Gustafson Lori L, Stoskopf Michael K, Bogan Arthur E, Showers William, Kwak Thomas J, Hanlon Shane, Levine Jay F
Environmental Medicine Consortium, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Box 8401, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606, USA.
Dis Aquat Organ. 2005 Jun;65(2):159-65. doi: 10.3354/dao065159.
Hemolymph, the circulatory fluid of bivalves, transports nutrients, respiratory gases, enzymes, metabolic wastes, and toxicants throughout the body. Hemolymph can provide information pertinent to health assessment of animals or populations, but is not commonly used in freshwater bivalves partly because of the lack of tested, practical techniques for its nonlethal collection. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of hemolymph collection on the growth and survival of Elliptio complanata, a freshwater bivalve (Unionidae). We describe a simple technique for the collection of hemolymph from the anterior adductor muscle sinus of E. complanata. To evaluate the effect of hemolymph sampling on mussel survival and growth, 30 mussels sampled using the technique and 30 unsampled controls were followed for 3 mo post collection. Nine animals were sampled 3 times over 7 mo to monitor effects of repeated sampling. No negative impacts on survival or growth were observed in either the singly or repeatedly sampled animals. We also compared the composition of hemolymph collected from the adductor muscle sinus with that collected from the ventricle of the heart. Calcium levels and cell count of hemolymph obtained from the adductor sinus and ventricle were significantly different. There was no significant difference between collection sites for magnesium, phosphorus, ammonia, protein, sodium, potassium, or chloride. We conclude that collection of hemolymph from the adductor sinus is safe for sampled E. complanata and should be explored as a relatively non-invasive, and potentially useful, approach to the evaluation of freshwater mussel health.
血淋巴是双壳贝类的循环液体，可在全身输送营养物质、呼吸气体、酶、代谢废物和有毒物质。血淋巴能够提供与动物或种群健康评估相关的信息，但在淡水双壳贝类中并不常用，部分原因是缺乏经过测试的、实用的非致死性采集技术。本研究的目的是评估血淋巴采集对淡水双壳贝类椭圆萝卜螺（Elliptio complanata，蚌科）生长和存活的影响。我们描述了一种从椭圆萝卜螺前闭壳肌窦采集血淋巴的简单技术。为了评估血淋巴采样对贻贝存活和生长的影响，在采集后对30只采用该技术采样的贻贝和30只未采样的对照贻贝进行了3个月的跟踪观察。在7个月内对9只动物进行了3次采样，以监测重复采样的影响。在单次或重复采样的动物中均未观察到对存活或生长的负面影响。我们还比较了从闭壳肌窦采集的血淋巴与从心脏心室采集的血淋巴的成分。从闭壳肌窦和心室获得的血淋巴中的钙水平和细胞计数存在显著差异。镁、磷、氨、蛋白质、钠、钾或氯的采集部位之间没有显著差异。我们得出结论，从闭壳肌窦采集血淋巴对采样的椭圆萝卜螺是安全的，应作为一种相对非侵入性且可能有用的评估淡水贻贝健康的方法进行探索。
