Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-x5cpj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-31T08:24:44.134Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Long-term changes in some benthic species in the Firth of Clyde, with particular reference to Tellina tenuis da Costa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

P. R. O. Barnett  and
J. Watson
P. R. O. Barnett
Affiliation:
Scottish Marine Biological Association, Dunstaffnage Marine Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 3, Oban, Argyll PA34 4AD, Scotland
J. Watson
Affiliation:
Scottish Marine Biological Association, Dunstaffnage Marine Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 3, Oban, Argyll PA34 4AD, Scotland
Get access

Synopis

Present knowledge of long-term changes in benthic species in the Firth of Clyde is reviewed.

Recent work on the annual variations in seasonal cycles of the sand-dwelling bivalve Tellina tenuis da Costa shows some correlations with natural and man-made variations in seawater temperature. Between 1973 and 1984 inclusive good settlements of young occurred on the two beaches examined in the autumns of years when higher mean seawater temperatures occurred in June and July. The implications are discussed in relation to cycles of climatic change. In general, settlements at Hunterston, a thermally enriched area, were considerably greater than at Kames Bay, a site affected only by natural temperature changes. However, T. tenuis at Kames Bay grew to much larger maximum sizes than at Hunterston, except in 1979, when Hunterston animals were larger. The possible interactions of food availability and the modifying effects of heated discharges are discussed.

Earlier results by Dr A. C. Stephen between 1926 and 1951 are reassessed in the light of present knowledge.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 90: The Environment of the Estuary and Firth of Clyde , 1986 , pp. 287 - 302
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, J. A. 1962. The fauna of the Clyde Sea Area. Mollusca. Millport: Scottish Marine Biological Association.Google Scholar
Allen, J. A. 1967. The fauna of the Clyde Sea Area. Crustacea: Euphausiacea and Decapoda, with an illustrated key to the British species. Millport: Scottish Marine Biological Association.Google Scholar
Ansell, A. D. 1972. Distribution, growth and seasonal changes in biochemical composition for the bivalve Donax vittatus (da Costa) from Kames Bay, Millport. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 10,137–150.Google Scholar
Ansell, A. D. & Trevallion, A. 1967. Studies on Tellina tenuis Da Costa. I. Seasonal growth and biochemical cycle. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 1,220–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bagenal, T. B. 1965. The fauna of the Clyde Sea Area. Fishes. Millport: Scottish Marine Biological Association.Google Scholar
Barnett, P. R. O. 1971. Some changes in intertidal sand communities due to thermal pollution. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B177, 353–364.Google Scholar
Barnett, P. R. O. 1972. Effects of warm water effluents from power stations on marine life. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B180, 497–509.Google Scholar
Barnett, P. R. O. 1985. The effect of temperature on the growth of planktonic larvae of Tellina tenuis da Costa. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 89,1–10.Google Scholar
Brown, A. 1878. The Mollusca of the Firth of Clyde, being a catalogue of recent marine species found in that estuary. Glasgow: Hugh Hopkins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chumley, J. 1918. The fauna of the Clyde Sea Area. Glasgow: The University Press.Google Scholar
Clark, R. B. 1960. The fauna of the Clyde Sea Area: Polychaeta. Millport: Scottish Marine Biological Association.Google Scholar
Clyde River Purification Board 1980. Fifth annual report for the year ending 31st December 1979. Glasgow: Clyde River Purification Board.Google Scholar
Elliott, G. F. S., Laurie, M. & Murdoch, J. B. (eds.) 1901. Fauna, Flora and Geology of the Clyde Area. Glasgow: Local Committee for the Meeting of the British Association.Google Scholar
Elmhirst, R. 1936. Faunistic notes. Report of the Scottish Marine Biological Association 1935–36, 11–14.Google Scholar
Elmhirst, R. & Stephen, A. C. 1929. Local extinction of a recently abundant lamellibranch. Nature, London 123, 606.Google Scholar
Mclntyre, A. D. 1970. The range of biomass in intertidal sand, with special reference to the bivalve Tellina tenuis. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 50,561–575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Millar, R. H. 1960. The fauna of the Clyde Sea Area: Ascidiacea. Millport: Scottish Marine Biological Association.Google Scholar
Moore, P. G. 1980. Sea surface temperatures at Millport, 1959–1979. Western Naturalist 9,53–61.Google Scholar
Moore, P. G. 1983. The apparent role of temperature in breeding initiation and winter population structure in Hyale nilsonni Rathke (Amphipoda): field observations 1972–83. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 71,237–248.Google Scholar
Muus, K. 1973. Settling, growth and mortality of young bivalves in the Øresund. Ophelia 12, 79–116.Google Scholar
Snedecor, G. W. & Cochran, W. G. 1967. Statistical methods 6th edn. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Steele, J. H. & Edwards, R. C. C. 1970. The ecology of 0-group plaice and common dabs in Loch Ewe. IV. Dynamics of the plaice and dab populations. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 4,174–187.Google Scholar
Stephen, A. C. 1928. Notes on the biology of Tellina tenuis da Costa. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 15,683–702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephen, A. C. 1929. Studies on the Scottish marine fauna: The fauna of the sandy and muddy areas of the tidal zone. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 56,291–306.Google Scholar
Stephen, A. C. 1931. Notes on the biology of certain lamellibranchs on the Scottish coast. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 17,277–300.Google Scholar
Stephen, A. C. 1932. Notes on the biology of some lamellibranchs in the Clyde area. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 18,51–68.Google Scholar
Stephen, A. C. 1938. Production of large broods in certain marine lamellibranchs with a possible relation to weather conditions. Journal of Animal Ecology 7,130–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephen, A. C. 1945. Molluscan ecology. Report of the Scottish Marine Biological Association 1944—45, 14—16.Google Scholar
Stephen, A. C. 1953. Life on sandy shores. In Essays in marine biology eds. Marshall, S. M. & Orr, A. P., pp. 50–72. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd.Google Scholar