Laboratory culture of the freshwater benthic gastropod Bellamya aeruginosa (Reeve) and its utility as a test species for sediment toxicity

Abstract

This study aimed to develop original laboratory culture and sediment toxicity testing protocols for the freshwater gastropod Bellamya aeruginosa (Reeve), a new potential species for sediment toxicity testing. B. aeruginosa was successfully cultured with an effective culture system under proposed laboratory conditions. Optimal ad libitum feeding levels for larvae, juveniles, and adults were 2.0, 6.0, and 16.0 mg fish food/(snail·day), respectively. Mean survival rates of juveniles were higher than 90%. The snails could be sexed at 9 weeks of age, and their generation time is approximately 4 months. Reproduction continued all year around; the mean fecundity was 0.55 newborn/(female·day). The utility of this species for bioassays was evaluated in both 10-day and 28-day case studies with artificial sediments. The 10-day LC 50 of Cu for larvae was 480 μg/g dry weight (dw), and the lowest observed effects concentration of Cu for survival and growth of larvae was 195 μg/g dw. Survival and growth are reliable indicators of acute toxicity. Larvae accumulated more Cu than adults. B. aeruginosa exhibited a higher sensitivity to Cu exposure than standard test species (Hyalella azteca and Chironomus tentans). The 28-day test of sediment toxicity with adults showed that fecundity was a robust endpoint indicator of reproductive toxicity, and the biochemical endpoints of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione could be used as sensitive biomarkers for Cu-induced oxidative damage. B. aeruginosa can be therefore recommended as a candidate for the standardization of the freshwater sediment toxicity test protocol.

Responses of Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and DNA Damage on a Freshwater Snail (Bellamya aeruginosa) Stressed by Ethylbenzene

“…The freshwater snail, Bellamya aeruginosa (Reeve) (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Prosobranchia, Valvatidae), is widely distributed in habitats of lakes, rivers, ditches, and ponds in China and has great importance both for human consumption and crab culture. B. aeruginosa has already been proposed as a potential model organism for chemical testing by Chinese researchers (Ma et al 2010), so it was selected as the test organism in the present study.…”

Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of Bellamya quadrata from lakes of middle and lower Yangtze River

“…Albinaria, 2.5 years), B. quadrata has a relatively short generation times of 4 months (Ma et al 2010), this in combination with their specific mating strategies (gonochorism and viviparity) may make them less vulnerable to rapid loss of genetic diversity resulting from population declines and isolation (Tian-Bi et al 2013). Furthermore, like other species of the genus, the robust population of B. quadrata could ensure the survival rate in poor living condition, such as environment pollution and fragmentation of habitat (Ma et al 2010;Zheng et al 2012).…”

Spatial distribution and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in snails (Bellamya aeruginosa) and sediments from Taihu Lake area, China

“…As a deposit-feeder, B. aeruginosa is closely associated to the surface sediments, where they burrow in the upper layer and feed on particulate matters (Chen and Song 1975). At present, this species has been proposed as a potential test species for sediment toxicity assessments (Ma et al 2010). Still, in studies investigating the environmental exposure of contaminants, the snails have shown to play a minor role in terms of bioaccumulation and biomagnification in the aquatic food webs (Kobayashi et al 2015; Senthilkumar et al 2001; She et al 2013; Zhu et al 2015).…”