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 Hydrobiologia 500: 341344, 2003.
K. Martens (ed.), Aquatic Biodiversity. 341
2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

Studying effects of some surfactants and detergents on filter-feeding

bivalves

S. A. Ostroumov
Moscow State University, Vorobevy gory, Moscow, 119899 Russia

Received 29 April 2003; in revised form 30 April 2003; accepted 30 April 2003

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 authors 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.

Abbreviations: LD liquid detergent; SDS of sodium dodecyl sulfate; TDTMA tetradecyltrimethylammonium

bromide; SD synthetic detergent

Introduction The aim of this study was to determine whether

It has previously been shown that some amphiphilic
chemicals (surfactants) and surfactant-containing
chemical mixtures affect filtering activity of mus-
sels (e.g., Ostroumov et al., 1997, 1998). Taking
into account the ecological importance of this ef-
fect (e.g., Ostroumov, 1998, 2000a,b,c), it was of
interest to broaden the study of this issue and to de-
termine whether some other organisms important for
aquaculture may be affected by those compounds.
It should be underlined that bivalves are among
the most important cultured marine species. The av-
erage annual production of marine bivalves grown in
aquaculture significantly exceed that of marine fish
(9.7-fold) and crustaceans (4-fold) grown in mari-
culture (World Resources. . . , 1994). Owing to the
importance of mariculture, it is necessary to determ-
ine the factors that may disturb some physiological
activities of objects grown in mariculture (including
bivalves) and deteriorate their living and culturing
conditions.
some surfactants and surfactant-containing chemical
mixtures inhibit the filtering activity of the import-
ant bivalve species grown in mariculture, namely the
oyster Crassostrea gigas Thunberg.
The experiments were performed according to
the previously described procedure (Ostroumov et
al.,1998; Ostroumov, 2001a, b) with some slight modi-
fications. The filtration rate was determined by the
decrease in the optical density of the incubation me-
dium at 550 nm as a result of the removal (due to
filtration) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells that were
preliminarily added to the marine water. The con-
centration of S. cerevisiae cells (SAF-Moment, S.I.
Lesaffre, 59703 Marcq-France) was 100 mg l1 (dry
weight). The temperature is indicated in the tables.
The optical density was measured using the SF-26
LOMO spectrophotometer, the optical way length was
10 mm. The average weight of the oysters and the
volume of the incubation medium are indicated in the
notes to the tables. The oysters were grown at the
mariculture farm of the Institute of South Sea Biology
342
Table 1. Inhibition of the C. gigas filtering activity and uptake of unicellular organisms from water by
TDTMA (0.5 mg l1 )

Measurement, Incubation Optical density at 550 nm B/A, %

No. time, min Variant A Variant B Variant C (control, S.
(control, without (with cerevisiae alone,
TDTMA) TDTMA) without bivalves and
TDTMA)

1 5 0.080 0.194 0.307 242.5

2 11 0.043 0.148 0.305 344.2
3 20 0.018 0.137 0.303 761.1

Note: Each experimental beaker contained 10 one-year-old bivalves. Total wet weight of the bivalves
with shells was 47.3 g and 55.2 g in beakers A and B, respectively. Incubation temperature was 27 C.
The volume of the incubation medium was 500 ml.

Table 2. Inhibition of the Crassostrea gigas filtering activity and uptake of unicellular organisms from
water by SDS (0.5 mg l1 )

Measurement, Incubation Optical density at 550 nm B/A, %

No. time, min Variant A Variant B Variant C (control, S.
(control, without (with cerevisiae alone,
SDS) SDS) without bivalves
without SDS)

1 4 0.117 0.181 0.176 154.70

2 12 0.074 0.156 0.179 210.81
3 20 0.048 0.111 0.174 231.25
4 29 0.035 0.074 0.164 211.43

Note: Each experimental beaker contained 16 one-year-old bivalves. The total wet weight of the bi-
valves with shells was 23.5 g and 23.6 g in beakers A and B, respectively. Incubation temperature was
23 C. The volume of the incubation medium was 250 ml.

Table 3. Some chemicals that have an adverse effect on the filtering activity of the bivalves

Measurement Chemical (described Organism Reference

in the text)

1 SDS C. gigas New data

2 TDTMA C. gigas New data
3 SD1 (L) M. galloprovincialis, C. gigas New data
4 LD1 (E) M. galloprovincialis, C. gigas New data
5 LD2 (F) M. galloprovincialis, C. gigas New data
6 SD2 (I) M. galloprovincialis New data
7 SDS M. edulis Ostroumov et al. (1997)
8 SDS M. galloprovincialis Ostroumov (2000c)
10 Triton X-100 M. edulis Ostroumov et al. (1998)
11 Triton X-100 Unio tumidus Ostroumov (2001a)
12 TDTMA U. pictorum Ostroumov (2001a)

(National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and the (TDTMA), several synthetic detergents (SDs), and
State Oceanarium of Ukraine. liquid detergents (LDs) on bivalves. In this paper,
We analysed some effects of sodium dodecyl the following denotations are used: SD1(L), Lanza-
sulfate (SDS), tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide automat (Benckiser); SD2(I), IXI Bio-Plus (Cussons);

