| The influence on the feeding physiology (clearance, filtration, ingestion, absorption) of the Japanese oyster Crassostrea gigas of low concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM ranging from 2 to 20 mg.l-l) and high food quality (mean organic fraction =54 %) was studied in the laboratory. Experimental diets were made up with three strains of the "blue diatom" Haslea ostrearia, which is responsible of the greening of oyster-ponds. The strains were characterized by different sizes (48, 65 and 98 µm respectively) but possessed the same density and biochemical composition. Clearance rate was found constant at 2.2 1.h(-l).g-l dry weight and therefore was not influenced by increasing seston load. Pseudofaeces production was observed for SPM... |
