Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Variability of Mya arenaria growth along an environmental gradient in the Plum Island Sound estuary, Massachusetts, USA

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Wetlands Ecology and Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An understanding of the environmental factors that determine how clam growth varies in space and time improves effective mariculture and shellfish management. We examined the importance of temperature, salinity and chlorophyll-a in controlling the spatial pattern of Mya arenaria growth, the commercially important soft-shell clam, in the Plum Island Sound estuary in northeastern Massachusetts, USA. We collected clams (>5.08 cm) monthly during the April to November growing season from which we determined growth rate, maximum size (L-infinity), and time to reach a harvestable size. We also surveyed selected sites along the estuary to estimate the relationship between clam size and weight. We collected environmental data along the estuary, and our data were complemented with data collected and maintained by the Plum Island ecosystems long-term ecological research project. Clams reached harvestable size fastest and had the greatest L-infinity at the most oceanic site (Yacht Club) in the estuary. Clams had the smallest L-infinity and were slowest to reach the harvestable size at the least oceanic site (Railroad Meander). The spatial patterns of clam growth were best explained by a positive distribution of salinity. Salinity significantly accounted for 95 % of the spatial variation of clam growth in the estuary. Snow melt in spring increases freshwater input to the estuary and results in the lowest spring salinity during a year, and this explained the upper estuary limit of clam distribution. IPCC-projected climate change will cause sea-level rise and increasing precipitation in the northeastern USA, which will modify the spatial pattern of salinity in the region’s estuaries. Our research therefore suggests that future management of M. arenaria, an important economic resource for the local economy, should be concerned with the changes of salinity distribution under climate and land-use change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allard DJ (1988) Stable isotopic analyses of selected Narragansett Bay molluscs. University of Rhode Island, South Kingstown

    Google Scholar 

  • Appeldoorn RS (1983) Variation in the growth rate of Mya arenaria and its relationship to the environment as analyzed through principal components analysis and the omega parameter of the von Bertalanffy equation [Soft shell clam populations]. Fish Bull USA Natl Mar Fish Serv 81:75–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Arar EJ, Collins GB (1997) Method 445.0: In vitro determination of chlorophyll a and pheophytin a in marine and freshwater algae by fluorescence. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Cincinnati

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker PK, Mann R (1991) Soft Shell Clam Mya arenaria. Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis

    Google Scholar 

  • Belding DL (1930) The soft-shelled clam fishery of Massachusetts: including the natural history of the soft-shelled clam and a discussion of sewage pollution and shellfish. Division of Fisheries and Game Marine Fisheries Section, Department of Conservation, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Beninger PG, Boldina I (2014) Fine-scale spatial distribution of the temperate infaunal bivalve Tapes (= Ruditapes) philippinarum (Adams and Reeve) on fished and unfished intertidal mudflats. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 457:128–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beukema JJ, Cadée GC, Dekker R, Philippart CJM (2014) Annual and spatial variability in gains of body weight in Macoma balthica (L.): relationships with food supply and water temperature. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 457:105–112. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2014.04.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bricker SB, Longstaff B, Dennison W, Jones A, Boicourt K, Wicks C, Woerner J (2008) Effects of nutrient enrichment in the nation’s estuaries: a decade of change. Harmful Algae 8:21–32. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2008.08.028

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brousseau DJ (1978) Spawning cycle, fecundity, and recruitment in a population of soft-shell clam Mya arenaria, from Cape Ann. Mass Fish Bull 76:155–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Brousseau D (1979) Analysis of growth rate in Mya arenaria using the Von Bertalanffy equation. Mar Biol 51:221–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brousseau D, Baglivo J (1991) Disease progression and mortality in neoplastic Mya arenaria in the field. Mar Biol 110:249–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brousseau-Fournier C et al (2013) Role of confounding factors in assessing immune competence of bivalves (Mya arenaria, Mytilus edulis) exposed to pollutants. J Xenobiot 3:2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchsbaum R, Purinton T, Magnuson B (2000) The marine resources of the Parker River-Plum Island Sound Estuary: an update after 30 years. Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, Boston, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Burchell M, Betts M, Patton AK, Schöne B (2014) Preliminatry analysis of stable osygen isotopes and shell growth in the soft-shelled clam Mya arenaria: implications for interpreting seasonality and shellfish harvesting in Port Joli. N S N Atl Archaeol 3:93–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler PA (1953) Oyster growth as affected by latitudinal temperature gradients. Commer Fish Rev 15:7–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmichael RH, Shriver AC, Valiela I (2004) Changes in shell and soft tissue growth, tissue composition, and survival of quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria, and softshell clams, Mya arenaria, in response to eutrophic-driven changes in food supply and habitat. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 313:75–104. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2004.08.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerrato RM, Wallace HVE, Lightfoot KG (1991) Tidal and seasonal patterns in the chondrophore of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria. Biol Bull 181:307–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cespuglio G, Piccinetti C, Longinelli A (1999) Oxygen and carbon isotope profiles from Nassa mutabilis shells (Gastropoda): accretion rates and biological behaviour. Mar Biol 135:627–634

