Overview
Distribution
Geographic Range
The Asiatic clam is found throughout Asia, North and South America, Europe and parts of Africa. The clam occurs primarily in streams south of 40 degrees latitude in the northern hemisphere.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native ); neotropical (Native )
© The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors
Source:
Animal Diversity Web
Trusted
Distribution
-
Streftaris, N.; Zenetos, A.; Papathanassiou, E. (2005). Globalisation in marine ecosystems: the story of non-indigenous marine species across European seas. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 43: 419-453
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=9271
-
Nehring, S. (2006). Four arguments why so many alien species settle into estuaries, with special reference to the German river Elbe. Helgol. Mar. Res. 60(2): 127-134.
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=9803
-
Gollash, S.; Nehring, S. (2006). National checklist for aquatic alien species in Germany. Aquatic invasions 1(4): 245-269
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=10051
-
Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
http://www.marinespecies.org/porifera/porifera.php?p=sourcedetails&id=145245
-
MEDIN (2011). UK checklist of marine species derived from the applications Marine Recorder and UNICORN, version 1.0.
http://www.marinespecies.org/asteroidea/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=149081
-
Ramos, M. (ed.). 2010. IBERFAUNA. The Iberian Fauna Databank
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=149024
© WoRMS for SMEBD
Source:
World Register of Marine Species
Trusted
National Distribution
Canada
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Global Range: >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Ecology
Habitat
Habitat
The Asiatic clam prefers a lake or stream that has a a sandy or gravel substrate. However, they are also located underneath large boulders and in soft silts of deepwater lakes. The clam thrives better in fast flowing waters because the currents supply a constant source of the particulate food that the clam consumes.
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
© The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors
Source:
Animal Diversity Web
Trusted
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): -99 - 22.5
Graphical representation
Depth range (m): -99 - 22.5
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
Trusted
Habitat Type: Freshwater
Comments: This species can survive in almost any freshwater environment, including brackish and estuarine waters, that is permanent (Carlton, 1992). In a study of the relationships of 12 environmental variables to density oand biomass of Corbicula fluminea, higher density and biomass were found to be correlated to where substrate was > 40% fine sand, < 45% silt, and < 8% organic content (Cooper, 2007).
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Migration
Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
The Asiatic clam is a filter-feeding bivalve. It filters microscopic organisms, such as plankton, from the water.
© The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors
Source:
Animal Diversity Web
Trusted
Population Biology
Number of Occurrences
Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.
Estimated Number of Occurrences: > 300
Comments: One of the farthest northerly records is in the Clinton River in southeastern Michigan from before 1990 (Janech and Hunter, 1995). This species has been documented in Colorado (Cordeiro and MacWilliams, 1999) and is expanding in that state (Sovell and Guralnick, 2005). Recently it has been found in a number of permanent water bodies at the central and western regions of Cuba (Pointier et al., 2005). This species is apparently rare in the Fox River basin in Illinois and Wisconsin as a recent comprehensive survey found it alive at only a single tributary in Illinois (none in Wisconsin portion) (Schanzle et al., 2004). It occurs throughout the Rough River (Green basin), Kentucky (Gordon, 1991). In Alabama it occurs in most of the statre and the Mobile Basin except for the Blackwater, Perdido and Escatawpa Rivers and some direct tributaries of Mobile Bay (Williams et al., 2008; McGregor et al., 1999). Pearce and Evans (2008) documented it in Plummers Island (Middle Potomac River system), Maryland. Lysne and Clark (2009) found it in the Bruneau River (survey area from Snake River confluence upstream to Hot Creek- 41 km) in Idaho.
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Life History and Behavior
Reproduction
Reproduction
The Asiatic clam is hermaphroditic, with single genopores on each sides of the body. Reproduction and larval release occurs biannually in the spring and in the late summer. The clam is believed to practice self-fertilization, enabling rapid colony regeneration when colony populations are low.
