Adult Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) May Have Light Sensitivity.

• Published in: PLOS ONE
• Main Authors: Changlu Wu, Jiao Wang, Yanjian Yang, Zhuang Li, Ting Guo, Yongchuan Li, Xiaotong Wang
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; Pacific; Crassostrea gigas; Pacific oyster
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140149; https://doaj.org/article/8be37ec2ff9c413ebdf9083543b0bee0

Light-sensitivity is an important aspect of mollusk survival as it plays a vital role in reproduction and predator avoidance. In the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas light sensitivity has been demonstrated in the larval stage but has not yet been conclusively demonstrated in adult oysters. In this paper we describe an experiment which was undertaken to determine if adult Pacific oysters were sensitive to light. One LED flashlight was used to shine light onto adult oysters while they were filtering seawater through their shell openings. We found that the degree of opening increased gradually during the light period but rapidly decreased when the flashlight was turned off in the treated group but not in the control group. These results suggest that adult Pacific oyster may be sensitive to light.