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Claessens L, Hopkinson C, Rastetter E, Vallino J (2006) Effect of historical changes in land use and climate on the water budget of an urbanizing watershed. Water Resour Res 42:W03426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloern JE (1982) Does the benthos control phytoplankton biomass in South San Francisco Bay. Mar Ecol Prog Ser Olden 9:191–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coutteau P, Hadley NH, Manzi JJ, Sorgeloos P (1994) Effect of algal ration and substitution of algae by manipulated yeast diets on the growth of juvenile Mercenaria mercenaria. Aquaculture 120:135–150. doi:10.1016/0044-8486(94)90229-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crenshaw MA (1980) Mechanisms of shell formation and dissolution. In: Rhoads DC, Lutz RA (eds) Skeletal growth of aquatic organisms, Plenum Press, New York, pp 115–128

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cross M, Lynch S, Whitaker A, O’Riordan R, Culloty S (2012) The reproductive biology of the softshell clam, Mya arenaria, in Ireland, and the possible impacts of climate variability. J Mar Biol. doi:10.1155/2012/908163

    Google Scholar 

  • Culleton BJ, Kennett DJ, Jones TL (2009) Oxygen isotope seasonality in a temperate estuarine shell midden: a case study from CA-ALA-17 on the San Francisco Bay California. J Archaeol Sci 36:1354–1363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dame RF (2011) Ecology of marine bivalves: an ecosystem approach. CRC, Boca Raton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Deegan LA, Garritt RH (1997) Evidence for spatial variability in estuarine food webs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser Oldend 147:31–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll CT et al (2003) Nitrogen pollution in the Northeastern United States: sources, effects, and management options. BioScience 53:357–374. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0357:NPITNU]2.0.CO;2

  • Feder H, Paul A (1974) Age, growth and size-weight relationships of the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria. Prince William Sound, Alaska. Proc Natl Shellfish Assoc 64:45–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Filippenko D, Naumenko E (2014) Patterns of the growth of soft-shell clam Mya arenaria L. (Bivalvia) in shallow water estuaries of the southern Baltic sea. Ecohydrol Hydrobiol 14(2):157–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gatlin MR, Shoup DE, Long JM (2013) Invasive zebra mussels (Driessena polymorpha) and Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) survive gut passage of migratory fish species: implications for dispersal. Biol Invasions 15:1195–1200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gurney LJ, Mundy C, Porteus MC (2005) Determining age and growth of abalone using stable oxygen isotopes: a tool for fisheries management. Fish Res 72:353–360. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2004.12.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrigan RE (1956) The effect of temperature on the pumping rate of the soft-shelled clam, “Mya Arenaria”. George Washington University, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernández-Otero A, Gaspar M, Macho G, Vázquez E (2014) Age and growth of the sword razor clam Ensis arcuatus in the Ría de Pontevedra (NW Spain): influence of environmental parameters. J Sea Res 85:59–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland A, Shaughnessy AT, Hiegel MH (1987) Long-term variation in mesohaline Chesapeake Bay macrobenthos: spatial and temporal patterns. Estuaries 10:227–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkinson C, Vallino J (1995) The relationships among man’s activities in watersheds and estuaries: a model of runoff effects on patterns of estuarine community metabolism. Estuaries 18:598–621. doi:10.2307/1352380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones DS, Quitmyer IR (1996) Marking time with bivalve shells: oxygen isotopes and season of annual increment formation. Palaios 11:340–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones DS, Thompson I, Ambrose W (1978) Age and growth rate determinations for the Atlantic surf clam Spisula solidissima (Bivalvia: Mactracea), based on internal growth lines in shell cross-sections. Mar Biol 47:63–70. doi:10.1007/BF00397019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones DS, Arthur MA, Allard DJ (1989) Sclerochronological records of temperature and growth from shells of Mercenaria mercenaria from Narragansett Bay. R I Mar Biol 102:225–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kautsky N (1982) Growth and size structure in a Baltic Mytilus edulis population. Mar Biol 68:117–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller N, Del Piero D, Longinelli A (2002) Isotopic composition, growth rates and biological behaviour of Chamelea gallina and Callista chione from the Bay of Trieste (Italy). Mar Biol 140:9–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Legendre LF (2012) Numerical ecology, vol 24. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald BA, Thomas MLH (1980) Age determination of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria using shell internal growth lines. Mar Biol 58:105–109. doi:10.1007/BF00396121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthiessen GC (1960) Observations on the ecology of the soft clam Mya arenaria, in a salt pond. Limnol Oceanogr 5:291–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maximovich NV, Guerassimova AV (2003) Life history characteristics of the clam Mya arenaria in the White sea. Helgol Mar Res 57:91–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson JA, Deegan L, Garritt R (2015) Drivers of spatial and temporal variability in estuarine food webs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 533:67–77

