Growth and population dynamics of the giant clam Tridacna maxima (Röding) at its southern limit of distribution in coastal, subtropical eastern Australia

The Solitary Islands Marine Park in northern New South Wales hosts eastern Australia’s southernmost coastal population of the giant clam Tridacna maxima. This small population of clams was monitored and measured over a 12-yr period to determine patterns of distribution, dynamics and growth rates. Most (31) of the 40 specimens found were present at the most offshore location (North Solitary Island) and growth rates were similar to those recorded on the southern Great Barrier Reef. Recruitment rates were very low (<2 yr-1 across the whole Park) and loss of individuals was mostly associated with periods of large swell. The importance of North Solitary Island for Tridacna reflects the results of other studies demonstrating a strong tropical influence, mediated by the East Australian Current, at this, the most offshore island on the NSW coast.

• Publication year

  2011

• Venue

  Molluscan Research

• Publication date

  2011-04-21

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.11646/mr.31.1.5
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Variation in sea temperature and the East Australian Current in the Solitary Islands region between 2001-2008

  2011cited by this paper
• Biogeographical and cross-shelf patterns of reef fish assemblages in a transition zone

  2010cited by this paper
• Using patterns of reef fish assemblages to refine a Habitat Classification System for marine parks in NSW, Australia.

  2009cited by this paper
• A comparison of two surveys of invertebrates at Pacific Ocean islands: the giant clam at Raivavae Island, Australes Archipelago, French Polynesia

  2009cited by this paper
• Spatial distribution, population dynamics and productivity of Spisula subtruncata: implications for Spisula fisheries in seaduck wintering areas

  2007cited by this paper
• Occurrence of tropical fishes in temperate southeastern Australia: Role of the East Australian Current

  2007cited by this paper
• The giant clam Tridacna maxima communities of three French Polynesia islands: comparison of their population sizes and structures at early stages of their exploitation

  2006cited by this paper
• The remarkable population size of the endangered clam Tridacna maxima assessed in Fangatau Atoll (Eastern Tuamotu, French Polynesia) using in situ and remote sensing data

  2005cited by this paper
• A field guide to the marine life of Lord Howe Island

  2004cited by this paper
• Latitudinal variation in coral communities in eastern Australia: a qualitative biophysical model of factors regulating coral reefs

  2002influential reference
• Environmental controls on growth of the massive coral Porites.

  2000cited by this paper
• Population size and structure of giant clams at Rose Atoll, an important refuge in the Samoan Archipelago

  1999cited by this paper
• Coral growth in subtropical eastern Australia

  1999cited by this paper
• Distribution and abundance of giant sea anemones (Actiniaria) in subtropical eastern Australian waters

  1997influential reference
• Patterns of coral community structure of subtropical reefs in the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve, Eastern Australia

  1994influential reference
• The biology, exploitation, and mariculture of giant clams (Tridacnidae)

  1994cited by this paper
• Nutrition of the giant clam Tridacna gigas (L.) I. Contribution of filter feeding and photosynthates to respiration and growth

  1992cited by this paper
• Giant Clams in Asia and the Pacific

  1988cited by this paper
• Prospects for the commercial cultivation of Giant Clams

  1983cited by this paper
• Corals of the Solitary Islands, New South Wales

  1974cited by this paper

• Guardians of the clams: a decadal monitoring effort of endangered giant clams by citizen scientists

  2024cites this paper
• Photosymbiosis shaped animal genome architecture and gene evolution as revealed in giant clams

  2024cites this paper
• Citizen Scientists Record Significant Range Extensions for Tropical Sea Slug Species in Subtropical Eastern Australia

  2022cites this paper
• Population structure of giant clams (subfamily: Tridacninae) across Palau: Implications for conservation

  2021cites this paper
• The shelled gastropods of the Solitary Islands Marine Park, northern New South Wales, Australia

  2020influential citation
• Slugging it out for science: volunteers provide valuable data on the diversity and distribution of heterobranch sea slugs

  2019cites this paper
• Growth rates of the giant clam Tridacna maxima (Röding, 1798) reared in cages in the Egyptian Red Sea

  2019cites this paper
• Beyond Capricornia: Tropical Sea Slugs (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) Extend Their Distributions into the Tasman Sea

  2018influential citation
• Tracing the source of marine debris on the beaches of northern New South Wales, Australia: The Bottles on Beaches program.

  2018cites this paper
• Mollusc assemblages of soft-sediments in subtropical eastern Australia

  2018cites this paper
• Patterns of infaunal macromollusc assemblages in a subtropical marine park: implications for management

  2018cites this paper
• Growth, Survival and Reproduction of the Giant Clam Tridacna maxima (Röding 1798, Bivalvia) in Two Contrasting Lagoons in French Polynesia

  2017cites this paper
• Quantifying temporal variation in heterobranch (Mollusca: Gastropoda) sea slug assemblages: tests of alternate models

  2017cites this paper
• Agent-based modelling, molluscan population dynamics, and archaeomalacology

  2017cites this paper
• A Historical Summary of the Distribution and Diet of Australian Sea Hares (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Aplysiidae).

  2017cites this paper
• Giant Clams (Bivalvia: Cardiidae: Tridacninae): A Comprehensive Update of Species and their Distribution, Current Threats and Conservation Status

  2017cites this paper
• Identifying Robust Proxies of Gonad Maturation for the Protandrous Hermaphrodite Tridacna maxima (Röding, 1798, Bivalvia) from Individual to Population Scale

  2016cites this paper
• Genetic diversity and population differentiation of small giant clam Tridacna maxima in Comoros islands assessed by microsatellite markers

  2016cites this paper
• Range extensions for heterobranch sea slugs (formerly opisthobranch) belonging to the families Diaphanidae, Plakobranchidae and Facelinidae on the eastern coast of Australia

  2015cites this paper
• Multi-species generalist predation on the stochastic harvested clam Tivela mactroides (Mollusca, Bivalvia)

  2015cites this paper
• Population dynamics of Turbo militaris (Gastropoda: Turbinidae) on rocky shores in a subtropical marine park: implications for management

  2015cites this paper
• Conserving potential coral reef refuges at high latitudes

  2014cites this paper
• Fishery management priorities vary with self‐recruitment in sedentary marine populations.

  2014influential citation
• Isotopic records from archeological giant clams reveal a variable climate during the southwestern Pacific colonization ca. 3.0ka BP

  2014cites this paper
• Climate variability and massive mortalities challenge giant clam conservation and management efforts in French Polynesia atolls

  2013cites this paper
• Densities of the endolithic bivalve Lithophaga lessepsiana (Vaillant, 1865) in Pocillopora damicornis, Solitary Islands Marine Park, northern NSW, Australia

  2011cites this paper
• Evidence of large, local variations in recruitment and mortality in the small giant clam, Tridacna maxima, at Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia

  2011cites this paper