The Rôle of Copper in the Setting and Metamorphosis of the Oyster

Natural spat collecting in the pacific oystercrassostrea gigas(thunberg)

“…Salinity: The range of suitable salinity variation for Crassostrea gigas is fairly wide, depending on sea temperature. The general trend is for the range to widen with lower Downloaded by [McGill University Library] at 23:46 03 February 2015 (Prytherch, 1934). 1-2 Free-swimming larva with velum extended; 3-4 Pediveliger with velum and foot extended, seeking a settling site; 5-7 Velum retracted, larva moves on foot; 8 Site selected, anchored by byssal threads, exuding cement for attachment; 9-10 Young oysters, one to two days after attachment.…”

The Copper Content and Copper Tolerance of Some Species of Mollusks of the Southern California Coast

“…These investigators found wide variations in the copper concentration of some of the species they studied, and Hiltner and Wichmann (1919) point out that both copper and zinc can be absorbed and retained in the tissues of oysters in much larger quantities than is needed for normal metabolism. Prytherch (1931) obtained evidence that copper is required for the attachment, metamorphosis, and survival of the oyster. Orton (1924) examined the English oyster for this element and mentions the poisonous effects on marine life of excess copper in sea water.…”

Novel Insights into the Role of Copper in Critical Life Stages of Oysters Revealed by High-Resolution NanoSIMS Imaging

“…However, the related evidence is very limited. Two earlier studies found that Cu is essential to activate the pigment spot cells in mature pediveliger of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica during metamorphosis and suggested that the bioavailability of Cu was significantly correlated with the recruitment and distribution of eastern oysters in the field. , As mentioned above, pediveliger was the last pelagic stage of oysters before metamorphosis, and the loss of the ciliated larval feeding organ velum is the first gross morphological indication of the transition from pelagic larvae to sessile adult . Similarly, rapid proliferation of the gill filament along with the change from the velum to gill as the feeding and respiration organ is the most prominent feature of early benthic development of molluscs. , Thus, the subcellular distribution of Cu in the velum of pediveliger and gill tissue of early settled spats was further investigated by NanoSIMS imaging to explore the specific functions of Cu during these critical life stages (pediveliger and early settled spat).…”