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Newcombe CL (1935) Growth of Mya arenaria L. in the Bay of Fundy region. Can J Res 13:97–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newell CR, Hidu H (1982) The effects of sediment type on growth rate and shell allometry in the soft shelled clam Mya arenaria L. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 65:285–295. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(82)90060-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newell CR, Hidu H, Parsons J (1986) Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (North Atlantic) softshell clam. Maine Shellfish Research and Development, Damariscotta, ME

  • Palacios R, Orensanz JM, Armstrong DA (1994) Seasonal and life-long variation of Sr/Ca ratio in shells of Mya arenaria from Grays Harbor (Washington)—an ancillary criterion in demographic studies. Estuar Coast and Shelf Sci 39:313–327. doi:10.1006/ecss.1994.1067

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Petter G, Weitere M, Richter O, Moenickes S (2014) Consequences of altered temperature and food conditions for individuals and populations: a dynamic energy budget analysis for Corbicula fluminea in the Rhine. Freshw Biol 59:832–846. doi:10.1111/fwb.12307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfitzenmeyer HT (1962) Periods of spawning and setting of the soft-shelled clam Mya arenaria, at Solomons, Maryland. Chesap Sci 3:114–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Philipp E, Brey T, Pörtner H-O, Abele D (2005) Chronological and physiological ageing in a polar and a temperate mud clam. Mech Ageing Dev 126:598–609

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt DM, Campbell DA (1956) Environmental factors affecting growth in Venus mercenaria. Limnol Oceanogr 1(1):2–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoads DC, Lutz RA (1980) Skeletal growth of aquatic organisms: biological records of environmental change. Plenum, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson CA, Crisp DJ, Runham NW, Gruffydd LD (1980) The use of tidal growth bands in the shell of Cerastoderma edule to measure seasonal growth rates under cool temperate and sub-arctic conditions. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 60:977–989. doi:10.1017/S002531540004203X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson C, Collis S, Ekaratne K, Dare P, Key D (1993) The age determination and growth rate of the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, in British waters determined from acetate peels of umbo growth lines. ICES J Mar Sci 50:493–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson CA, Kennedy H, Duarte CM, Kennedy DP, Proud SV (1999) Age and growth of the fan mussel Pinna nobilis from south-east Spanish Mediterranean seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadows. Mar Biol 133:205–212. doi:10.1007/s002270050459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rocchetta I, Lomovasky BJ, Yusseppone MS, Sabatini SE, Bieczynski F, Ríos de Molina MC, Luquet CM (2014) Growth, abundance, morphometric and metabolic parameters of three populations of Diplodon chilensis subject to different levels of natural and anthropogenic organic matter input in a glaciar lake of North Patagonia. Limnologica 44:72–80. doi:10.1016/j.limno.2013.06.004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers-Bennett L, Rogers DW, Schultz SA (2007) Modeling growth and mortality of red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) in northern California. J Shellfish Res 26:719–727. doi:10.2983/0730-8000(2007)26[719:MGAMOR]2.0.CO;2

  • Ropes JW (1984) Procedures for preparing acetate peels and evidence validating the annual periodicity of growth lines formed in the shells of ocean quahogs Arctica islandica. Mar Fish Rev 46:27–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg R, Loo L-O (1988) Marine eutrophication induced oxygen deficiency: effects on soft bottom fauna, western Sweden. Ophelia 29:213–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Royer C, Thébault J, Chauvaud L, Olivier F (2013) Structural analysis and paleoenvironmental potential of dog cockle shells (Glycymeris glycymeris) in Brittany, northwest France. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol, Palaeoecol 373:123–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saucez P, Some L, Vande Wouwer A (2009) Matlab implementation of a moving grid method based on the equidistribution principle. Appl Math Comput 215:1821–1829. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2009.07.034

