Abstract
A population of Gemma gemma (Totten) was investigated for 6 yr (1978–1983) in Connecticut, USA to determine the relationship between population fluctuations, life tables of successive cohorts and factors affecting life table parameters. Seasonal cycles occurred from 1978–1981. Although density was not abnormally low in summer of 1982, the population declined rapidly thereafter because individuals present during the reproductive season were smaller than the minimal size for reproduction. Forecasts of population size from a time series model based on past densities were compared to forecasts from the intrinsic rates of growth from four separate clam life tables. The latter approach was less precise but more consistent at successfully predicting temporal trends in population abundance. Two factors were identified that potentially controlled population density and structure during the study. Correlational evidence indicated that intraspecific competition between juveniles and adults was intense in 1978 but was reduced during subsequent years. This interaction reduced the size and subsequent fecundity of the young-of-the-year. Correlational evidence also indicated that low salinity in spring of 1978, 1979, 1982 and 1983 reduced juvenile survival, but not that of adults. Qualitative evidence indicated that a third factor, predation, might also have affected G. gemma's population size and structure.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Bayne, B.: Reproduction in bivalve molluscs under environmental stress. In: Physiological ecology of estuarine organisms, pp 259–277. Ed. by F. J. Vernberg. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press 1975
Blundon, J. A. and V. S. Kennedy: Refuges for infaunal bivalves from blue crab, Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun), predation in Chesapeake Bay. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 65, 67–81 (1982)
Box, F. E. P. and G. M. Jenkins: Time series analysis, forecasting and control, 575 pp. San Francisco: Holden Day 1970
Bradley, W. and P. Cooke: Living and ancient populations of the clam Gemma gemma in a Maine coast tidal flat. Fish. Bull. Fish Wildl. Serv. No. 137, 58, 304–334 (1959)
Brown, G. C.: Theoretical consequences of competition between successive generations on population stability and life cycle evolution. Theor. Pop. Biol. 20, 150–167 (1981)
Caswell, H.: Life history theory and the equilibrium status of populations. Am. Nat. 120, 317–339 (1982)
Cushing, J. M.: Model stability and instability in age structured populations. J. Theor. Biol. 86, 709–730 (1980)
Dobbs, F. C.: Community ecology of a shallow subtidal sandflat, with emphasis on sediment reworking by Clymenella torquata (Polychaeta: Maldanidae). M.S. thesis, 145 pp. Storrs: University of Connecticut 1981
Ehinger, R., R. E. Folit and L. Zeitlin-Hale: The Pawcatuck River estuary and Little Narragansett Bay: a compilation of available information. Coastal Res. Center. Univ. Rhode Island Tech. Rep., No. 66, 56 pp. 1978
Gause, G. F.: The struggle for existence, 163 pp. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins 1934
Glasser, J. W.: A model of the growth of populations composed of individuals whose probabilities of growth, reproduction and death are size-specific. J. Plankton Res. 5, 305–310 (1983)
Green, R. H. and K. D. Hobson: Spatial and temporal variation in a temperate intertidal community, with special emphasis on Gemma gemma (Pelecypoda: Mollusca). Ecology 51, 999–1011 (1970)
Gurney, W. S. C., R. M. Nisbet and J. H. Lawton: The systematic formulation of tractable single-species population models incorporating age structure. J. Anim. Ecol. 52, 479–495 (1983)
Hutchinson, G. E.: Circular causal systems in ecology. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 50, 221–246 (1948)
Kelso, W. E.: Predation on soft-shell clams, Mya arenaria, by the common mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus. Estuaries 12, 249–254 (1979)
Kerfoot, W. C. and C. Peterson: Ecological interactions and evolutionary arguments: investigations with predatory copepods and Bosmina. In: Population ecology, pp 159–196. Ed. by V. Halbach and J. Jacobs. Stuttgart, Germany: Gustav Fischer Verlag 1979
Keyfitz, N.: Introduction to the mathematics of population, 450 pp. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley 1968
Lack, D.: Cyclic mortality. J. Wildl. Manage. 18, 25–37 (1954)
Levinton, J.S.: The effect of density upon deposit-feeding populations: movement, feeding and floating of Hydrobia ventrosa Montagu (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia). Oecologia 43, 27–39 (1979) 317 pp. Philadelphia: Blackwell Scientific 1976
McLusky, D. S. and Elliot, M.: The feeding and survival strategies of estuarine molluscs. In: Feeding and survival strategies of estuarine organisms, pp 109–121. Ed. by N. V. Jones and W. J. Wolff. New York: Plenum Press 1981
