AUTHOR=Hou Wenhao , Wei Xiangtao , Bai Weihao , Zheng Yajuan , Tan Qiyin , Liu Zhaojun , Rong Bowen , Ge Changzi 

TITLE=Effects of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum culture on the macrobenthic community

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1084386

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2023.1084386

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=Macrobenthic bioturbation affects the environment, and variances in habitat, such as decreased dissolved oxygen concentration and increased ammonia concentration, affect the macrobenthic community. Thus, the relationship between macrobenthos and habitat factors may be a mutually causal relationship. Bottom-sowing culture for Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum in many coastal countries plays an important role in coastal fisheries, and the relationship between calm and other macrobenthos affects the ecological stability of bottom-sowing culture zone, especially the production of Manila clam. Thus, it is necessary to explore the relationship between them to manage the waters used for bottom-sowing culture for Manila clam. From June to October 2021,the field investigation on macrobenthos including Manila clam and their habitat factors, such as particle size, nutrient content, redox potential, and organic matter content, in 21 experimental communities enclosed by bolting-silk net in Shuangdao Bay, Weihai, Shandong, China was conducted, during which macrobenthos functional groups were determined by feed sources and motor behavior. Manila clam biomass was 7.215±0.984 g/m2 (calculated by dry soft tissue weight) and it was positively correlated with the biomass of macrobebthos functional groups B1, G1 and P1, and water content in sediment, sulfide content in interstitial water, Shanon-Wiener diversity index, Pielou evenness index and the statistic W of ABC (Abundance-Biomass Comparison) curve (p<0.05). Moreover, it was negatively correlated with sediment particulate size and HCl-NO3 content in sediment (p<0.05). The action of Manila clam to habitats was the dominant role of the interaction between clam and habitat. Thus, the bottom-sowing culture for Manila clam does not decrease the macrobenthic community stability, and the invasion of other macrobenthos into the bottom-sowing culture zones for Manila clam may be accidental or inevitable. The management of the bottom-sowing culture for Manila clam should be conducted from ecosystem level, i.e., fishing and aquaculture in the same waters are regarded as two components of an ecosystem, and manage them together, rather than separate them separately.