Preliminary experiments on the feeding and excretion of bivalves using Phaeodactylum labelled with 32P

Abstract

In a series of experiments to investigate feeding and excretion in bivalves, Mya arenaria, Venus striatula, Ostrea edulis and Cuspidaria cuspidata were fed with suspensions of Phaeodactylum labelled with 32P. Although there is considerable variation in the filtering rates, specimens of O. edulis were found to have an average rate of 6·6 ml./h/mg dry body tissue. This figure is more than six times greater than that recorded for M. arenaria and V. striatula. No filtration was recorded in the carnivore C. cuspidata.