Mendelssohn, R.: Using Box-Jenkins models to forecast fishery dynamics: identification, estimation, and checking. Fish. Bull., U.S. 78, 887–896 (1981)
Nicholson, A. J.: An outline of the dynamics of animal populations. Aust. J. Zool. 2, 9–65 (1954)
Noether, G. E.: Introduction to statistics, 292 pp. Boston: Houghton Miffllin 1976
Obrebski, S.: On the population ecology of two intertidal invertebrates and the paleoecological significance of size-frequency distributions of living and dead shells of the bivalve Transennella tantilla. Ph.D. thesis, 102 pp. University of Chicago 1968
Peterson, C. H.: The importance of predation and intra- and interspecific competition in the population biology of two infaunal suspension-feeding bivalves, Protothaca staminea and Chione undatella. Ecol. Monogr. 52, 437–475 (1982)
Peterson, C. H.: Interactions between two infaunal bivalves, Chione undatella (Sowerby) and Protothaca staminea (Conrad), and two potential enemies, Crepidula onyx Sowerby and Cancer anthonyi (Rathbun). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 68, 145–158 (1983)
Peterson, C. H. and S. V. Andre: An experimental analysis of interspecific competition among marine filter feeders in a soft-sediment environment. Ecology 61, 129–139 (1980)
Peterson, C. H. and M. L. Quammen: Siphon nipping: its importance to small fishes and its impact on growth of the bivalve Protothaca staminea (Conrad). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 65, 249–268 (1982)
Pitelka, F. A.: Population studies of lemmings and lemming predators in northern Alaska. Proc. int. Congr. Zool. 15, 757–759 (1959)
Pitelka, F. A.: The nutrient-recovery hypothesis for arctic microtine cycles. I. Introduction. In: Grazing in terrestrial and marine environments, pp 55–66. Ed. by D. Crisp. Oxford: Blackwell 1964
Recher, H. F.: Some aspects of the ecology of migrant shorebirds. Ecology 47, 393–407 (1966)
Sanders, H. L., E. M. Goudsmit, E. L. Mills, and G. E. Hampson: A study of the intertidal fauna of Barnstable Harbor, Massachusetts. Limnol. Oceanogr. 7, 63–79 (1962)
SAS Institute Inc.: SAS/ETS user's guide, econometric and time series library, 298 pp. Cary, North Carolina: Statistical Analysis System Inst. 1980
Schneider, D.: Equalisation of prey numbers by migratory shore-brids. Nature Lond. 271, 353–354 (1978)
Sellmer, G. P.: Functional morphology and ecological life history of the gem clam, Gemma gemma (Eulamellibranchia: Veneridae). Malacol. 5, 137–223 (1967)
Shelford, V. E.: The relation of snowy owl migration to the abundance of the collared lemming. Auk 62, 592–594 (1943)
Stocker, M. and R. Hilborn: Short-term forecasting in marine fish stocks. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 38, 1247–1254 (1981)
Svane, I.: Ascidian reproductive patterns related to long-term population dynamics. Sarsia 68, 249–255 (1983)
Thompson, J. K.: Population structure of Gemma gemma (Bivalvia: Veneridae) in South San Francisco Bay, with a comparison to some Northeastern United States estuarine populations. Veliger 24, 281–290 (1982)
Virnstein, R. W.: Predation on estuarine infauna: response patterns of component species. Estuaries 2, 69–86 (1979)
Weinberg, J. R.: Ecological determinants of spionid distributions within dense patches of the deposit-feeding polychaete Axiothella rubrocincta. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 1, 301–314 (1979)
Weinberg, J. R.: Population ecology of the marine bivalve Gemma gemma in relation to its infaunal community. Ph.D. thesis, 121 pp. Storrs: University of Connecticut 1983
Weinberg, J. R.: Interactions between functional groups in soft-substrata: Do species differences matter? J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 80, 11–28 (1984)
Weinberg, J. R. and R. B. Whitlatch: Enhanced growth of a filter-feeding bivalve by a deposit-feeding polychaete by means of nutrient regeneration. J. mar. Res. 41, 557–569 (1983)
Whitlatch, R. B. and S. Obrebski: Feeding selectivity and coexistence in two deposit-feeding gastropods. Mar. Biol. 58, 219–225 (1980)
Williams, J. G.: Growth and survival in newly settled spat of the manila clam, Tapes japonica. Fish. Bull., U.S. 77, 891–900 (1980)
Wilson, W. H. Jr.: The role of density dependence in a marine infaunal community. Ecology 64, 295–306 (1983)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by R. W. Doyle, Halifax
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weinberg, J.R. Factors regulating population dynamics of the marine bivalve Gemma gemma: intraspecific competition and salinity. Mar. Biol. 86, 173–182 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00399024
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00399024