Morphology of Astarte borealis (Mollusca: bivalvia) of Camden bay, northern Alaska

• Other Authors: Chrpa, Michelle E. (author), Oleinik, Anton E. (Thesis advisor), Charles E. Schmidt College of Science (Degree grantor), Department of Geosciences
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Florida Atlantic University
• Subjects: Bivalves > Alaska > Camden Bay > Geographical distribution; Mollusks; Fossil > Alaska > Camden Bay > Morphology; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Pacific; North Atlantic; Pacific Arctic; Alaska
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA0004010; https://fau.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fau%3A13055/datastream/TN/view/Morphology%20of%20Astarte%20borealis%20%28Mollusca%3A%20bivalvia%29%20of%20Camden%20bay,%20northern%20Alaska.jpg

The genus Astarte is known for variable shell morphology and polymorphism within living and fossil species. Astarte borealis, the most common living species, is recognizable and common among mid-to-high latitude North Pacific, Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic waters, and has been divided into many subspecies and varieties based on overall shell shape. A collection of recent A. borealis specimens from Camden Bay, northern Alaska (641 specimens) with outline intact were used for analyses. Bivariate analysis of height vs. length and morphometric analysis of shell outline determined variants within a population of A. borealis, and then compared to Pliocene A. borealis and Oligocene A. martini. The computer program SHAPE uses elliptic Fourier coefficients of shell outline to evaluate and visualize shape variations. The multivariate outline analysis indicates that A. borealis intraspecies variation is based upon a common shape that grades into other shapes, rather than grade between two or more end-forms. Includes bibliography. Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.