Underestimation of primary productivity on continental shelves: evidence from maximum size of extant surfclam (Spisula solidissima) populations
Authored by D M Munroe, E N Powell, R Mann, J M Klinck, E E Hofmann
Date Published: 2013
DOI: 10.1111/fog.12016
Sponsors:
United States National Science Foundation (NSF)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Flow charts
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Atlantic surfclams (Spisula solidissima), among the largest extant
non-symbiotic clam species in the world, live in dense aggregations
along the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) continental shelf. The food
resources that support these populations are poorly understood. An
individual-based model that simulates the growth of post-settlement
surfclams was used to investigate the quantity of food needed to
maintain existing surfclam populations along the MAB continental shelf.
Food inputs to the model were based on measured near-bottom water-column
chlorophyll concentrations. Simulations showed that these water-column
food sources supported only 65\% of the observed body mass of a standard
large surfclam (160-mm shell length). Additional simulations using
benthic food sources to supplement water-column food sources by 20\%
generated surfclams that grew to observed size and biomass and exhibited
spawn timing consistent with the known surfclam spawning season. The
simulation results suggest that measured water-column chlorophyll
concentrations may underestimate the food available to the continental
shelf benthos. Large continental shelf bivalves are an essential
resource for fisheries and higher trophic level consumers. Understanding
available and utilized food resources is important for predicting
long-term impacts of climate change on benthic secondary production and
fishery yield on the continental shelf.
Tags
Suspension-feeding bivalves
Ruditapes-philippinarum
Mussels mytilus-edulis
Oyster crassostrea-virginica
Suspended
bottom material
Subtruncata da costa
Food
sources
Intertidal bivalves
Atlantic
surfclams
Tidal resuspension