Animal Sciences Commons^™

Bivalve Molluscs: Barometers Of Climate Change In Arctic Marine Systems, Roger Mann, Daphne M. Munroe, Eric N. Powell, Eileen E. Hoffmann, John M. Klinck

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Bivalve mollusks store a complete history of their life in the growth lines in their valves. Through sclerochronology, in combination with isotope signatures, it is possible to reconstruct both post-recruitment growth history at the individual level and commensurate environmental records of temperature and salinity. Growth patterns are integrators of local primary productivity; spatial and temporal changes in growth illustrate commensurate patterns of food availability. Mactrid clams are long-lived, benthic dominant species found on inner continental shelves throughout the Northern Hemisphere where they variously support major fisheries (Spisula solidissima in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, Mactromeris polynyma in eastern Canada, Spisula sachalinensis …