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Distribution pattern, density and growth of the stout razor clam Tagelus plebeius in a South-west Atlantic estuarine system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2016

Betina J. Lomovasky ,
Thomas Brey ,
Andreas Klügel  and
Oscar Iribarne
Betina J. Lomovasky*
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Ecología, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), CC 1260 Correo Central (B7600WAG), Mar del Plata, Argentina
Thomas Brey
Affiliation:
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Andreas Klügel
Affiliation:
University Bremen, Fachbereich 5 – Geosciences, Postfach 33 04 40, 28334 Bremen, Germany
Oscar Iribarne
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Ecología, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), CC 1260 Correo Central (B7600WAG), Mar del Plata, Argentina
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: B.J. Lomovasky, Laboratorio de Ecología, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), CC 1260 Correo Central (B7600WAG), Mar del Plata, Argentina email: lomovask@mdp.edu.ar
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Abstract

The population biology of the stout razor clam Tagelus plebeius is poorly understood, despite the species' current wide distribution, and the potential use of its Holocene shell deposits to infer past environmental and ecological conditions. This study investigates distribution and growth pattern of T. plebeius in the south-western Atlantic Mar Chiquita Coastal lagoon (37°32′S 57°19′W), Argentina. The population includes the oldest individuals (up to 27 years) reported so far with shell length up to 77.9 mm. A von Bertalanffy model with L∞ = 67.60 mm (95% CI = 64.55; 70.64), k = 0.181 year−1 (CI = 0.142; 0.218), and t0 = −0.77 (CI = −1.46; −0.08) best described their individual growth for the whole population. The higher density, growth rate k, t0 and maximum age and lower L∞ were in the low intertidal rather than in the medium intertidal, but there were no differences in density and age between medium and high intertidal. Given the results and the current knowledge on the effects of different factors influencing this species, we conclude that the distribution pattern and shell growth observed in our study reflect a response to metabolic necessities in combination with a strong influence of biological interactions.

Keywords

Tagelus plebeiusrazor clamgrowthageMar Chiquita Coastal Lagoon
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Issue 3 , May 2018 , pp. 485 - 494
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016 

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