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The benthic sea-silk-thread displacement of a sessile bivalve, Pinctada imbricata radiata (Leach, 1819) in the Arabian-Persian Gulf

journal contribution
submitted on 2024-03-06, 06:40 and posted on 2024-03-10, 08:23 authored by Bruno Welter Giraldes, Alexandra Leitão, David Smyth

A number of molluscs within the Class Bivalvia are defined by their ability to secrete fine silk like threads known as byssus which are used to anchor themselves to solid substrates. With relatively few exceptions the majority of these species remain in a sedentary state throughout their life attached via their byssal threads. However, observations of adult Pinctada imbricata radiata pearl oysters made during this study revealed this species’ ability to implement active movement. Byssal threads were secreted in a sequence of attachment and detachment phases, which resulted in the active displacement of the oyster. The oyster was observed, in the laboratory over a 9 day period, travelling a distance of 28cm in a horizontal path. After horizontal displacement, a vertical climbing phase was observed until the oyster reached the water surface at which point the byssus was discarded and the animal dropped, drifting in accordance with water current intensity. It is possible that these adaptations of byssal use are a result of environmentally induced evolutionary change within P. i. radiata.

Other Information

Published in: PLOS ONE
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215865

Funding

Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Publication Year

  • 2019

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • Qatar University
  • Environmental Science Center - QU

Geographic coverage

Arabian and Persian Gulf

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