Water balance of whole animal, muscle tissue, and muscle cells in the prosobranch gastropod, Acmaea scutum.

Abstract

AbstractThe prosobranch limpet Acmaea scutum is found in both marine and estuarine environments. A number of parameters affect the water balance of this limpet. A. scutum has little control of total water content. Total water changes with season, size of animal, and salinity. Limpets from a marine environment, when immersed in experimental salinities for up to one week, are unable to regulate total body water. Estuarine limpets however, are able to regulate total body water in experimental salinities between 24 and 48 hours immersion. The ability to regulate water content between 24 and 48 hours is probably not important in the estuarine environment. Studies on the effect of field salinity on the water content of estuarine animals show that changes in field salinity of about 15% sea water resulted in significant changes in total body water.Water content of muscle tissue and muscle cells of marine A. scutum, like body water values, conform when external salinity is changed. Estimates of intracellular water per unit of muscle tissue (using inulin space as extracellular space) changed with external salinity from 79.3% at 50% sea water to 57.7% at 125% sea water.