Giant clam growth in the Gulf of Aqaba is accelerated compared to fossil populations.

ABSTRACT: The health of reef-building corals has declined due to climate change and pollution. However, less is known about whether giant clams, reef-dwelling bivalves with a photosymbiotic partnership similar to that found in reef-building corals, are also threatened by environmental degradation. To compare giant clam health against a prehistoric baseline, we collected fossil and modern Tridacna shells from the Gulf of Aqaba, Northern Red Sea. After calibrating daily/twice-daily growth lines from the outer shell layer, we determined that modern individuals of all three species (Tridacna maxima, T. squamosa and T. squamosina) grew faster than Holocene and Pleistocene specimens. Modern specimens also show median shell organic δ¹⁵N values 4.2‰ lower than fossil s

SUBMITTER: Killam D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8385342 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature