软体动物的生物量常用带壳湿重表示,然而外壳的主要成分是碳酸钙,不宜计为生物量,去壳干重和无灰干重相对更接近真实生物量,但其测量过于繁琐,因此有必要建立一套简单易行的方法对这2种干重生物量进行换算.选择长江流域常见的6种淡水螺类(环棱螺、长角涵螺、纹沼螺、大沼螺、方格短沟蜷和萝卜螺),对其螺壳的5个形态参数和带壳干湿重与去壳干重和无灰干重的关系进行了研究.结果表明:这6种螺类的5个形态参数与去壳干重和无灰干重的回归关系均为指数式(y=axb),其中,壳宽和壳长的换算效果(预测值与实测值间的百分误差率均值分别为22.0%和22.5%)好于其他参数;带壳湿重可通过方程直接换算为去壳干重和无灰干重(百分误差率均值为21.7%).从概念的内涵和换算误差表明,无灰干重是表示螺类生物量的最适参数.
Mollusk biomass is usually expressed as wet mass with shell, but this expression fails to represent real biomass due to the high calcium carbonate content in shells. Tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass are relatively close to real biomass. However, the determination process of these two parameters is very complicated, and thus, it is necessary to establish simple and practical conversion methods for these two parameters. A total of six taxa of freshwater snails ( Bellamya sp. , A/ocinma longicornis , Parafossarulus striatulus , Parafossarulus eximius , Semisulcospira cancellata , and Radix sp. ) common in the Yangtze Basin were selected to explore the relations of their five shell dimension parameters, dry and wet mass with shells with their tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass. The regressions of the tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass with the five shell dimension parameters were all exponential (y = ax^b). Among them, shell width and shell length were more precise (the average percentage error between observed and predicted value being 22. 0% and 22. 5%, respectively) than the other three parameters in the conversion of dry mass. Wet mass with shell could be directly converted to tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass, with an average percentage error of 21.7%. According to the essence of definition and the errors of conversion, ash free dry mass would be the optimum parameter to express snail biomass.