Studies on twelve common bivalve larvae,with notes on bivalve spawning seasons in New Zealand

Twelve common bivalve larvae occurring in the plankton from the Bay of Islands (35°15'S, 174°10'E), Wellington Harbour (41°16'S, 174°51'E), and off Raumati Beach (40°56'S, 174°58'E), New Zealand, during 1970–72 are described and, wherever possible, provisionally identified. The seasonal occurrences of these larvae in the plankton are also described. Information on the spawning cycles of some New Zealand adult bivalves is reviewed; although some species have a short (4 months or less) spawning season, for most it is much longer, possibly with ‘trickle’ spawning through several months of the year.     

Impacts of a bivalve mass mortality event on an estuarine food web and bivalve grazing pressure

Declines in bivalve populations have been quite common worldwide, often associated with coastal development, pollution and climate change. In addition to the impacts of these chronic stressors, occasional mass mortality events may have severe consequences on ecosystem services and biodiversity. In this study, we examined the impact of a mass mortality event of the clam (Austrovenus stutchburyi) on an estuarine food web and the grazing pressure exerted by the bivalve population. In February 2009, c. 60% of the clam population died in Whangateau Harbour, New Zealand. Population clearance rate calculations suggest that the clam population do not exert significant top-down control on phytoplankton biomass in the estuary, and thus the impact of the mortality event on bivalve grazing pressure was less severe than the reduction in abundance would suggest. A trophic model shows that phytoplankton play a limited role in the estuary food web, which is instead dominated by microphytobenthos and clams. This study highlights the importance of microphytobenthos in shallow estuaries, and the application of the trophic model is a useful tool that can identify key components of the ecosystem and could help inform monitoring programmes.     

Effects of sediment deposition on the New Zealand cockle,Austrovenus stutchburyi

New Zealand estuaries and harbours are subjected to increasing sediment deposition that can smother and bury infaunal communities, yet how coastal species respond to sediment deposition is not well understood. Here, we experimentally examined the effects of native marine sediment deposition on the NZ cockle (Austrovenus stutchburyi). Cockles were found to be highly mobile and capable burrowers, able to resurface within days from beneath 2–25?cm of sediment where no physical disturbance to their natural orientation occurred. Cockles were also resilient to daily (2?cm) reburials. However, following disturbance to their natural orientation, inverted cockles were significantly impeded when buried under 5–10?cm of sediment, with fewer adults resurfacing than sub-adults. Cockle populations are likely to be resilient to native sediment deposition, unless physically disturbed. When disturbed from their natural orientation in the sediment, higher mortality of larger adult-sized cockles would be predicted, with mortality increasing under thicker sediment deposits.