The Effect of Temperature upon the Ingestion of Bacteria by the Clam (Mya Arenaria)

Marston, Alice T.

doi:10.1577/1548-8659(1930)60[269:teotut]2.0.co;2

Cited by 2 publications

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“…No data are available as to the exact amounts of water a clam filters in 24 hours. In contrast, the work of Belding (15) and Marston (16) demonstrates that clams are active and will "drink" for considerable periods at a water temperature below 390 F. (3.90 C.). Temperature of the surrounding water plays an important role as to the amount of water an oyster or quahog will filter.…”

Section: Biological Activity Of the Clammentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The carmine cone method of Galtsoff (17) and the cornmeal method used by Dodgson (5) and by Marston (16), which can be used to indicate pumping, were not considered suitable for use in our experiments. Since it is not feasible to measure quantitively the amounts of water pumped through a clam, the most practical index of pumping activity appeared to be "openness" or "closedness'' of the inhalant and exhalant siphons.…”

Section: Water Pumping Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self-Purification of the Soft Clam Mya Arenaria

Arcisz¹,

Kelly²

1955

Public Health Reports (1896-1970)

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Association of Schools of Public Health is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to When exposed to running sea water, the clam uses its own filtering system to cleanse itself of sewage bacteria ingested in polluted waters. How this is accomplished was demonstrated in a series of experiments conductedl by the Shellfish Sanitation Laboratory. soft clam, Hya arenaria, have become seriously depleted. Attempts made by biologists (1) to increase clam populations to their former abundance by establishing clam farms and reseeding depleted areas have met with little or no success. However, large supplies of clams in areas which are polluted with domestic sewage are available.The possibility of ridding shellfish of undesirable bacteria, has been given some attention ever since epidemiological evidence indicated that shellfish from waters subject to fecal pollution were responsible for enteric disea,se (2). That polluted shellfish can be made safe for human consumption by the process of purification ha,s been a,dequately demonstrated by Fabre-Domergue (3), Wells (4), and Dodgson (5).Purification is a mechanical process effected by the physiological functioning of the shellfish in clean water. When shellfish are feeding, the gills act as a filter to strain out some of the material that may be brought in by the water which passes through them. If this water contains sewage, some of the micro-organisms in it are entrapped in the mucus on the body of the shellfish and transferred to the alimentary tract. Some of these are perhaps utilized as food (6) and the others discharged from the body in the form of feces and pseudofeces. When shellfish from polluted water are placed in clean water, the sewage bacteria are eliminated from the shellfish, and, since no more are ingested, purification is accomplished. Two purification processes, based on the ability of shellfish to cleanse themselves, have been evolved:Natural purifieation or relaying. Shellfish from polluted areas are transplanted into clean waters and allowed to purify themselves. This method of natural purification is widely used in the oyster industry. However, many biological factors combine to make it generally infeasible for use with soft clams.Artificial purification or cleansing. Shellfish from polluted areas are placed in tanks which are filled with water that has been sterilized by filtration, chlorination, or by ozone. The water Mr. Arcisz is bacteriologist at the Public Health Service Shellfish Sanitation Laboratory, Pensacola, Fla., and Mr. Kelly is chief of the laboratory. Other studies in this series of reports on shellfish experiments conducted by the laboratory have appeared in

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Section: Biological Activity Of the Clammentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Water Pumping Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Purification of the Soft Clam Mya Arenaria

Arcisz¹,

Kelly²

1955

Public Health Reports (1896-1970)

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Microecological Factors in Oyster Epizootics

Laird¹

1961

Can. J. Zool.

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On oyster beds as elsewhere, mud-water interfa-exhibit a biological film harboring saprobic microo~anisms. The nbundallce of thew is dimctly proportional to the amount of decornposin~f orpanic matter present. Different cornmunities of protozoa and bacteria characterize each of the levels of organic pollution, which may be defined biolo~ically in terms of a modification of the "Sapmbiensystem" of liolkwita ancl S I a m n , IVhile the microoqanims concerned are not conspic~ra~~s on clean s u b s t r m e x a p t where especially favorable conditions are afforded certain of them by some dead animal or plant, their general abundanm is indicative ~, f pollution. 'l'his follows nveraccumulation of reducible de osits, i~iitiated by irregular tidal flushing, freshets, and winter icing, and renzring the microenvironment anaerobic. O~trecn edulis and Cm~~sastrea uirginica s u r v i~e temporary exposure to thc direcl: effects of such conditians as well as to near-lethal tempcmtrrms, hut, weakened thereby, become vulnerable to invasion Iyy saprobes Irom the enriched biologkd film. Unless environmental conditions improve before the oysters lose ability to mover, abnormal mortalities will be hastened bv the activities or these microorganisms, notably Ifexu~nita imflala ( I'rotozoa ). lielevan t literature is reviewed, and possible local remedim are ili~cussed. Canadian data are supported by o r i~i d observatiom from W.=iles and Pakistan. Among other new host and locali@ records, CGtispira balbinndi (Spirnchaetales) and cercariae of a bucephalid trematode are lifted from Ostrea beklieri from Karachi. 'Manuscript received December 5, 1960. Contribution from the Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Macdonald College P.O.. Oue.. with financial assistance from the National Research Council of Canada and the ~i s h e r z s ~e s e a r c h Board of Canada. aInstitute of Parasitology, McGill University, Macdonald College. C a n J. Zool. Vol. 39 (1961) Can. J. Zool. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by University of Waterloo on 11/26/14 For personal use only. *Since this went to press my attention has been drawn to a research note by G. F. M. Smith (Science, 84, 157 (1936)) recording 0. stellarum from about 25% of a small collection of female A . vulgaris from Malpeque Bay oyster beds. Can. J. Zool. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by University of Waterloo on 11/26/14 For personal use only. R l : y~~c h u r~a o~t a r rtuJ4rIo (Sto1,es) (33. 47, IlOJ Polvmastldun Uollingerifl dryxdali Kent (65, 71 I l c x i r r~r~l , r inj?otu 13ujordin (16.

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The Effect of Temperature upon the Ingestion of Bacteria by the Clam (Mya Arenaria)

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Self-Purification of the Soft Clam Mya Arenaria

Self-Purification of the Soft Clam Mya Arenaria

Microecological Factors in Oyster Epizootics

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