Clearance rates of freshwater bivalves Corbicula fluminea and Utterbackia imbecillis in the presence and absence of light

Abstract

Light affects bivalve behavior and gaping activity, but its potential effects on bivalve filtration remain poorly investigated. In this study, clearance rates of two bivalve species: the Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea and the paper pondshell, Utterbackia imbecillis, were assessed in light (6.5 ± 0.5 µmol m−2 s−1) and dark (0.0 µmol m−2 s−1) conditions. We found that clearance rates remained similar between C. fluminea (50 ± 18 mL g−1 h−1) and U. imbecillis (41 ± 10 mL g−1 h−1) during light conditions. However, C. fluminea (110 ± 15 mL g−1 h−1) filtered significantly faster than U. imbecillis (24 ± 6 mL g−1 h−1) in the dark condition (p < 0.05). The results indicated that light might affect the filtration activity in freshwater bivalves differently, depending on species.