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The biology of the stout razor clamTagelus plebeius: II. Some aspects of the population dynamics

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Chesapeake Science

Abstract

The population dynamics of the stout razor clam,Tagelus plebeius, were investigated for three years. Density, year-class structure, and recruitment varied with elevation above mean low water, among sample areas, and among years. Recruitment was unimodel and restricted to the late spring. Over 80% of the juveniles recruited in the spring were absent from the sample areas by the following fall. Growth rates ofT. plebeius varied with season, age, and elevation above MLW, but did not vary among sample areas or years.T. plebeius grew faster and reached a larger final length in low intertidal areas. The American Oystercatcher,Haematopus palliatus palliatus, and the stingrays,Dasyatis sabena andDasyatis americana, were the major clam predators identified.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Technology Center, Martin Marietta Corporoation, 1450 South Rolling Road, 21227, Baltimore, Maryland

    A. F. Holland

  2. Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research and Department of Biology, University of South Carolina, 29208, Columbia, South Carolina

    J. M. Dean

Authors
  1. A. F. Holland
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  2. J. M. Dean
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Additional information

This work was supported by the Belle W. Baruch Foundation and is Contribution No. 118 of the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research.

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Holland, A.F., Dean, J.M. The biology of the stout razor clamTagelus plebeius: II. Some aspects of the population dynamics. Chesapeake Science 18, 188–196 (1977). https://doi.org/10.2307/1350860

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