Seasonal growth in the bivalveMacoma balthica near the southern limit of its range |
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| Authors: | Frederic H Nichols Janet K Thompson |
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| Institution: | 1. U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, M/S-99, 94025, Menlo Park, California
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| Abstract: | Shell-length growth inMacoma balthica from San Francisco Bay, California, as measured on living animalsin situ, is highly seasonal despite a mild Mediterranean climate: a long period of near non-growth from May to the following February is followed by a short period of rapid growth between March and May. The rapid-growth period follows the spawning period during January/February and ends as water temperature rises above about 15°C. Despite the shortness of the growth period,M. balthica grows larger at a given age in San Francisco Bay than is recorded elsewhere in the world. Application of a model, developed elsewhere from these same field measurements, shows that (1) measurable growth occurs during the summer/autumn/early winter “nongrowth” period, (2) there is an autumn recruitment, and (3) both spring and autumn recruits combine to form a single “one-year-old” size grouping. None of these features is detectable through growth-ring analysis of field samples, apparently because of indistinct climatic seasons, or through size-frequency histogram analysis because of the combined effects of slow growth and intermittent recruitment. |
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