Changes in gape frequency, siphon activity and thermal response in the freshwater bivalves Anodonta cygnea and Margaritifera falcata

Physiologically-driven rhythms in bivalve molluscs are predicted to vary as a function of metabolic rate and temperature, in contrast to genetically predisposed biological clocks. These rhythms can be evaluated using long-term video monitoring techniques under controlled conditions in laboratory aquaria. The bivalves Anodonta cygnea and Margaritifera falcata were used to evaluate the effect of temperature on rhythms in gape and the formation of siphons at the mantle edge. Frequency and duration of shell closure vary with temperature in both species, but with different responses. Mean duration of intervals of valve closure decreases as temperature rises in both species, and is consistent with physiological limitation by increased biological oxygen demand. For A. cygnea, cumulative gape duration peaks at 25°C, with less time spent closed than at any other temperature, but increasing temperatures correspond to an increase in gape frequency with a strong increase observed at 31°C. In contrast, frequency of adduction and valve closure peak at 25°C in M. falcata, and continuous gaping is observed above 29.5°C. This physiological stress is consistent with evidence from sclerochronologically-calibrated stable isotope studies of shells, where growth breaks in many marine taxa coincide with maximum temperatures above 31°C as derived for δ 18 O carbonate . The results of this study suggest that these growth breaks may be due to physiological limitations in oxygen uptake and metabolic activity, rather than being a direct consequence of elevated temperature alone.