© The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors
Source:
Animal Diversity Web
Trusted
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Barcode data: Corbicula fluminea
There are 13 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank. Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species. See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
-- end --
Download FASTA File
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
Trusted
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Corbicula fluminea
Public Records: 12
Species: 13
Species With Barcodes: 1
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
Trusted
Conservation
Conservation Status
Conservation Status
Historically, wild populations of the Asiatic clam were exploited and harvested, to the extent that , locally, the clams once faced endangerment or extinction. Today, the clam thrives throughout the world.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: no special status
© The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors
Source:
Animal Diversity Web
Trusted
National NatureServe Conservation Status
Canada
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
NatureServe Conservation Status
Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure
Reasons: This species is widespread and has invaded many countries globally.
Environmental Specificity: Broad. Generalist or community with all key requirements common.
Comments: This species can survive in almost any freshwater environment, including brackish and estuarine waters, that is permanent (Carlton, 1992). In a study of the relationships of 12 environmental variables to density oand biomass of Corbicula fluminea, higher density and biomass were found to be correlated to where substrate was > 40% fine sand, < 45% silt, and < 8% organic content (Cooper, 2007).
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Trends
Global Short Term Trend: Increase of 10 to >25%
Global Long Term Trend: Increase of >25%
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Management
Global Protection: Unknown whether any occurrences are appropriately protected and managed
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
The clam creates a problem for power plants by blocking the ventalation systems and the water intake valves. Combined costs of outages, reductions in efficiency, capital investment in equipment, labor and chemical control, exceed 1 billion annually.
© The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors
Source:
Animal Diversity Web
Trusted
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The Asiatic clam is a major source of food and is harvested by humans throughout the world. The clam, when removed from its shell, also makes good fishbait.
© The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors
Source:
Animal Diversity Web
Trusted
Wikipedia
Corbicula fluminea
Corbicula fluminea is a species of freshwater clam, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Corbiculidae.
This species is of originally mainly Asian origin and thus it is often commonly called Asian clam or Asiatic clam. In the aquarium and koi pond trade it is often called Golden Clam or Golden Freshwater Clam. In Southeast Asia it is known as the prosperity clam or good luck clam.
This species has been introduced into many parts of the world, including North America and Europe.
Right after reaching maturity these clams produce eggs, followed by sperm. Even later, they produce eggs and sperm simultaneously. They can self-fertilize, and release up to 2,000 juveniles per day, and more than 100,000 in a lifetime. Juveniles are only 1 mm long when discharged, and take one to four years to reach maturity. At this time they are about one centimeter long. Adults can reach a length of about 5 cm.
The outside of the shell is normally yellow-green with concentric rings. The color can flake, leaving white spots. The shells are lightly purple on the inside.
They feed primarily on phytoplankton (algae), which they filter from the sandy or muddy bottom of streams, lakes, or canals.
"An invasive clam, Corbicula fluminea, appeared at Lake Tahoe in 2002 in spotty numbers. But in the past two years, densities of the inch-long clam have jumped 100-fold. Waste from the clams, in turn, has helped trigger blooms of bright green algae".[1] Researchers have recently found that since the early 1990s Lake Tahoe and other California and Nevada lakes have been warming at twice the rate of the surrounding atmosphere.[2]. The USGS has concluded that C. fluminea is likely to continue to expand its North American range until it reaches its lower temperature tolerance.[2]
Recently German researchers have determined that a "strong, positive effect of moderate winter warming on the clams' fitness is probably one reason for the recent invasion success of C. fluminea in the northern hemisphere."[3]
The primary economic and social impact of the invasion of C. fluminea has been billions of dollars in costs associated with clogged water intake pipes, associated with power plants, among others. Ecologically, C. fluminea contributes to declines and replacement of highly vulnerable, already threatened native clams. [3].
Contents |
Distribution
As a native species
This clam originally occurs in Russia, Thailand, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, but also in parts of Africa.[4]
As an invasive species
Corbicula fluminea was probably brought to North America at the latest in 1924, by Asian immigrants who used the clams as a food source. The clams are abundant in the Albemarle region of North Carolina, as well as other areas along the east coast. Non-indigenous distribution of Corbicula fluminea include:
- It was first found in the Rhine in the late 1980s and subsequently found its way into the Danube through the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. It reached the Elbe in 1998 at the latest.[5]
- Czech Republic - in Elbe in Bohemia since 2000[6][7] and it is spreading.[8]
- It is now in rivers of Portugal, like Minho River.
