Recherche d'un test permettant de comparer l'activité respiratoire des huitres au cours de l'évolution de la maladie des branchies

Besides the complex equipment used for measuring the oysters' filtration rates and the intensity of their respiratory phenomena, there are simpler methods that make it possible to study in a relative way the variations of these essential functions of the lamellibranchia according to their physiological state and environmental conditions. Vital stains were often used for this purpose. H.A. COLE and B.T. HEPPER (1954) advocate the use of neutral red for comparative studies of filtration in Mytilus edulis infested with Mytilicola intestinalis; G.D. WAUGH and D. KEY (1957) tested rhodamine B on Mercenaria mercenaria and Ostrea edulis. Since we were trying to determine what could be the consequences of the alteration of Crassostrea angulata L.'s gills caused by an undetermined parasite, we thought that methylene blue could furnish important readings about the intensity of the respiratory phenomena of the diseased Portuguese oyster.