Respiratory time activity of the Japanese oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg)

• Published in: Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology Vol. 219; no. 1; pp. 205 - 216
• Main Authors: Bougrier, S, Collet, B, Geairon, P, Geffard, O, Héral, M, Deslous-Paoli, J.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.01.1998; Elsevier
• Subjects: Continuous monitoring system; Crassostrea gigas; Life Sciences; Marine; Oxygen uptake; Oysters; Respiratory time activity; Continuous monitoring system; Oysters; Oxygen uptake; Respiratory time activity; Crassostrea gigas
• ISSN: 0022-0981; 1879-1697
• DOI: 10.1016/S0022-0981(97)00181-0

A continuous monitoring system has been developed to measure the respiratory time activity (RTA) of the oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg). This activity was recorded over 24 h using this technique, at constant temperatures of 15 and 21°C in the laboratory. At 21°C, respiratory activity was measured before and after a period of starvation, during which spawning occurred. In the field, RTA was measured during two successive tidal cycles of a day. The respiratory time activity was defined as the percentage of time spent active by the oyster relative to the total experimental time. Important individual variability was noticed, percentage of time spent active ranged from 0 (RTA=0%) to 100% (RTA=100%). RTA measured on the whole experimental population, taking into account active and non-active oysters, varied from 52 to 86% under laboratory conditions and, according to the season, from 44 to 82% in the field. Considering only the active oysters (RTA>0%) which represented, according to the different experiments, from 75 to 100% of the studied population, RTA varied from 54 to 86% in the laboratory and from 59 to 94% in the field experiments. The influence of RTA on growth predictions is discussed.