RT Journal Article
T1 Who wins in the weaning process? Juvenile feeding morphology of two freshwater mussel species
T2 Morfología de la alimentación de los juveniles de dos especies de náyades
A1 Araujo, Rafael
A1 Campos, Miguel
A1 Feo, Carles
A1 Varela Dopico, Catuxa
A1 Soler, Joaquín
A1 Ondina Navarret, María Paz
K1 Biodiversity conservation
K1 Development
K1 Juvenile mortality
K1 Metamorphosis
AB The global decline of freshwater mussels can be partially attributed to their complex life cycle. Their survival from glochidium to adulthood is like a long obstacle race, with juvenile mortality as a key critical point. Mass mortality shortly after entering into a juvenile state has been reported in both wild and captive populations, thus weakening the effective bivalve population. A similar phenomenon occurs during metamorphosis in natural and hatchery populations of juvenile marine bivalves. Based on a morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy of newly formed juveniles of the freshwater species Margaritifera margaritifera (L.)(Margaritiferidae) and Unio mancus Lamarck (Unionidae), we show that a second metamorphosis, consisting of drastic morphological changes, occurs that leads to suspension feeding in place of deposit feeding by the ciliated foot. We hypothesize that suspension feeding in these two species improves due to a gradual development of several morphological features including the contact between cilia of the inner gill posterior filaments, the inner gill reflection, the appearance of the ctenidial ventral groove and the formation of the pedal palps. Regardless of the presence of available food, a suspension feeding mode replaces deposit feeding, and juveniles unable to successfully transition morphologically or adapt to the feeding changes likely perish.
PB Wiley
YR 2018
FD 2018
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/31901
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/31901
LA eng
NO Araujo R., Campos M., Feo C., Varela C., Soler J., Ondina P. (2017). Who wins in the weaning process? Juvenile feeding morphology of two freshwater mussel species. Journal of morphology, 279 (1): 4-16.
NO This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Araujo, R; Campos, M., Feo, C., Varela, C., Soler, J., Ondina, P. (2020). Who wins in the weaning process? Juvenile feeding morphology of two freshwater mussel species. Journal of Morphology, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.20748. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.
NO The culture of M. margaritifera was funded by the LIFE-Margal Ulla (LIFE09 NAT/ES/000514) and rearing was achieved at the Veral rearing facility (Consellería de Medio Ambiente, Xunta de Galicia). The rearing of U. mancus was carried out at the Laboratory of breeding of freshwater mussels of the lake of Banyoles (Consorci de l’Estany) under the LIFE-Potamo Fauna (LIFE12 NAT/ES/001091). This study was made possible by the networking of the two aforementioned LIFE projects co-financed by the European Commission.
DS Minerva
RD 22 abr 2026