Pearl oysters Pinctada margaritifera grazing on natural plankton in Ahe atoll lagoon (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia).

In atoll lagoons of French Polynesia, growth and reproduction of pearl oysters are mainly driven by plankton concentration. However, the actual diet of black-lip pearl oysters Pinctada margaritifera in these lagoons is poorly known. To fill this gap, we used the flow through chamber method to measure clearance rates of P.

Influence of plankton concentration on gametogenesis and spawning of the black lip pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera in Ahe atoll lagoon (Tuamotu Archipelago, French polynesia).

Pearl culture industry represents one of the dominant business sector of French Polynesia. However, it still entirely relies on unpredictable spat collection success. Our aim was to assess the influence of natural plankton concentration fluctuations on maturation and spawning of the black lip pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera, during a 4 months survey conducted in Ahe atoll lagoon.

Reproductive and larval cycle of the scallop Argopecten purpuratus (Ostreoida: Pectinidae), during El Niño-La Niña events and normal weather conditions in Antofagasta, Chile.

Seasonality, amplitude, and magnitude of spawning events were determined for Argopecten purpuratus in the La Rinconada marine reserve, Antofagasta, Chile, between December 1995 and January 2004. During the same period, samples of scallop larvae were obtained in vertical plankton hauls recovered within this reserve in an area routinely exposed to circular, gyre-like currents which helped retain the larvae within the bay. The reproduction of this population in normal or cool (e.

Demonstration of nutrient pathway from the digestive system to oocytes in the gonad intestinal loop of the scallop Pecten maximus L.

The mechanism of nutrient transfer from the digestive system to the gonad acini and developing oocytes was investigated in the gonad-intestinal loop system of the queen scallop Pecten maximus L. Ferritin was injected directly into the purged intestine of specimens from the wild. Subsequently, a histochemical reaction and transmission electron microscopy were used to localize ferritin in various cell types.

Induction of glutathione-S-transferases in primary cultured digestive gland acini from the mollusk bivalve Pecten maximus (L.): application of a new cellular model in biomonitoring studies.

In the last three decades, marine invertebrates have been used to monitor environmental health conditions and potential pollution, e.g. in the Mussel Watch Program.

Molecular analysis of the seasonal expression of genes coding for different functional markers of the digestive gland of the bivalve mollusk Pecten maximus (L.).

Digestive gland cells of Pecten maximus accumulate and release lipid storage according to a seasonal cycle. For the first time in molluscs, molecular probes were developed and applied to monitor the lipid accumulation and consumption cycle related to phytoplankton blooms and phenomena of cellular proliferation and apoptosis. The molecular probes consisted of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD), which is involved in the acetylation of fatty acids; aldolase, which favours the formation of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone; actin, an essential element of the cytoskeleton that disappears during adipocyte cell transformation; and cycline B, an ubiquitous cell cycle protein.