- Cuba[9]
- Venezuela[10][11][12]
- Lake Placid, NY, USA
- Allegheny River, Pittsburgh, PA
Taxonomy
There are in fact two species present in introduced populations, C. fluminea and Corbicula fluminalis.[13] However, the two species are often mixed together. The names themselves are sometimes confused in the literature (e.g. by being called '"Corbicula fluminata"). Care needs to be taken in order to properly distinguish the two species.
The ratio of width and height in C. fluminea is on average 1.1. In C. fluminalis it is smaller (0.97); still, there is much variation and considerable overlap in shape. Most easily, they can be distinguished by the amount of ribs on the shell; C. fluminea has 7 to 14 ribs per cm, C. fluminalis 13 to 28.[14] This character is already clearly recognizable (albeit only by direct comparison) in very small (5 mm diameter) specimens. In addition, when viewed from the side (looking at the opening between the shells), C. fluminalis is rounder, almost heart-shaped, while C. fluminea has a slightly flatter shape like a teardrop with a notched broad end. Small specimens of C. fluminalis are almost spherical, while those of C. fluminea are decidedly flattened. All these differences except the rib number are a consequence of C. fluminalis having a markedly more swollen, pointed and protruding umbo (the oldest part of the shell valves, close to the ligament holding them together).
See also
References
- ^ ADN
- ^ USGS
- ^ [1]
- ^ USGS (2001): Nonindigenous species information bulletin: Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) (Mollusca: Corbiculidae). PDF fulltext
- ^ Jueg, U. & Zettler, M.L. (2004): Die Molluskenfauna der Elbe in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mit Erstnachweis der Grobgerippten Körbchenmuschel Corbicula fluminea (O. F. Müller 1756). Mitteilungen der NGM 4(1): 85-89. [in German] PDF fulltext
- ^ Beran L. (2000) "First record of Corbicula fluminea (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in the Czech Republic". Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae 64: 1-2.
- ^ (Czech) Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. [Annotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics]". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, Suppl. 1: 1-37. PDF.
- ^ Beran L. (2006). Spreading expansion of Corbicula fluminea (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in the Czech Republic. – Heldia 6 5/6: 187-192.
- ^ Vázquez A. A. & Perera S. (2010). "Endemic Freshwater molluscs of Cuba and their conservation status". Tropical Conservation Science 3(2): 190-199. HTM, PDF.
- ^ Martítnez E, Rafael. 1987: Corbicula manilensis molusco introducido en Venezuela. Acta Científica Venezolana 38:384-385
- ^ Ojasti, Juhani., González Jiménez, Eduardo, Szeplaki Otahola, Eduardo. y García Román, Luis B. 2001: Informe sobre las especies exótica en Venezuela. Ministerio del Ambiente y de los Recursos Naturales Caracas. 207p. ISBN 980-04-1254-9
- ^ Lasso, Carlos A., Martínez E, Rafael, Capelo, Juan Carlos., Morales Betancourt, Mónica y Sánchez- Maya, Alejandro. 2009: Lista de los moluscos (Gastropodos_Bivalvia) dulceacuícolas y estuarinos de la cuenca del Orinoco (Venezuela). Biota Colombiana, 10(1 -2):63-74.
- ^ It is not entirely clear that this is the correct name (Jueg & Zettler, 2004)
- ^ Jueg & Zettler (2004), and see "External links"
7. ^ Weitere, M. et al. (2009) Linking environmental warming to the fitness of the invasive clam Corbicula fluminea, Global Change Biology, Volume 15 Issue 12, Pages 2838 - 2851 [4]
Source:
Wikipedia
Unreviewed
Disclaimer
EOL content is automatically assembled from many different content providers. As a result, from time to time you may find pages on EOL that are confusing.
To request an improvement, please leave a comment on the page. Thank you!
