Abstract.Ammonia excretion rate of the marine bivalveTapes decussatus(L.) varied with body weight, temperature and starvation. There was a steady state in the excretion rates, in which these rates neither increased nor decreased during the first 6 days of starvation. The highest rates of ammonia excreted during the steady state (before decline to lower level) depended on the temperature (715 ± 86 and 395 ± 55 μg NH4.N/clam/h × 10−2) at 28°C and 20°C, respectively. At 16°C, the steady state extended from 6h to 18d starvation. Ammonia excretion rates were higher for starved clams than for fed clams at all sizes, e.g. clams of 0·07 g dry flesh weight (28 ± 9 and 13 ± 5 μg NH4.N/clam/h × 10−2respectively) at 16°C but not at 20°C and 28°C. At each temperature, weight‐specific ammonia excretion rates were related to dry flesh weight of starved clams but were not
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