and average mortality for all other stations was 1.6%. All clams were 

 measured. Subsamples were taken to measure shelf life under commercial 

 conditions. Other subsamples were used to test for differences in condition 

 of meats. Results of these studies are to be reported in a final paper which 

 will include all data and analyses. - J.L.M. 



717 



Greene, G. T.,and D. S. Becker. 1978. 



Winterkill of hard clams in Great South Bay, New York 1976-77. 1978 North- 

 eastern Fish and Wildl. Conf . , Fish, and Wildl. Abstr., 1 p. (not numbered) 



Mortality at 31 stations in the Bay was quite variable and ranged from 

 to 27.2%. Mortality showed no strong relation to any variable measured: 

 depth, salinity, substrate particle size, substrate organic content, and 

 clam density. Mortality 10% and higher was confined to one small area of 

 the Bay and apparently was not caused by winter stress alone, but to a 

 combination of characters, perhaps including disease. Mortality in the 

 rest of the Bay over winter was not extreme and averaged 1.6%. Shelf life, 

 represented by the time taken for the first 10 clams of 30 to die under 

 constant temp and humidity, varied from 15 to 38 days and showed no strong 

 correlation with mortality or any other variable. Some clams survived for 

 59 days out of water, the duration of the experiment. - J.L.M. 



718 



Greene, Gregory T.,and D. Scott Becker. 1978. 



Winterkill of hard clams in Great South Bay, New York, 1976-77. In Sea Grant 

 Assn., Student abstracts. Oregon State Univ. Sea Grant Coll. Progr. Communic. 

 Staff: 24. 



(Not formal publication of research results - for information only.) 

 Mercenaria mercenaria survived extensive cold and ice very well, except for 

 the population in Patchogue Cove. High mortality there was probably caused 

 by a combination of factors perhaps including disease and pollution, 

 aggravated by winter stress. Effects of severe winter actually may have 

 been beneficial to the clam resource, because ice halted fishing on beds 

 normally heavily exploited, and because a major predator ( Callinectes sapidus, 

 blue crab.) apparently was hurt by cold. - J.L.M. 



719 



Greene, G. T., A. C. F. Mirchel , W. J. Behrens, and D. S. Becker. 1978. 



Surficial sediment and seagrasses of eastern Great South Bay, N.Y. Marine 

 Sciences Research Center, State Univ. of N.Y. , Stony Brook, Spec. Rept. 12, 

 Ref. 77-9, ii+30 p. 



Purpose of the study was to provide basic information on sediment distribution 

 for scientific management and planning for the hard clam industry. Eleven of 

 186 stations contained Mercenaria mercenaria shell. Six of these 11 stations 

 contained shells of dead young Mercenaria 4 to 16 mm long. The others 

 contained fragments of much larger hard clams. Three clam species, Mulinia 

 lateralis , Ensis directus , and Gemma gemma, apparently were numerically more 

 abundant than hard clam. The section on sediment quality in relation to hard 

 clam is based on a literature review of papers abstracted elsewhere in this 

 bibliography. It is pointed out that a relation between clam abundance and a 

 substrate variable does not necessarily show cause and effect. Factors like 

 water circulation that lead to formation of a particular type of substrate 

 may be the critical factors affecting clam density. Abundance of clams also 

 is affected by harvesting, so that a productive clam ground could have lower 

 densities than other less-harvested areas. Areas of high shell density could 

 have higher clam densities because clammers are discouraged by the difficulty- 

 of working in shelly bottoms. Thorough knowledge of the relationships between 

 sediment type and hard clam biology will require further study. - J.L.M. 



202 



