Atlantic Mud-Piddock (Barnea Truncata)
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COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Atlantic Mud-piddock Barnea truncata in Canada THREATENED 2009 COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC. 2009. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Atlantic Mud-piddoc Barnea truncata in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 42 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Production note: COSEWIC would like to acknowledge Derek S. Davis and Andrew J. Hebda for writing the provisional status report on Atlantic Mud-piddock Barnea truncata, prepared under contract with Environment Canada. The contractors’ involvement with the writing of the status report ended with the acceptance of the provisional report. Any modifications to the status report during the subsequent preparation of the 6- month interim and 2-month interim status reports were overseen by Robert Forsyth, COSEWIC Molluscs Specialist Subcommittee Co-chair. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: 819-953-3215 Fax: 819-994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Également disponible en français sous le titre Ếvaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur la pholade tronquée (Barnea truncata) au Canada. Cover illustration/photo: Atlantic Mud-piddock — Beach Shell from the Minas Basin. Photo by Christina McCorry. ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2010. Catalogue No. CW69-14/594-2010E-PDF ISBN 978-1-100-15127-4 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – November 2009 Common name Atlantic Mud-piddock Scientific name Barnea truncata Status Threatened Reason for designation This intertidal marine bivalve species is restricted to a single population in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia. Although this species is adapted to boring into hard clay and soft rock, in Canada it is entirely dependent on a single geological formation, the red-mudstone facies within the basin. The total available habitat for this species is < 0.6 km2. This species settles on and bores into the mudstone, and once settled, is immobile. Any changes in deposition of sediments can smother individuals or cover entire areas of habitat. Disturbances that change the sediment depositional regime are considered the main threat. Most serious is the increased frequency and severity of storms, due to climate change, which have the potential to rapidly bury habitat and smother individuals. It is expected that erosion from rising sea levels (storm surges) and increased rainfall (floods), would also contribute to habitat loss by sediment deposition. Proposed development in the basin could also alter or add to sediment deposition. The Canadian population is clearly disjunct from the nearest population, 350 km south, in Maine, and rescue is very unlikely. Occurrence Atlantic Ocean Status history Designated Threatened in November 2009. iii COSEWIC Executive Summary Atlantic Mud-piddock Barnea truncata Species information The Atlantic Mud-piddock, Barnea truncata, is an intertidal bivalve mollusc belonging to the family Pholadidae. It is one of only two species of its family in Atlantic Canada. The shell is 3–5 cm long and well adapted to burrowing in firm substrates. Distribution Where substrates allow, the Atlantic Mud-piddock is found along the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean from Senegal, Western Africa, to South Africa. In the western Atlantic, it is sporadically found from southern Brazil to the U.S. Gulf states. It occurs in most Atlantic coastal states from southern Maine to Florida. With the exception of one population in Puerto Rico, this species does not occur on any oceanic island or sea- mount. The only Canadian population is located in the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy, approximately 350 km from the nearest Maine population. In Canada the Atlantic Mud- piddock occurs at three locations, where it inhabits red-mudstone in the Minas Basin. Habitat This is an intertidal marine species. In southern populations, it has been recorded burrowing into substrates including marine peats, firm muds, and (rarely) wood, but in Canada the species is restricted to settling on and burrowing in a single geological formation, red-mudstone that is associated with Jurassic-age sandstones in the Minas Basin. This habitat type is very limited in extent; the total area is less than 0.6 km2. The Minas Basin has a large tidal range (up to 19 m) that results in highly oxygenated waters with considerable particulate food resources for this species. These habitats are characterized by a large fluctuation in annual and seasonal water temperatures. This contrasts with cooler, less productive portions of the rest of the Bay of Fundy, effectively acting as a barrier and isolating this northern population. iv Biology Sexes are separate and fertilization is external. After a brief (ca. 35 day) planktonic stage the larvae settle and begin burrowing. Individuals grow while burrowing a conical burrow into the substrate. They become trapped in their burrows and are completely dependent on suspended food (likely plankton and organic particulate matter) and the overall quality of the water for food, respiration and other physiological functions. Population sizes and trends There are no previous quantitative data available and population trends are unknown. The total population size is unknown because of the restrictions of accessing the low tide zone and the habitat of the species (boring into mud-stone under hard capstones). Additionally, one potentially significant habitat unit was not accessible during field surveys. There are contemporary field-based indications of localized loss and gain of sites over short periods. Limiting factors and threats The occurrence of the Atlantic Mud-piddock in the Minas Basin is limited by the availability of the mudstone substrate in the intertidal zone. The species is immobile when adult, and any subtle or substantive changes in sediment deposition can result in the loss of individuals or sites through smothering. In addition, changes in winter conditions can also result in habitat loss through ice scour and crushing. The species is prevented from using deeper water substrates in the Minas Basin by the presence of stable bodies of subtidal sands and gravels. Storms are known to have caused the shift and re-deposit of large volumes of sediments and increase the amount of eroded materials discharged into the basin by streams. The frequency and severity of storms is expected to increase due to climate change, which can quickly cause serious disruption in shallow estuarine ecosystems and make required habitat less stable as the frequency and severity of storm events increase. Additional threats include the movement of ice that can scour habitat, the building of structures (barrages, causeways, tidal power projects) that will change water circulation in the basin and affect sedimentation, dredging the bottom for mineral exploration, surface water discharge from agricultural or urban areas that may introduce chemicals or additional sediments, and oil spills. v Special significance of the species The Atlantic Mud-piddock is the only species of Barnea in Canada. The Canadian population, which is the most northerly population in the world and separated by over 350 km from the nearest U.S. population, is likely a remnant of a warm-water, post- glacial, marine fauna and is of scientific interest. Canadian B. truncata show environmental adaptations that, coupled with the high improbability of genetic exchange with southern populations, suggests that this could be a Canadian endemic. If not a distinct species, the Minas Basin population could be potentially important in terms of genetic variability of the species. Existing protection The Atlantic Mud-piddock and its habitat are protected under the federal Fisheries Act. There is no provincial legal protection. vi COSEWIC HISTORY The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. On June 5, 2003, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclaimed. SARA establishes COSEWIC as an advisory body ensuring that species will continue to be assessed under a rigorous and independent scientific process. COSEWIC MANDATE The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assesses the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, molluscs, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens. COSEWIC MEMBERSHIP COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal entities (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, chaired by the Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government science members and the co-chairs of the species specialist subcommittees