Psammophilic bivalves of the Azov Sea. Donax trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758)

¹ Vocational Education Program, Kerch State Maritime Technological University, 82, Ordzhonikidze Street, Kerch, 298309, Russia
² Vocational Education Program, Kuban State Agrarian University, Scientific Research Institute of Biotechnology and Certification of Food-stuff Production, 13, St. Kalinin, Krasnodar, 350044, Russia

^* Corresponding author: olha98306@yandex.ru

Abstract

Typical members of the psammophilic fauna of bivalve mollusks inhabiting the coastal zone of the Kerch Strait (the waters of the Sea of Azov) are species of the family Donacidae (Linnaeus, 1758). It is noted that in recent years there has been a restoration of the populations of Donax trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Donax semistriatus (Poli, 1795). The paper presents the results of studies of the length-weight composition, features of the reproductive cycle, technochemical composition and nutritional value of D. trunculus as the dominant species in 2023-2024. The length of the mollusk shells varied within the range of 14.0–37.0 mm, height – 10.5–23.0 mm, average weight (4.99 ± 0.04) g, flesh yield – 13.4%, the valves account 65.7% of the total weight of the mollusk. Correlations were found between the length and weight, the length and weight of soft tissues, and between the mollusk weight and the weight of soft tissues; the correlation coefficients (R) were 0.99, 0.98, and 0.99, respectively. The results of the studies of the chemical composition and energy value showed that D. trunculus flesh is low in calories, containing 74.8% of absolute value of protein substances, with valine and histidine being the limiting essential amino acids. The mollusk flesh has a high iodine content of 0.042% (RDI: 130-200 μg/day).