Elemental fingerprinting of adult and juvenile Nantucket bay scallop shells, Argopecten irradians (Lamarck 1819) revealed distinct element/Ca ratios that can be used to distinguish provenance of bay scallops in Nantucket Harbor. Within this small harbor (∼ 10 km2), we identified 3 distinct habitat zones defined by the abundance of scallops at a location: zone 1 (barren), zone 2 (low abundance), and zone 3 (high abundance). Element/Ca ratios were associated with proximity to the harbor mouth, with elemental differences attributed to variation in salinity and pH. Using binary logistic regression, we identified the source zones based on shell elemental ratios (i.e., various elemental concentrations divided by [Ca]). We also identified boundary salinity and pH conditions that support large abundance of A. irradians within Nantucket Harbor. This information is crucial to seeding projects and the management of the Nantucket Harbor A. irradians population.
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1 August 2012
Elemental Fingerprints used to Identify Essential Habitats: Nantucket Bay Scallop
Bryanna J. Broadaway,
Robyn E. Hannigan
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Journal of Shellfish Research
Vol. 31 • No. 3
August 2012
Vol. 31 • No. 3
August 2012
Argopecten irradians
bay scallop
elemental fingerprinting
essential habitat
statistical modeling