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The effects of dredging on shell formation in the razor clam Ensis siliqua from Barrinha, southern Portugal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2019

M.B. Gaspar ,
C.A. Richardson  and
C.C. Monteiro
M.B. Gaspar
Affiliation:
Instituto Português de Investigaçào Maritima (Centro de Investigaçào Maritima do Sul), Avenida 5 de Outubro, 8700 Olhao, Portugal '
C.A. Richardson
Affiliation:
School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, LL59 5EY
C.C. Monteiro
Affiliation:
Instituto Português de Investigaçào Maritima (Centro de Investigaçào Maritima do Sul), Avenida 5 de Outubro, 8700 Olhao, Portugal '
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Abstract

Shell growth of the razor clam Ensis siliqua (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from southern Portugal has been analysed using both surface growth rings and internal shell microgrowth patterns. The growth rate estimated from an analysis of the growth rings is slower (von Bertalanffy growth, constant K=0·27) than that determined from the annual narrowing of the internal microgrowth patterns present in shell sections (K=0·65), although both methods predict a similar asymptotic length, L∞, of 144·8 and 139·6 mm, respectively.

The Barrinha razor clam population occurs in a heavily dredged area and an analysis of shell sections reveals the presence of a series of shell margin breaks consisting of deep clefts in the outer shell layer in which sand grains are embedded. It is suggested that these disturbances to shell growth are the result of repeated dredge damage. The frequency of the clefts increases with the size and age of the razor clams, and thus the shells provide a record of the intensity and frequency of unsuccessful capture or retrieval attempts. Cleft formation also occurred seasonally with the deposition of a small cleft during June, but these annual clefts were much less pronounced than those caused by dredge damage.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 74 , Issue 4 , November 1994 , pp. 927 - 938
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1994

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