Regularities of the Shell Length to the Individual Weight Ratio in Mollusks of the Genus Dreissena (Dreissenidae, Bivalvia) in Volgograd Reservoir

Abstract

Regression analysis of the size and weight structure of dreissenids (D. bugensis and D. polymorpha) from the Volgograd Reservoir has been carried out. The power-dependence parameters in the resulting equation are different for the two studied mollusk species (W = 0.036L^3.33 for D. bugensis and W = 0.064L^3.32) for D. polymorpha. The established regression relationship between the individual body weight (W) and the shell length of the mollusk (L) has a high degree of correlation R² = 0.96 at a significance level of p = 0.01. The results can be used for reconstructing the individual weight of mollusks from the shell length during trophological studies in Lower Volga reservoirs.