The cardiac responses to shell opening and closure in the bivalve Arctica islandica (L.)

Abstract

Shell closure in Arctica islandica is followed by an exponential decrease in the oxygen tension of the mantle cavity water and is accompanied by an initial increase in heart rate which is followed at lower oxygen tensions by a bradycardia. Prior to shell opening there is a slight increase in heart rate before any movement of the shell valves can be detected. However, once the shell opens and pumping activity recommences there is a rapid increase in heart rate, often to levels above normal. Perfusion of the mantle cavity with water of high and low oxygen tension resulted in the cardiac responses normally associated with shell opening and closure. Recordings of the PO2 of the blood in the ventricle, made simultaneously with cardiac recordings, showed that the changes in heart rate were recorded only after the PO2 of the blood had changed. These experiments suggest that changes in the PO2 of the mantle cavity water may be primarily responsible for the cardiac responses to shell closure in Arctica.