Bertalanffy's growth curves of A. anatina duck mussels in 18 Polish lakes with reference to living conditions

1. Post-maturation growth leading to indeterminate growth patterns is widespread in nature. However, its adaptive value is unclear. Life history theory suggests this allocation strategy may be favoured by temporal pulses in the intensity of mortality and/or the capacity to produce new tissues.

2. Addressing the origin of indeterminate growth and the variability of growth patterns, we studied the growth of duck mussels, Anodonta anatina, a pan-European unionid, in 18 Polish lakes. For each population the sex, size and age of collected mussels were measured to estimate Bertalanffy’s growth curve parameters. We integrated information on A. anatina mortality rates, lake trophy, biofouling by zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, and the prevalence of parasitic trematode larvae to identify selective conditions in lakes.

3. We found two sources of mortality in A. anatina populations, pertaining to adverse effects of zebra mussel biofouling and trophy state on mussel survival. Additionall...

1. 成熟后生长所造就的无限生长模式在自然界中广泛存在，但其适应性价值仍不明确。生活史理论（life history theory）指出，这类资源分配策略可能因死亡率强度的时间脉冲式波动，或是新生组织的生成能力而受到自然选择的青睐。
2. 针对无限生长的起源及生长模式的变异问题，我们对18个波兰湖泊中的鸭蚌（Anodonta anatina）——一种泛欧洲分布的珠蚌科（Unionidae）物种——的生长状况展开了研究。我们测定了采集样本的性别、体长与年龄，以估算贝塔朗菲生长曲线（Bertalanffy’s growth curve）参数。我们整合了鸭蚌死亡率、湖泊营养状态、斑马贻贝（Dreissena polymorpha）附着污损，以及寄生吸虫幼虫感染率等信息，以识别各湖泊中的选择压力条件。
3. 我们在鸭蚌种群中发现两类死亡来源，分别与斑马贻贝附着污损和湖泊营养状态对蚌类存活的负面影响相关。此外……