Surf Clam. U.S
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Library National Wetlands Research Center U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 700 Cajundome Boulevard Lafayette. La. 70506 FWS/O BS-82/11.13 October 1983 TR EL-82-4 Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Mid-Atlantic) SURF CLAM .6'' 6 , *~ ~~'" 'I \' '~* I '6'. ''I 0 * *7I) I' * II QL Ill ~ 0 155 0. .S63 no.82- 11.13 0 / 0 ~ 0 Coastal Ecology Fish and Wildlife Group Service Waterways Experiment Station U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of the Interior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U c-- C_ et v-s-__JL FWS/OBS-82/11.13 TR EL-82-4 October 1983 Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (Mid-Atlantic) SURF CLAM by Clemon W. Fay, Richard J. Neves, and Garland B. Pardue Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA 24061 Project Manager Larry Shanks Project Officer Norman Benson National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1010 Gause Boulevard Slidell, LA 70458 This study was conducted in cooperation with Coastal Ecology Group U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station Performed for National Coastal Ecosystems Team Division of Biological Services Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, DC 20240 CONVERSION FACTORS Metric to U.S. Customary Multiply To Obtain millimeters (mm) 0.03937 inches centimeters (cm) 0.3937 inches meters (m) 3.281 feet kilometers (km) 0.6214 miles square meters (M2 ) 10.76 square feet square kilometers (km2) 0.3861 square miles hectares (ha) 2.471 acres liters (1) 0.2642 gallons cubic meters (m3) 35.31 cubic feet cubic meters 0.0008110 acre-feet milligrams (mg) 0.00003527 ounces grams (gm) 0.03527 ounces kilograms (kg) 2.205 pounds metric tons (mt) 2205.0 pounds metric tons (mt) 1.102 short tons kilocalories (kcal) 3.968 BTU Celsius degrees 1.8(C°) + 32 Fahrenheit degrees U.S. Customary to Metric inches 25.40 millimeters inches 2.54 centimeters feet (ft) 0.3048 meters fathoms 1.829 meters miles (mi) 1.609 kilometers nautical miles (nmi) 1.852 kilometers square feet (ft 2 ) 0.0929 square meters acres 0.4047 hectares square miles (mi 2 ) 2.590 square kilometers gallons (gal) 3 3.785 liters cubic feet (ft) 0.02831 cubic meters acre-feet 1233.0 cubic meters ounces (oz) 28.35 grams pounds (ib) 0.4536 kilograms short tons (ton) 0.9072 metric tons BTU 0.2520 kilocalories Fahrenheit degrees 0.5556(F° - 32) Celsius degrees CONTENTS Pac CONVERSION TABLE ,.ii... ......... ... ............. PREFACE ....................... .............................. ... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................ .............. v NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE ."........ ..... ....... ....... ......... I MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS........ ....... ...................... 3 REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES ........ ....... ...................... 3 LIFE HISTORY............................. ............. 3 Reproductive Physiology/Strategy ........ ..... .................... 3 Spawning ........ ................................ 3 Eggs................................... 3 Larvae ............................................... 4 Juveniles ............................... 4 Adults . ................................ 5 GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS ................ ............... 6 Growth Rates ... ... 6 Length-Weight Relatio is . .................... 6 Age-Length/Age-Weight Relationships ....... ..... .................. 7 THE FISHERY ....... 77................... Commercial FI heries.7 Population Dynamics ........ ......................... 10 ECOLOGICAL ROLE•....... ..... ........ ........ 11 Food Habits . .............. ,...................11 Feeding Behavior . 13 Predators ................................................ .13 Competitors............. ........................ ... 14 ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS ........ ....... ....... ....... ........... 14 Temperature ................. .............................. .. 14 Salinity . ............................... 14 Dissolved Oxygen. ............................ 14 Other Environmental Factors . ..................... .15 Pollutants ........ ..... ................................ .... 16 LITERATURE CITED ......... ..... ............... ... 