Studying effects of some surfactants and detergents on filter-feeding bivalves

Abstract

Effects of several surfactants and chemical mixtures on marine bivalves were studied. An anionic surfactant, sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS), and a cationic surfactant, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TDTMA), inhibited the filtering activity of oysters (Crassostrea gigas). Similar effects were exhibited by some chemical mixtures that included surfactants. Those mixtures inhibited the filtering activity of Crassostrea gigas and Mytilus galloprovincialis. The new results are in agreement with the author's previous experiments, where a number of xenobiotics and/or pollutants inhibited the filtering activity of several species of marine and freshwater bivalves, e.g., it had been shown that SDS inhibited filtering activity of Mytilus edulis (e.g., Ostroumov, 2000c, 2001a). This experimental approach is helpful in assessment of environmental hazards from man-made chemicals that can contaminate marine systems.