RECENT TRENDS IN BIOMINERALIZATION AND SHELL FORMATION AMONG TROPICAL AQUATIC MOLLUSCS: AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION BASED ON THERMODYNAMIC FEASIBILTY OF MINERAL DEPOSITION
CYRIL AUGUSTINE *
Department of Chemistry, St. Berchmans College, Changanacherry, Kottayam, Kerala, India
S. VISHNU SANKAR
Department of Chemistry, NSS Hindu College, Changanacherry, Kerala, India
RENIMOL RAJU
Department of Zoology, St. Berchmans College, Changanacherry, Kerala, India
JAMES BABEN GEORGE
Department of Chemistry, St. Berchmans College, Changanacherry, Kottayam, Kerala, India
M. C. MARY
Department of Chemistry, Nirmalagiri College, Kuthuparambu, Kerala, India
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The chemistry of aqueous systems has undergone profound changes over the course of geological time in response to the global climate change. It is observed that deviations in hydro-chemical parameters of the aqueous environment indirectly affect the rate of biological calcification and shell formation in molluscs and consequently their populations. In this paper the factors controlling the biochemistry of calcification by molluscs in a selected tropical brackish water region is studied using empirical data. Observations in the field suggest that once the thermodynamic feasibility of calcium carbonate precipitation is prevented in a given aqueous environment the populations of molluscs may face extirpation or local extinction in those geographic zones.
Keywords: Extinction, mollusks, biological calcification, biomineralization, shell formation, extirpation, local extinction