Equilibrio ácido-base durante la exposición aérea en el molusco bivalvo Perumytilus purpuratus (Lamarck, 1819) (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) Acid-base balance during air exposure in the bivalve mollusk Perumytilus purpuratus (Lamarck, 1819) (Bivalvia: Mytilidae)

For effects of tidal rhythms, intertidal bivalves are exposed to prolonged daily emersion periods during low tide. As a response to air exposure, the mussel Perumytilus purpuratus (Lamarck, 1819) closes its valves and shifts its metabolism to anaerobic pathways by the interruption of the oxygen flux. Consequently, body fluids low their pH causing the CaCO3 disolution of the shell, which would act as a pH buffer. In this study, the role of shell CaCO3 in the regulation of internal homeostasis at different periods of aerial exposure was evaluated. We measured the variation of pH, Ca 2+ and