Table 4. Filtration of water by bivalves (some examples)
Organism and
measurement unit
Mytilus galloprovincialis, % of
suspension
removal from the 3-m near-bottom water
layer during 6 h
Unioniidae, the volume filtered by the
bivalves of 1 m2 of the bottom, per day
Dreisseniidae,
the volume filtered by the bivalves of
1 m2 of the bottom, per day
Dreisseniidae,% of the filtered volume of
water column per day
LD1 (E), dish washing liquid E (Cussons Interna-
tional, Ltd.); and LD2 (F), dish washing liquid Fairy
(Procter & Gamble, Ltd.).
We discovered that a typical cationic surfactant
containing a tertiary ammonium group, TDTMA, in-
hibited the filtering activity of C. gigas (Table 1). The
optical density of the cell suspension differed from the
control more than twofold 5 min after the addition of
TDTMA. The optical density differed from the control
more than sevenfold (by the factor 7.6) 20 min after
the addition of the cationic surfactant.
SDS is an important anionic surfactant contained
in numerous industrial mixtures that contaminate wa-
ter bodies. We discovered that SDS also inhibits the
filtering activity of C. gigas: after 1229 min of
incubation with SDS, the concentration of the cell sus-
pension differed from the control more than twofold
(Table 2).
Similar results were obtained when some surfactant-
containing mixtures were tested (Table 3). To enable
the comparison and to provide a more comprehens-
ive vision of the problem, Table 3 includes the data
obtained not only with the oysters, but also when
studying some other bivalves important for maricul-
ture, namely, the mussels Mytilus edulis and Mytilus
galloprovincialis.
All experiments showed that the decrease in wa-
ter turbidity due to the filtration by the bivalves was
associated with the formation of pseudofecal pellets,
343
Values measured Comments, references
20% The measurement and estimates
refer to the shelf ecosystem of the
northern Black Sea, taking into
attention the real size structure of
mussel populations (Zaika, 1992)
0.14 m3 m2 day1 The Hudson River estuary (Strayer
et al., 1999)
0.15 m3 m2 day1 Rivers and lakes of North America
(Strayer et al., 1999), a range of
various data
70125% (Strayer et al., 1999), during the
summer vegetation period
which precipitate onto the bottom. When the filtration
rate reduced as a result of the effect of the surfactant
or surfactant-containing mixture, the amount of pellets
decreased.
We would like to emphasise two points concern-
ing the results of this study. First, the inhibitory
effects demonstrated in this study were observed at
the surfactant concentration of 0.5 mg l1 or higher,
which was actually detected in some polluted aquatic
ecosystems (Review on. . . 1976).
Second, the rate of water filtration by invertebrates
is relatively high (Alimov, 1981; Zaika, 1992; Dame,
1996; Strayer et al., 1999; and Table 4). The filtra-
tion of water has some conditioning effect on aquatic
ecosystems (Alimov, 1981; Ostroumov, 2001a, 2002).
The decrease in this effect and filtering activity has
a significant impact on the state of ecosystems. The
biomass of mussels in natural marine habitats in the
Black Sea exceeds 1 kg m2 (Zaika, 1992). The bio-
mass of bivalves in some marine habitats was found
to be up to over 10 kg m2 (with shells) (Ostroumov,
2001a, 2002). In mariculture, the biomass of bivalves
per unit area may be higher, and the effect of filter-
ing activity and its alteration on the ecosystem can
be even more pronounced. Parameters, characterist-
ics, and components of aquatic ecosystems that may
be significantly influenced by the filtering activity of
the bivalves include microzooplankton (the number
and composition), macrozooplankton, phytoplankton,
 344
bacterioplankton, suspended solids, dissolved inor-
ganic nitrogen (DIN), transparency (Secchi discs), and
soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) (Dame, 1996; Os-
troumov et al., 1997; Strayer et al., 1999; Ostroumov,
2000c).
The threat of a disturbance of the filtering activity
should be taken into consideration when the evaluation
is made of the ecological hazard of the chemical pol-
lution of aquatic ecosystems (Yablokov, Ostroumov,
1985, 1991; Ostroumov, 1986, 2001).
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to G.E. Shulman, G.A. Finenko, Z.A.
Romanova, A.A. Soldatov, and other researchers at
INBYuM NANU for their help. The bivalves were
grown by V.I. Kholodov, A.V. Pirkova, and A.Ya. Stol-
bov (INBYuM and the State Oceanarium NANU). We
thank V.D. Fedorov, M.E. Vinogradov, A.F. Alimov,
V.V. Malakhov, E.A. Kriksunov, A.S. Konstantinov,
A.O. Kasumyan, A.P. Kuznetsov, researchers at the
Moscow State University and Russian Academy of
Sciences, participants of the series of conferences on
Aquatic Ecosystems and Organisms (Moscow, 1999
2002), members of ALSO and Consortium for Aquatic
Sciences, and other colleagues for the discussion. This
study was partly supported by RSS, Open Society
Foundation (project no. 1306/1999).
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