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Brightly coloured tissues in limid bivalves chemically deter predators.

ABSTRACT: Members of the marine bivalve family Limidae are known for their bright appearance. In this study, their colourful tissues were examined as a defence mechanism towards predators. We showed that when attacked by the peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus), the 'disco' clam, Ctenoides ales, opened wide to expose brightly coloured tissues to the predator. The predator also significantly preferred to consume the internal, non-colourful clam tissues than the external, colourful tissues. Mass spectrometry-based metabolomic analysis confirmed that colourful tissues had significantly different chemical compositions than the non-colourful ones. The internal, non-colourful tissues had metabolite profiles more similar to an outgroup bivalve than to the species' own colourful external tissues. A number of the compounds that differentiated the colourful tissues from the non-colourful tissues appeared to be peptide-like, which potentially serve as the underlying defensive compounds. This is the first study demonstrating that colourful bivalve tissues are used for chemical defence.

SUBMITTER: Dougherty LF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6837197 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Brightly coloured tissues in limid bivalves chemically deter predators.

Dougherty Lindsey F LF Niebergall Alexandria K AK Broeckling Corey D CD Schauer Kevin L KL Li Jingchun J

Royal Society open science 20191002 10

Members of the marine bivalve family Limidae are known for their bright appearance. In this study, their colourful tissues were examined as a defence mechanism towards predators. We showed that when attacked by the peacock mantis shrimp (<i>Odontodactylus scyllarus</i>), the 'disco' clam, <i>Ctenoides ales</i>, opened wide to expose brightly coloured tissues to the predator. The predator also significantly preferred to consume the internal, non-colourful clam tissues than the external, colourful ...[more]

PMID: 31824731

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Project description:The construction of the Suez Canal connected the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, which allowed rapid marine bio-invasion. Over the last century, several bivalve species have invaded the Levantine basin, yet their distribution and impact on the benthic community have not been thoroughly studied. Large-scale benthic surveys along the rocky substrate of the Israeli Mediterranean coastline indicate that invading bivalves, such as Spondylus spinosus, Brachidontes pharaonis, and Pinctada radiata, now dominate the rocky environment, with densities of tens to hundreds of individuals per m2. No native bivalve specimens were found in any of the transects surveyed. The small-scale ecological effects of the established invading populations on the benthic community were examined over a year using an in-situ exclusion experiment where all invading bivalves were either physically removed or poisoned and kept in place to maintain the physical effect of the shells. Surprisingly, the experimental exclusion showed a little measurable effect of bivalve presence on the invertebrate community in close vicinity (~ 1 m). Bivalve presence had a small, but statistically significant, effect only on the community composition of macroalgae, increasing the abundance of some filamentous macroalgae and reducing the cover of turf. The generally low impact of bivalves removal could be due to (1) wave activity and local currents dispersing the bivalve excreta, (2) high grazing pressure, possibly by invading herbivorous fish, reducing the bottom-up effect of increased nutrient input by the bivalves, or (3) the natural complexity of the rocky habitat masking the contribution of the increased complexity associated with the bivalve's shell. We found that established invading bivalves have replaced native bivalve species, yet their exclusion has a negligible small-scale effect on the local benthic community.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10530-022-02986-1.

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Brightly coloured tissues in limid bivalves chemically deter predators.

Publications

Brightly coloured tissues in limid bivalves chemically deter predators.

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