Abundance of the low salinity clam, Rangia cuneata, in Southwestern Louisiana
Hoese, H.D. (1973). Abundance of the low salinity clam, Rangia cuneata, in Southwestern Louisiana . Proceedings of the National Shellfisheries Association 63: 99-106
In: Proceedings of the National Shellfisheries Association. Economy Printing: Easton. ISSN 0077-5711, meer
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| Trefwoord |
Rangia cuneata (G. B. Sowerby I, 1832) [WoRMS]
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| Abstract |
The low salinity clam Rangia cuneata, was found to be very common in oligohaline waters of southwestern Louisiana, discontinuously distributed across a band over 100 miles long and 10 miles wide, occurring in tidal creeks, lakes and bays from the shoreline to at least 4 m in depth. It was replaced in the intertidal zone by Polymesoda caroliniana, in saltier, deeper waters by Tagelus plebius and Macoma mitchelli, and in fresh water by unionids. It was inexplicably absent or rare in many areas, showing no correlation with total sediment carbon, except for being very rare in very highly organic sediments rich in plant detritus. Populations were usually composed of uniformly sized animals ranging from means of 28 mm in Grand Lake to 57 mm in one tidal creek in Vermilion Bay. Large populations of juveniles were rare although recently metamorphosed juveniles were sometimes taken. It is estimated that southwestern Louisiana has a minimum standing crop of between 24 and 48 billion clams based in part on an average of 11.1 clams/m2 found over the whole study area. |
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