Morphological development and growth of the freshwater mussel Anodonta woodiana from early juvenile to adult

Abstract

Freshwater mussels of Anodonta woodiana were artificially cultured from newly transformed juveniles (day 0) to the onset of adulthood (day 750). Morphological and organogenic development, growth rates, and biometric relationships were studied during the sequential developmental stages. The most obvious feature of day 0 juveniles was a mobile foot. Adult morphology was apparent after 60 days, and the inner organs were well formed. Annuli were deposited on the shell’s surface in winter. Males and females became sexually mature at approximately 750 days. Early increases in shell size were rapid (0–180 days), whereas between 180 and 750 days, growth rate became slower and stable. The relationship between length (L, mm) and age (t, days) from 0 to 60 days was logistic: L = 21.98/[1 + e−0.067(t − 65.131)] (R2 = 0.955), while the relationship fitted in von Bertalanffy growth equation from 60 to 750 days: L = 58.417[1 − e−0.015(t − 46.782)] (R2 = 0.906). The relationship between length and width was negative allometric, but the relationships between length and height and between width and height were positive allometric. The results can provide a useful basis for further study on A. woodiana and its population restoration through artificial cultivation.