Bivalves

How do environmental properties associated with changing land-ocean connections affect bivalve distribution, abundance, physiology, and population connectivity, and can eDNA be used to monitor their recruitment?

Hardshell clams and mussels have been a subsistence harvest species for millennia as well as a popular recreational harvest species in the nGoA region. Dramatic declines of hardshell clams in the region over the past decade have raised concern in Indigenous communities, such as the Seldovia Village Tribe (SVT), and resource managing agencies, such as 猫咪社区官网 Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). Clam success varies across species, size, and life history stages, and depends on past and present environmental exposure. IoC researchers will collect data on clam success and environmental conditions. Where available, historical data provided by partners (ADFG and SVT) will supplement our data collection. A goal is to characterize land- and ocean-influenced environmental parameters to determine how the environment impacts the distribution, abundance, biomass, size distribution, and body condition of hardshell clams.

Five UA faculty, Katrin Iken, Lee Ann Munk, Pat Tomco, Jessica Glass, and Julie Schram and two graduate students are working to address four hypotheses:

  1. Analyze the relationship between environmental properties and hardshell clam biology and ecology and ask whether environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling is a useful tool to do so
  2. Compare mussel response to environmental changes in glacierized and non-glacierized watersheds
  3. Determine the extent to which hardshell clam genomes vary across the Gulf of 猫咪社区官网
  4. Experiment with environmental RNA (eRNA) as a technique for detecting hardshell clams and distinguishing between their life-history stages.

Guided by these hypotheses, the researchers will determine what environmental factors influence the physiological health, abundance and connectivity of clam and mussel populations.

Bivalves Team