Applicability of the gape monitor to study flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) feeding behaviour
Date | 2022 |
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Temporal extent | 2018-08-05 -2021-06-21 |
Author(s) | Tonk Linda3, Witbaard Rob![]() ![]() ![]() |
Affiliation(s) | 1 : Wageningen Marine Research, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 77, 4400 AB Yerseke, The Netherlands 2 : Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ; Netherlands Institute for Sea Research PO Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, The Netherlands 3 : Marine Animal Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, PO Box 226, 6700 AE Wageningen, the Netherlands |
DOI | 10.17882/92105 |
Publisher | SEANOE |
Keyword(s) | Ostrea edulis, oyster reef restoration, North Sea, valve gape monitor, Voordelta |
Abstract | Innovative techniques are needed to assess oyster performance in flat oyster reef restoration projects. A valve gape monitor, a device that continuously measures opening and closing of live bivalves, can potentially be used as an effective method to determine survival and behaviour of the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis. The method has been successfully used in combination with a number of bivalve species to investigate valve gape activity in response to environmental factors. In this study, eight O. edulis were equipped with valve gape sensors in order to relate gape to environmental conditions such as food availability. Valve gape activity was monitored under controlled laboratory conditions, with and without food, in a concrete basin in the Oosterschelde and in the field (Voordelta, Dutch North Sea). Under controlled laboratory conditions, oysters clearly responded to changes in food availability. Starved oysters closed their valves significantly longer than oysters that received food, and the relative gape width in fed oysters were larger. In the concrete basin (Oosterschelde), a positive correlation between valve opening and Chlorophyll-a was found. Additionally, valve gape activity and tidal movement appeared to be linked. When exposed to a full tidal cycle (Voordelta), a negative correlation between valve opening and Chlorophyll-a was found. However, there was no correlation between valve gape and current velocity. In autumn, longer periods of inactivity were seen, but when valves opened, the valve gape was larger. These data indicate that valve gape can provide valuable information on behaviour (gape frequency and gape width), but also show that it is not necessarily a good proxy for feeding rate. Nevertheless, these results show that the gape monitor can be used to determine the natural behaviour of flat oysters under field conditions, and that gape opening provides information on behaviour and the stress response of bivalves to environmental conditions. |
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Acknowledgements | This work was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality for the purposes of Knowledge Based Research (Theme ‘Natuurinclusieve windparken' project no. KB 33-004-003 and the Theme ‘Marine Resources in Circular Climate Smart Food Systems’ project no. KB 34-001-002). We acknowledge JIP ECO-FRIEND (RVO reference number TEWZ118017) Top Sector Energy Subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Affairs for funding parts of this research. We would like to thank Joost Bergsma from Waardenburg Ecology, Oscar Bos and Joop Coolen from Wageningen Marine Research for their help with deployment and retrieval of the valve gape monitor. |
Sensor metadata |
Scripts: klepstand_betonbak.R – script to process raw data from the betonbak experiment Klepstand_fed_starved_experiment.R – script to process the raw data from the feeding/starvation lab experiment klepstand_Voordelta_experiment.R – script to process the raw data from the Voordelta (spring/autumn) experiment Klepstand_final_data_processing.R – script to further process the post-processed data files Klepstand_Figures for publication.R – script to make plots for the publication (Figures 3 – 10, Supplemental Figure 5)
Raw data files Feeding/starvation experiment: 07#Oysters_05092018-12092018.DAT –gape measurements Aanwezig klimaatkamer klepstandmonitor_compleet.txt – date/time information of the gape measurements
Betonbak experiment Klepstand_betonbak.DAT – gape measurements Chlorofyl klepstand 08052020-10152020.csv – chlorophyll, turbidity and temperature measurements
Voordelta experiment Voordelta juni 2021.DAT – gape measurements from the spring Voordelta februari 2020.DAT – gape measurements from the autumn Chl 20210510_0900_ACLW-USB_0753_103456_A.csv - chlorophyll, turbidity and temperature measurements from spring Chl data voordelta1_winter.csv - chlorophyll, turbidity and temperature measurements from autumn Data Aquadopp klepstand voordelta 20-07-2021.csv – flow measurements from the spring data aquadopp klepstand_winter.csv – flow measurements from the autumn
Tidal information downloaded from the Rijkswaterstaat NVT_WATHTBRKD_YERSKE.csv – data from Yerseke buoy (match with the Betonbak experiment) NVT_WATHTBRKD_ROOMPBTN_autumn.csv – data from Roompot buoy (match with the autumn Voordelta experiment) NVT_WATHTBRKD_ROOMPBTN_spring.csv – data from Roompot buoy (match with the spring Voordelta experiment) |
Data |