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Biol Bull 107: 174-191. (October 1954)
© 1954 Marine Biological Laboratory
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THE RHYTHMIC ACTIVITY OF THE QUAHOG, VENUS MERCENARIA, AND ITS MODIFICATION BY LIGHT

MIRIAM F. BENNETT 1

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass.

1. Continuous kymograph recordings of the opening and closing of the valves of common quahogs, Venus mercenaria, secured from the Virginia coast and from Woods Hole, Massachusetts were made during February, March, April, June, and December, 1953.

2. The activity records of these clams maintained under constant laboratory conditions show a persisting diurnal rhythm with maxima and minima occurring in the afternoon and early morning, respectively. There is some evidence that the pattern of the diurnal cycle varies with the time of year.

3. A persisting tidal rhythm is also evident. In the group of animals for which correlations with actual tidal phases could be made, it was seen that the times of minimal activity in this cycle correspond closely with the times of low tide in the area from which the animals were collected.

4. The summation of these two cycles, diurnal and tidal, is responsible for an observed lunar cycle. The phases of the lunar cycle are probably set directly by the tides to which the animals are exposed rather than by any direct lunar influence.

5. The rhythms of a group of clams that was exposed to darkness during the day (8 A.M. to 8 P.M.) and to an illumination of 100 ft. c. during the night (8 P.M. to 8 A.M.) for five consecutive 24-hour periods show shifts in their cycles when compared to those of control animals. The shifts are such that the phases of the diurnal rhythm occurred one hour earlier than those of the controls; the phases of the tidal cycle occurred about 20 hours earlier than those of the controls; and the phases of the long-cycle rhythm were, in consequence, 25 days ahead of those of the controls.

6. The manner in which these shifts of the phases of the cycles are related is discussed and illustrated.

7. Adaptive significances of these persistent rhythms in these clams are suggested.




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J. Gordon, J. GORDON, and M. R. CARRIKER
Growth Lines in a Bivalve Mollusk: Subdaily Patterns and Dissolution of the Shell
Science, November 3, 1978; 202(4367): 519 - 521.
[Abstract] [PDF]


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Copyright © 1954 by the Marine Biological Laboratory.