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Anaerobic Metabolism Of The Ribbed Mussel, Geukensia Demissa, Ming-Shan Ho

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The anaerobic metabolism of the intertidal ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa (= Modiolus demissus), is reported in this dissertation. This mollusc was selected because anaerobic metabolism is believed to be of vital significance to its survival during the air exposure period of the tidal cycle.;Ribbed mussels, Geukensia demissa, were maintained in either aerated or hypoxic water for up to four days. Major metabolites and polysaccharide of each mussel were then analyzed and compared. Succinate, propionate and alanine were found to accumulate hypoxically, but not malate, (alpha)-keto-glutarate and pyruvate. The polysaccharide content of each mussel was quite different and did not show …