vermilara. Labelling efficiency ranged from 3.2 (R. verruculosa) to 53.0% (C. sinuosa) depending on the detritus. The stability of the labelling also varied among detritus types, and was negatively correlated with labelling efficiency. For all types of detritus, the exchanges of radioactivity between compartments were dominated by the transfer between particulate organic matter (POM) and bivalves. These transfers resulted from the interactions between the processes of ingestion, defaecation, and recycling of faeces. The coexistence of these processes together with the occasional lack of stability of the label complicated the actual determination of ingestion rates and absorption efficiencies, which necessitated the use of mathematical modelling. The model was initially composed of five compartments: Detritus, Bivalves, Dissolved organic matter (DOM), CO2, and Faeces. Two first-order time delays were introduced to account for the production of faeces and CO2 by the bivalves. These delays resulted in the subdivision of the Bivalves compartment into three subcompartments: bivIng, bivDig, and bivAbs. The model also accounts for differences in utilization rates of detritus and faeces by the bivalves. It simulates the exchange of radioactivity between compartments and allows the quantification of ingestion and absorption efficiencies. Our results show large differences in both ingestion rates and absorption efficiencies of A. ovata fed on different types of detritus. Ingestion rates ranged between 0.16 (C. mediterranea and D. spiralis) and 8.65 mu gOM mgDW(-1) h(-1) (U. rigida). Absorption efficiencies ranged between 0.5 (C. sinuosa) and 11.4% (C. elongata). These results were related to the main characteristics of the detritus by using a principal component analysis. Results show a negative effect of both protein and phenolic contents on ingestion rates, and a negative effect of phenolic contents on absorption efficiencies, in good agreement with the existing literature. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited