Loading...
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Department
Biological Sciences
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Rachel Lasley-Rasher
Keywords
zooplankton, scallop aquaculture, Placopecten magellanicus, pelagic food webs, species diversity
Abstract
Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) are an ecologically and economically important species in the Gulf of Maine. In 2019, commercial landings of Atlantic sea scallop in the U.S. totaled more than 60.6 million pounds of sea scallop meats and were valued at approximately $570 million. Despite their commercial significance, dredging for scallops is known to be incredibly destructive to benthic habitats. Aquaculture is much less disruptive to benthic habitats and can help alleviate fishing pressure on wild scallop populations. As more aquaculture farms appear in coastal Maine waters, the impact on pelagic food webs is not widely understood. The increased structural complexity associated with hanging scallop lines will likely baffle strong currents and could promote aggregation by zooplankton, therefore benefitting the surrounding ecosystem. Further, bivalve shellfish can improve water quality through their filter feeding. Finally, scallop aquaculture may directly change the species composition of the surrounding zooplankton community through increased supply of scallop larvae into the system. In this study, we compare zooplankton abundance, diversity, and species composition at three farmed sites in comparison to adjacent open water control sites in Penobscot Bay. Preliminary results suggest that the farmed sites are showing greater zooplankton species diversity than the adjacent sites. This ongoing work yields important insight into the effects of aquaculture practices on prey community structure.
Examining species diversity and food web differences using larval dynamics of Atlantic sea scallop
Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) are an ecologically and economically important species in the Gulf of Maine. In 2019, commercial landings of Atlantic sea scallop in the U.S. totaled more than 60.6 million pounds of sea scallop meats and were valued at approximately $570 million. Despite their commercial significance, dredging for scallops is known to be incredibly destructive to benthic habitats. Aquaculture is much less disruptive to benthic habitats and can help alleviate fishing pressure on wild scallop populations. As more aquaculture farms appear in coastal Maine waters, the impact on pelagic food webs is not widely understood. The increased structural complexity associated with hanging scallop lines will likely baffle strong currents and could promote aggregation by zooplankton, therefore benefitting the surrounding ecosystem. Further, bivalve shellfish can improve water quality through their filter feeding. Finally, scallop aquaculture may directly change the species composition of the surrounding zooplankton community through increased supply of scallop larvae into the system. In this study, we compare zooplankton abundance, diversity, and species composition at three farmed sites in comparison to adjacent open water control sites in Penobscot Bay. Preliminary results suggest that the farmed sites are showing greater zooplankton species diversity than the adjacent sites. This ongoing work yields important insight into the effects of aquaculture practices on prey community structure.
