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INTERTIDAL ZONATION IN POPULATIONS OF MYA ARENARIA 1
Author(s) -
Matthiessen George C.
Publication year - 1960
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1960.5.4.0381
Subject(s) - intertidal zone , oceanography , sediment , intertidal ecology , population , ecology , geology , biology , paleontology , demography , sociology
Observations over a 2‐year period on the distribution of two successive year‐classes of Mya arenaria in a tidal area near Quincy, Mass., indicated that young clams 2–15 mm in length were subject to appreciable changes in location in intertidal areas. Such changes involved a shoreward displacement of the members of the population as they exceeded 5 mm in length, with a marked tendency for successive populations ultimately to become concentrated near an abrupt change in the beach profile. The similarities between the patterns of clam and surface sediment distribution in this area are discussed, and it is suggested that, as in the case of sediment particles, hydrodynamic forces are primarily responsible for the zonation of Mya populations in intertidal areas.