Population structure, growth and production of the surf clam Donax hanleyanus (Bivalvia: Donacidae) from northern Argentinean beaches

The surf clams Mesodesma mactroides Reeve, 1854 and Donax hanleyanus Philippi, 1847 are the two dominating species in macrobenthic communities of sandy beaches off northern Argentina, with the latter now surpassing M. mactroides populations in abundance and biomass. Before stock decimation caused by...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Herrmann, Marko
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2009
Subjects:
Argentina
Province of Buenos Aires
Buenos_Aires
Faro_Querandí
HAND
Mar_de_las_Pampas
Sampling by hand
Santa_Teresita
SeaLevel
TGS
Tide gauge station
Berichte zur Polar- und Meeresforschung
Reports on Polar and Marine Research
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.690503
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.690503
Description
Summary:The surf clams Mesodesma mactroides Reeve, 1854 and Donax hanleyanus Philippi, 1847 are the two dominating species in macrobenthic communities of sandy beaches off northern Argentina, with the latter now surpassing M. mactroides populations in abundance and biomass. Before stock decimation caused by exploitation (during the 1940s and 1950s) and mass mortality events (1995, 1999 and 2007) M. mactroides was the prominent primary consumer in the intertidal ecosystem and an important economic resource in Argentina. Since D. hanleyanus was not commercially fished and not affected by mass mortality events, it took over as the dominant species, but did never reach the former abundance of M. mactroides. Currently abundance and biomass of both surf clams are a multiple smaller than those of forty years ago, indicating the conservation status of D. hanleyanus and M. mactroides as endangered. Therefore the aim of this study is to analyse the population dynamics (population structure, growth and reproductive biology) of D. hanleyanus and M. mactroides, and to compare the results with historical data in order to detect possible differences within surf clam populations forty years ago and at present.

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