3 documents found, page 1 of 1
Deciphering mollusc shell production: the roles of genetic mechanisms through t...
Clark, Melody S.; Peck, Lloyd S.; Arivalagan, Jaison; Backeljau, Thierry; Berland, Sophie; Cardoso, João CR; Caurcel, Carlos; Chapelle, GauthierMost molluscs possess shells, constructed from a vast array of microstructures and architectures. The fully formed shell is composed of calcite or aragonite. These CaCO3 crystals form complex biocomposites with proteins, which although typically less than 5% of total shell mass, play significant roles in determining shell microstructure. Despite much research effort, large knowledge gaps remain in how molluscs ...
Occurrence and characterization of pearls from oysters of the genus Crassostrea
Batista, Frederico; Grade, Ana; Power, Deborah; Ruano, Francisco; Harper, Elizabeth M.The occurrence of pearls in the true' oysters, the Ostreioidea, is poorly documented despite being the most produced mollusc species in the world. Oysters of the Crassostrea genus were collected in two different sites in southern Portugal where both Crassostrea angulata and C. gigas are present, namely in: (1) the Ria Formosa lagoon where pearls were not observed (N = 446); and (2) the Guadiana estuary where pe...
Acidification effects on biofouling communities: winners and losers
Peck, Lloyd S.; Clark, Melody S.; Power, Deborah; Reis, Joao; Batista, Frederico; Harper, Elizabeth M.How ocean acidification affects marine life is a major concern for science and society. However, its impacts on encrusting biofouling communities, that are both the initial colonizers of hard substrata and of great economic importance, are almost unknown. We showed that community composition changed significantly, from 92% spirorbids, 3% ascidians and 4% sponges initially to 47% spirorbids, 23% ascidians and 29...