Publication Date:
2022-05-26
Description:
Author Posting. © National Shellfisheries Association, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of National Shellfisheries Association for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Shellfish Research 30 (2011): 35-38, doi:10.2983/035.030.0106.
Description:
Twenty-two large shells (〉90 mm shell height) from a sample of live collected hard shell clams, Mercenaria mercenaria, from Buzzards Bay, Woods Hole, Cape Cod, MA, were subjected to sclerochronological analysis. Annually resolved growth lines in the hinge region and margin of the shell were identified and counted; the age of the oldest clam shell was determined to be at least 106 y. This age represents a considerable increase in the known maximum life span for M. mercenaria, more than doubling the maximum recorded life span of the species (46 y). More than 85% of the clam shells aged had more than 46 annual increments, the previous known maximum life span for the species. In this article we present growth rate and growth performance indicators (the overall growth performance and phi prime) for this record-breaking population of M. mercenaria. Recently discovered models of aging require accurate age records and growth parameters for bivalve populations if they are to be utilized to their full potential.
Description:
This work was supported by grants from the American
Diabetes Association (to Z. U.), American Federation for
Aging Research (to A. C.), the University of Oklahoma College
of Medicine Alumni Association (to A. C.), the BBSRC (to
C. A. R.),the National Institutes of Health (AT006526 and
HL077256 to Z. U.; AG022873 and AG025063 to S. N. A.),
and the DFG Cluster of Excellence ‘‘Future Ocean’’ (to E. P.).
Keywords:
Longevity record
;
Mercenaria mercenaria
;
Maximum life span
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
Format:
application/pdf
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