Abstract
Annual variation in the growth rate of the protobranch bivalve Yoldia notabilis (collected in Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan between 1989 and 1991) was determined by measuring shell length at successive growth lines. Factors affecting growth rates were assessed by examining long-term environmental data. Shell cross-sections of Y. notabilis showed a clear pattern of internal growth lines which formed simultaneously with the annual external lines on the outer shell surface. Hence, they were used as an age marker. A maximum lifespan of 17 yr was determined for this species, and a sigmoidal growth curve was obtained by the internal growth line analysis. Examination of the growth lines also revealed a large annual variation in growth rate, fluctuating as much as 32-fold during the past 9 yr. The variation correlated negatively with water temperature and positively with chlorophyll a content in the water column. It is suggested that the variation in annual growth rate is dependent on food supply during the spring phytoplankton bloom which varies from year to year according to the flow of the cold Oyashio current each spring.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ansell AD (1968) The rate of growth of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria (L) throughout the geographical range. J Cons perm int Explor Mer 31:364–409
Bachelet G (1986) Recruitment and year-to-year variability in a population of Macoma balthica (L.). Hydrobiologia 142:233–248
Beukema JJ, Cadee GC, Jensen JJM (1977) Variability of growth rate of Macoma balthica (L.) in the Wadden Sea in relation to availability of food. In: Keegan BF, O'Ceidigh P, Boaden PJS (eds) Biology of benthic organisms. Proc 11th Eur mar Biol Symp. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 69–77
Clark GR II (1974) Growth lines in invertebrate skeletons. A Rev Earth planet Sci 2: 77–99
Dauvin J-C, Gentil F (1989) Long-term changes in populations of subtidal bivalves (Abra alba and A. prismatica) from the Bay of Morlaix (Western English Channel) Mar Biol 103:63–73
Furuya K, Takahashi K, Iizumi H (1993) Wind-dependent formation of spring bloom in Otsuchi Bay, a ria in Sanriku, Japan. J Oceanogr 49:459–475
Gilkinson KD, Hutchings JA, Oshel PE, Haedrich RL (1986) Shell microstructure and observations on internal banding patterns in the bivalves Yoldia thraciaeformis Storer, 1838, and Nuculana pernula Müller, 1779 (Nuculanidae), from a deep-sea environment. Veliger 29:70–77
Goshima S (1982) Population dynamics of the soft clam, Mya arenaria L., with special reference to its life history pattern. Publs Amakusa mar biol Lab 6:119–165
Hancock DA (1973) The relationship between stock and recruitment in exploited invertebrates. Rapp P-v Reun Cons perm int Explor Mer 164:113–131
Horikoshi M, Ohta S, Tsuchida E (1976) Distribution of smaller macrobenthos, bottom topography and sediment in Otsuchi Bay. Otsuchi mar Res Cent Rep 2:40–44 (in Japanese)
Horikoshi M, Tsuchida E, Imajima M, Takeda M, Gamo S, Ohta S (1979) Benthic invertebrates recorded from Otsuchi Bay and the adjacent Sanriku Coast-primary catalogue of fauna. Otsuchi mar Res Cent Rep 5:37–85 (in Japanese)
Hutchings JA, Haedrich RL (1984) Growth and population structure in two species of bivalves (Nuculanidae) from the deep sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 17:135–142
Iizumi H, Furuya K, Takeuchi I, Kutsuwada K, Tada A, Kawaguchi K (1990) Dynamics of nutrients and chlorophyll a at Otsuchi Bay: analyses of the data of monthly observation. Otsuchi mar Res Cent Rep 16:63–65 (in Japanese)
Jones DS (1981) Annual growth increments in shells of Spisula solidissima recorded marine temperature variability. Science, NY 211:165–167
Jones DS, Arthur MA, Allard DJ (1989) Sclerochronological records of temperature and growth from shells of Mercenaria mercenaria from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Mar Biol 102:225–234
Jones DS, Thompson I, Ambrose WG (1978) Age and growth rate determinations for the Atlantic surf clam Spisula solidissima (Bivalvia: Mactracea), based on internal growth lines in shell crosssections. Mar Biol 47:63–70
Kennish MJ (1980) Shell microgrowth analysis. Mercenaria mercenaria as a type example for research in population dynamics. In: Rhoads DC, Lutz RA (eds) Skeletal growth of aquatic organism. Plenum Press, New York, pp 255–294
Kennish MJ, Loveland RE (1980) Growth models of the northern quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria (Linné). Proc natn Shellfish Ass 70:230–239
Kojima S, Ohta S (1990) Seasonal variations of the deep-sea macrobenthos communities in the coastal and bathyal zones off Sanriku, Northeastern Japan. J oceanogr Soc Japan 46:250–260
Kotani Y, Odate K, Ueno Y, Ishida K (1988) Some variations in zooplankton biomass in the waters off the coast of Sanriku, northeastern Japan. Bull Tohoku reg Fish Res Lab (Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) 50:125–131 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Lammens JJ (1967) Growth and reproduction of a tidal flat population of Macoma balthica (L.). Neth J Sea Res 3:315–382
