Influence of temperature on the physiological responses of the bivalve Brachidontes striatulus and its significance in fouling control

Heat treatment offers an alternative method of fouling control to chlorination in power plants. In order to optimise such a procedure it is important to understand the responses of fouling organisms to elevated water temperatures. In this paper we report results of experiments on the lethal and sub-lethal effects of temperature on the bivalve Brachidontes striatulus, which is one of the major foulants in the process seawater heat exchangers of Madras Atomic Power Station located at Kalpakkam, on the east coast of India. The important physiological activities, such as, oxygen consumption, filtration rate, byssus thread production and faecal matter production were studied at temperatures varying from 20 to 38 °C. Three different size groups [3–5 mm shell length (group 1), 6–10 mm (group 2), 11–15 mm (group 3)] of B. striatulus were used for the experiments. The results showed physiological activities were maximum at 35 °C, minimum at 20 and 38 °C. Physiological activities increased with size except for byssus thread production, which did not show any trend. Survival times showed a reduction from 30 h at 39 °C to < 1 h at 45 °C and were independent of body size.