A study of growth, recruitment and distribution of Protothaca staminea in Galena Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Abstract

Specimens of Protothaca staninea (Conrad), the littleneck clam, were collected by transecting three beaches in Galena Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska, during the summer months of 1971 for a study of recruitment, growth and distribution. The average size of Protothaca in Galena Bay at the end of the first growing season is approximately 2 mm in length. At any age, Galena Bay littlenecks are smaller than those from British Columbia. In Galena Bay, eight years are needed for P. staminea to reach a length of 30 mm as compared to three years for individuals from British Columbia. In Galena Bay, the intertidal distribution of P. staminea generally follows a bell-shaped curve with upper and lower extremes occurring between the tidal heights of +0.73 and -0.76 meters. Young-of-the-year are essentially epifaunal, and the majority of the specimens of all age classes are found within 4 cm of the sediment surface. The number of individuals surviving annual recruitment into the populations studied was variable.