Lewis JB, Saleh S, Reiswig HM, Lalli CM (1982) Growth, production and biomass of the burrowing protobranch mollusc Yoldia limatula in the Bideford River, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Mar Biol 70:173–179
Lutz RA (1976) Annual growth patterns in the inner shell layer of Mytilus edulis L. J mar biol Ass UK 56:723–731
Lutz RA, Rhoads DC (1980) Growth patterns within the molluscan shell: an overview. In: Rhoads DC, Lutz RA (eds) Skeletal growth of aquatic organisms. Plenum Press, New York, pp 203–254
Mizuno K (1984) Notes on the hydrographic variability in the vicinity of the east coast of Japan. Bull Tohoku reg Fish Res Lab (Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) 46:61–80 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Nakaoka M (1992a) Age determination and growth analysis based on external shell rings of the protobranch bivalve Yoldia notabilis YOKOYAMA in Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan. Benthos Res (Japan) 43:53–66
Nakaoka M (1992b) Spatial and seasonal variation in growth rate and secondary production of Yoldia notabilis in Otsuchi Bay, Japan, with reference to the influence of food supply from the water column. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 88:215–223
Nakaoka M (1993) Population dynamics and life history traits of Yoldia notabilis (Bivalvia: Protobranchia). Doctoral dissertation, University of Tokyo, Tokyo
Okuda K (1986) Occurrence of extremely low water temperature in the coastal region of the Tohoku area associated with interannual variations of the Oyashio Bull Tohoku reg Fish res Lab (Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan). 48:87–96 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Orton JH (1926) On the rate of growth of Cardium edule. Part I. Experimental observations. J mar biol Ass UK 14:239–279
Otsuchi Marine Research Center (1983–1990). Otsuchi Marine Research Center Reports, Nos 9-17. Otsuchi Marine Research Center, Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Otsuchi
Parsons TR, Takahashi M, Hargrave B (1974) Biological oceanographic processes, 2nd edn. Pergamon Press, Oxford
Peterson CH, Duncan PB, Summerson HC, Safrit GW Jr (1983) A mark-recapture test of annual periodicity of internal growth band deposition in shells of hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria from a population along the southeastern United States. Fish Bull US 81:765–778
Rhoads DC, Pannella G (1970) The use of molluscan shell growth patterns in ecology and palaoecology. Lethaia 3:143–161
Robertson AI (1979) The relationship between annual production: biomass ratios and lifespans for marine macrobenthos. Oecologia 38:193–202
Sanders HL (1956) Oceanography of Long Island Sound 1952–1954. X. The biology of marine bottom communities. Bull Bingham oceanogr Coll 15:345–414
SAS Institute (1988) SAS/STATTM User's Guide, Release 6.03 edn. SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina
Seed R (1976) Ecology. In: Bayne BL (ed) Marine mussels: their ecology and physiology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 13–65
Seed R (1980) Shell growth and form in the Bivalvia. In: Rhoads DC, Lutz RA (eds) Skeletal growth of aquatic organisms. Plenum Press, New York, pp 23–67
Shimizu M (1987) Same features of variations in nutrient levels in waters off the coast of central Sanriku. Bull Tohoku reg Fish Lab (Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) 49:141–144 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Tanabe K (1988) Age and growth rate determinations of an intertidal bivalve, Phacosoma japonicum, using internal shell increments. Lethaia 21:231–241
Terazaki M, Marumo R (1982) Seasonal distribution of pelagic chae toguaths in relation to variation of water masses in Otsuchi Bay, northern Japan. La mer (Bull Soc franco-jap Océanogr, Tokyo). 20:111–117 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Theisen BF (1973) The growth of Mytilus edulis L. (Bivalvia) from Disko and Thule district, Greenland. Ophelia 12:59–77
Thompson I, Jones DS, Dreibelbis D (1980) Annual internal growth banding and life history of the ocean quahog Arctica islandica (Mollusca: Bivalvia). Mar Biol 57:25–34
Taylor JD, Kennedy WJ, Hall A (1969) The shell structure and mineralogy of the bivalvia. Introduction. Nuculacea-Trigonacea. Bull Br Mus nat Hist (D: Zool) Suppl 3:1–125
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by T. Ikeda, Nagasaki
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nakaoka, M., Matsui, S. Annual variation in the growth rate of Yoldia notabilis (Bivalvia: Nuculanidae) in Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan, analyzed using shell microgrowth patterns. Marine Bioliogy 119, 397–404 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347536
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347536