| Crassostrea gigas oysters cultivated in Marennes-Oleron Bay (France), face seasonal variations in the environment: salinity, turbidity, phytoplanktonic production, and the tidal rhythm of emersion. The oysters are maintained at different depths to reduce competition for space (e.g. by settlement of mussel spat). The physiological responses of two groups of oysters to different periods of emersion were studied using a seasonal sampling strategy: one group was on a flat part of the area, and the effect of emersion was studied in a short time survey (less than three hours emersion at low tide); the other was located in a very narrow place with a steep slope. This group was subdivided into three, according to bathymetric position, to study the long term effect... |
