Inter-Research
Marine Ecology Progress Series

ABSTRACT: Exposure of Mytilus edulis L. (Mollusca: Bivalvia) to 8 ppb (ppb = ug l^-1) added copper during the veliger larval or post-larval (spat) stages has no significant effects on survivorship or shell growth. However, previous exposure to 8 ppb added copper during the embryo stage significantly increases veliger growth rate and decreases spat survivorship in a population from the Menai Strait, Wales, UK, in which this level of copper causes a significant increase in embryo abnormality. No such effects of pre-exposure are seen in a population from the Westerschelde, The Netherlands, where 8 ppb added copper does not constitute a stress on the embryo. These 'pre-incubation' (embryo exposure) effects far outweigh any direct influence of 8 ppb copper exposure during the later stages and have a substantial effect on estimates of the toxicity of copper over the life cycle of M. edulis.

KEY WORDS: Mussels . Larvae . Copper . Pollution . Pre-exposure . Long-term . Mytilus edulis . The Netherlands . United Kingdom

Published in MEPS Vol. 120 (1995) on April 20
Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599. Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 1995