Population dynamics of the venerid bivalve Callista chione (L.) in a coastal area of the eastern Mediterranean
In: Journal of Sea Research. Elsevier/Netherlands Institute for Sea Research: Amsterdam; Den Burg. ISSN 1385-1101; e-ISSN 1873-1414, more
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Keywords |
Fauna > Aquatic organisms > Aquatic animals > Shellfish > Marine organisms > Marine molluscs Population dynamics Population functions > Growth Production Production Production Reproduction Bivalvia [WoRMS]; Callista chione (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS] MED, Aegean [Marine Regions]; MED, Eastern Mediterranean [Marine Regions] Marine/Coastal |
Author keywords |
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Abstract |
The venerid bivalve Callista chione is the most prominent suspension-feeding bivalve inhabiting the soft bottom of coastal areas in the northern Euboikos Gulf (Aegean Sea), where it is exploited by small-scale fishery. The parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth function were estimated and the somatic production-to-biomass ratio was found to be 0.45 y-1. The maximum age of adult individuals was 17 years. The species is gonochoristic, its oocyte diameter ranged from 54.5 to 120 µm with a conspicuous jelly-coat. Microscopical examination of the gonads showed that gonadal production did not start until the second year of life. The observations on the gonadal cycle indicate that this bivalve is capable of year-round reproduction |
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