18 iii PREFACE This species profile is one of a series on coastal aquatic organisms, principally fish, of sport, commercial, or ecological importance. The profiles are designed to provide coastal managers, engineers, and biologists with a brief comprehensive sketch of the biological characteristics and environmental require- ments of the species and to describe how populations of the species may be expected to react to environmental changes caused by coastal development. Each profile has sections on taxonomy, life history, ecological role, environmental requirements, and economic importance, if applicable. A three-ring binder is used for this series so that new profiles can be added as they are prepared. This project is jointly planned and financed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Suggestions or questions regarding this report should be directed to: Information Transfer Specialist National Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service NASA-Slidell Computer Complex 1010 Gause Boulevard Slidell, LA 70458 or U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station Attention: WESER Post Office Box 631 Vicksburg, MS 39180 This series should be referenced as follows: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1983. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Biological Services, FWS/OBS-82/11. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4. This profile should be cited as follows: Fay, C.W., R.J. Neves, and G.B. Pardue. 1983. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Mid- Atlantic) -- surf clam. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Biological Services, FWS/OBS-82/11.13. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4. 23 pp. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are grateful for the review by Steve Murawski, National Marine Fisheries Service, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. V Figure 1. Surf clam. SURF CLAM NOME NC LATU RE/TAXONOMY/RANGE region). A much broader latitudinal range, from the south- ern Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Scientific name ..... Spisula solidissima northern Gulf of Mexico, was Preferred common name......... Surf given in Merrill and Ropes clam (Figure 1) (1969), Ropes et al. (1969), and Other common names .... Bar clam Ropes (1980). Evidence that the (Canada), hen clam (Maine), sea populations south of Cape Hat- clam (Massachusetts), beach clam, teras are actually a distinct sub- skimmer clam (Ropes 1980) species of S. solidissima, S. s. C lass ......................... B ivalvia ravaenelli, is presented in Merrill Order ....................... Veneroida and Webster (1964) and Jacobsen Family ....................... Mactridae and Old (1966). Surf clams are predominantly oceanic, most com- Geographic range: Gulf of Maine south mon in turbulent waters just to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina beyond the breaker zone (Ropes (Wigley and Emery 1968) (see 1980). Encroachment into estua- Figure 2 for the distribution of rine zones is probably limited by the surf clam in the mid-Atlantic salinity requirements. I N.Y. & 6- r. - Z. / ynr .00 N.J. / / / / I I I PHILADELPHIA I I / / 4 D I I I I I I' VA. MILES 0 50 100 0 5o 100 I KILOMETERS Areas of highest abundance N'Areas of high abundance Areas of moderate abundance I Approximate 75-m (246-ft) contour HA TTERAS Figure 2. Mid-Atlantic distribution of the surf clam,,with areas of relative abun- dance indicated. 2 MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS and some spawning activity may occur in 1-year-old clams (Ropes 1979). Smallest reported shell length at Shells oval to trigonal, concentri- maturity was 45 mm (1.8 inches) cally striated or ridged, otherwise (Ropes 1980). No observations on with no external sculpture; gape fecundity of surf clams are available. slight when shell closed; ligament spi- suloid; complete complement of lateral Spawning teeth; pallial sinus shallow and not larger than adductor muscle scar Surf clam populations from New (Chamberlin 1954). Detailed family Jersey coastal waters exhibited two and generic morphological characteris- annual spawnings in 1962, 1963, and tics and anatomical drawings are given 1964 (Ropes 1968b). These occurred in Ropes (1980). from mid-July to early August and from mid-October to early November. In 1965, a single spawning period REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES from mid-September to mid-October was observed. The spawning season is probably earlier south of New Jer- The surf clam commercial fishery sey, since juvenile clams have been has grown from a small bait fishery found in North Carolina waters in during the years prior to World War II April, May, and June (Williams and (Ropes et al. 1969) to one contribut- Porter 1971). Little is known con- ing 71.8% of all clam meats used in the cerning the spawning season of surf United States between 1970 and 1974 clam populations north of New York. (Ropes 1982). Per capita consumption of surf clam meat doubled between Within a bed of clams, spawning 1947 and 1974 (Ropes 1982). Within is probably a synchronous, annual the mid-Atlantic region, the surf clam event (Ropes 1968b). Water tempera- is a particularly important commercial ture is an important factor influencing clam species because of its