    Google Scholar 

  • Scourse J et al (2006) First cross-matched floating chronology from the marine fossil record: data from growth lines of the long-lived bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica. The Holocene 16:967–974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smaal A, Stralen Mv (1990) Average annual growth and condition of mussels as a function of food source. Hydrobiologia 195:179–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephens M, Mattey D, Gilbertson DD, Murray-Wallace CV (2008) Shell-gathering from mangroves and the seasonality of the Southeast Asian Monsoon using high-resolution stable isotopic analysis of the tropical estuarine bivalve (Geloina erosa) from the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak: methods and reconnaissance of molluscs of early Holocene and modern times. J Archaeol Sci 35:2686–2697

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stickney AP (1964) Salinity, temperature, and food requirements of soft-shell clam larvae in laboratory culture. Ecology 45(2):283–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stralen MR, Dijkema RD (1994) Mussel culture in a changing environment: the effects of a coastal engineering project on mussel culture (Mytilus edulis L.) in the Oosterschelde estuary (SW Netherlands). Hydrobiologia 282–283:359–379. doi:10.1007/BF00024642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strasser M (1998) Mya arenaria—an ancient invader of the North Sea coast. Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen 52:309–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strasser CA, Mullineaux LS, Walther BD (2008) Growth rate and age effects on Mya arenaria shell chemistry: implications for biogeochemical studies. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 355:153–163

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Strom A, Francis RC, Mantua NJ, Miles EL, Peterson DL (2004) North Pacific climate recorded in growth rings of geoduck clams: a new tool for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Geophys Res Lett 31:L06206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumich JL, Morrissey JF (2004) Introduction to the biology of marine life. Jones & Bartlett Learning, Burlington

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarbath D (1999) Estimates of growth and natural mortality of the blacklip abalone (Haliotis rubra) in Tasmania. Tasman Aqua Fish Inst Tech Rep 3:i–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Tezuka N, Kanematsu M, Asami K, Sakiyama K, Hamaguchi M, Usuki H (2013) Effect of salinity and substrate grain size on larval settlement of the asari clam (Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 439:108–112. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2012.10.020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson E, Gannon DP (2013) Influence of sediment type on antipredator response of the softshell clam Mya arenaria. Northeast Nat 20:498–510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vallino J, Hopkinson CS Jr (1998) Estimation of dispersion and characteristic mixing times in Plum Island Sound estuary Estuarine. Coast Shelf Sci 46:333–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venables WN, Ripley BD (2002) Modern applied statistics with S. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Vernberg WB, Vernberg FJ (1972) Environmental physiology of marine animals, vol 355. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weber K, Sturmer L, Hoover E, Baker S (2013) The role of water temperature in hard clam aquaculture. University of Florida IFAS extension, Gainesville

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss ET, Carmichael RH, Valiela I (2002) The effect of nitrogen loading on the growth rates of quahogs (Mercenaria mercenaria) and soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) through changes in food supply. Aquaculture 211:275–289. doi:10.1016/s0044-8486(02)00018-2

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wells HW (1961) The fauna of oyster beds, with special reference to the salinity factor. Ecol Monogr 31:239–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westerbom M, Kilpi M, Mustonen O (2002) Blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, at the edge of the range: population structure, growth and biomass along a salinity gradient in the north-eastern Baltic Sea. Mar Biol 140:991–999. doi:10.1007/s00227-001-0765-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Jack Grundstrom, the Town of Rowley shellfish commissioner, and his commercial clammer son, John Grundstrom, for their help throughout the planning and field trip portions of this project. We also thank the Plum Island Sound LTER (PIE-LTER) for help with field logistics.

Funding

The program was funded by the NSF CNH and LTER programs (BCS-0709685 and OCE 1238212).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Ecology, 1210 Geumgang-ro, Maseo-myeon, Seocheon-gun, Chungnam, 33657, Republic of Korea

    Kyung Ah Koo

  2. Marine Extension Service, University of Georgia, 1030 Chicopee Complex, Athens, 30602, GA, USA

    Randal L. Walker

  3. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, 229 Marine Sciences Building, Athens, 30602, GA, USA

    Emily S. Davenport

  4. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, 289A Marine Sciences Building, Athens, 30602, GA, USA

    Charles S. Hopkinson

Authors
  1. Kyung Ah Koo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Randal L. Walker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Emily S. Davenport
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Charles S. Hopkinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyung Ah Koo.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 615 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Koo, K.A., Walker, R.L., Davenport, E.S. et al. Variability of Mya arenaria growth along an environmental gradient in the Plum Island Sound estuary, Massachusetts, USA. Wetlands Ecol Manage 25, 235–256 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-016-9512-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-016-9512-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation