• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 30, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Oysters and clams can be farmed together

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
April 2, 2020
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Rutgers study finds raising multiple species in the same area could benefit shellfish aquaculture

IMAGE

Credit: Michael Acquafredda/Rutgers University

Eastern oysters and three species of clams can be farmed together and flourish, potentially boosting profits of shellfish growers, according to a Rutgers University-New Brunswick study.

Though diverse groups of species often outperform single-species groups, most bivalve farms in the United States and around the world grow their crops as monocultures, notes the study in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series.

“Farming multiple species together can sustain the economic viability of farm operations and increase profitability by allowing shellfish growers to more easily navigate market forces if the price of each individual crop fluctuates,” said lead author Michael P. Acquafredda, a doctoral student based at Rutgers’ Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in Port Norris, New Jersey.

Farming mollusks such as clams, oysters and scallops contributes billions of dollars annually to the world’s economy. In the United States, more than 47 million pounds of farm-raised clam, oyster and mussel meat worth more than $340 million were harvested in 2016, the study says.

The study, which took place in a laboratory setting at Rutgers’ New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center in North Cape May, New Jersey, tested the feasibility of farming multiple bivalve species in close proximity to each another.

Mimicking farm conditions, the study examined the filtration rate, growth and survival of four economically and ecologically important bivalve species native to the northeastern United States. They are the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica); Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima); hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria); and softshell clam (Mya arenaria).

When supplied with seawater containing naturally occurring algal particles, the groups that contained all four species removed significantly more particles than most monocultures. This suggests that each species prefers to filter a particular set of algal food particles.

“This shows that, to some degree, these bivalve species complement each other,” said co-author Daphne Munroe, an associate professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. She is based at the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory.

The scientists also found virtually no differences in growth or survival for any of the four species, suggesting that when food is not an issue, these bivalves could be raised together without outcompeting each another.

“This study illustrates the benefits of diversifying crops on shellfish farms,” Acquafredda said. “Crop diversification gives aquaculture farmers protection from any individual crop failure, whether it’s due to disease, predation or fluctuating environmental conditions. In future studies, the feasibility of bivalve polyculture should be tested on commercial bivalve farms.”

###

Media Contact
Todd Bates
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.rutgers.edu/news/oysters-and-clams-can-be-farmed-together

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps13266

Tags: AgricultureDiet/Body WeightEcology/EnvironmentEnvironmental HealthFisheries/AquacultureFood/Food ScienceMarine/Freshwater BiologyNutrition/Nutrients
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

HKU25 Clade MERS Coronaviruses Utilize ACE2 Receptor

HKU25 Clade MERS Coronaviruses Utilize ACE2 Receptor

October 30, 2025
blank

Halotolerant Staphylococcus Boosts Rice Salinity Tolerance

October 30, 2025

HIV and Antiretrovirals Impact Diverse Gut Microbiomes

October 30, 2025

ZmDapF1 Variation Boosts Maize Drought Resilience

October 30, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1291 shares
    Share 516 Tweet 322
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    312 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    201 shares
    Share 80 Tweet 50
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    136 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Study Reveals Common Misconceptions Among Americans About Alcohol and Cancer Risk

Streamlined CRISPR Evaluation Boosts Rare Variant Discovery

Neonatal Brain Injury Assessed with Diffusional Kurtosis

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 67 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.