The reproductive biology of the soft shell clam Mya arenaria in Ireland and the possible impacts of climate variability


Autoria(s): Cross, Maud E.; Lynch, Sharon A.; Whitaker, Allen; O'Riordan, Ruth M.; Culloty, Sarah C.
Contribuinte(s)

Riisgård, Hans Ulrik

European Commission

Data(s)

09/12/2014

09/12/2014

2012

09/12/2014

Resumo

Little is known about the biology of the softshell clam in Europe, despite it being identified as a potential species to culture for food in the future. Monthly samples of the softshell clam, Mya arenaria, were collected intertidally from Co. Wexford, Ireland, over a period of sixteen months. The mean weight of sampled individuals was 7 4 ± 4 . 9  g and mean length was 8 . 2 ± 0 . 2  cm. Histological examination revealed a female-to-male ratio of 1 : 1.15. In 2010, M. arenaria at this site matured over the summer months, with both sexes either ripe or spawning by August. A single spawning event was recorded in 2010, completed by November. Two unusually cold winters, followed by a warmer-than-average spring, appear to have affected M. arenaria gametogenesis in this area, potentially affecting the time of spawning, fertilisation success, and recruitment of this species. No hermaphrodites were observed in the samples collected, nor were any pathogens observed. Timing of development and spawning is compared with the coasts of eastern North America and with other European coasts.

European Commission (Ireland Wales Programme 2007–2013 INTERREG 4A European Regional Development Fund)

Published Version

Peer reviewed

Formato

application/pdf

Identificador

CROSS, M. E., LYNCH, S., WHITAKER, A., O'RIORDAN, R. M. & CULLOTY, S. C. 2012. The Reproductive Biology of the Softshell Clam, Mya arenaria, in Ireland, and the Possible Impacts of Climate Variability. Journal of Marine Biology, vol. 2012, Article ID 908163, 9 pages, 2012. doi:10.1155/2012/908163

2012

908163

1687-949X

1687-9481

http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1728

10.1155/2012/908163

Journal of Marine Biology

Idioma(s)

en

Publicador

Hindawi Corporation

Relação

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jmb/2012/908163/

Direitos

Copyright © 2012 M. E. Cross et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Palavras-Chave #Mya arenaria #Softshell clam
Tipo

Article (peer-reviewed)