Burrowing responses of the short-neck clam Ruditapes philippinarum to sediment contaminants

摘要

The burrowing responses of a common tropical bivalve, the short-neck clam Ruditapes philippinarum, to cadmium(Cd)-spiked sediment, variations of sediment grain size and natural sediments collected from 15 locations in Hong Kong's inshore waters were investigated through a series of laboratory tests. Results showed that the burrowing response exhibited a negative relationship with an increase in Cd concentration in the spiked sediments. The level of Cd was also found to be directly proportional to the percent mortality of the clam. However, there was no significant difference(p > 0.05)in the time elapsed for the clam to burrow into sed- iments with different grain size composition.