Publication Abstract

Environmental variables and their influence on growth of the great scallop (Pecten maximus) in the English Channel

M.T. Smith and P. Whelpdale

Recent and historic surveys of the great scallop (Pecten maximus) in the English Channel showed that whilst most scallops exhibit similar growth characteristics at a specific location, groups more than a few tens of kilometres apart show different growth characteristics and these differences appear to be relatively stable through time. Many studies of scallop species have linked growth with a wide range of environmental factors. The stability through time of characteristic growth patterns for scallops implies that the particular environmental conditions responsible for specific growth characteristics are relatively persistent and are more influential than very fine scale micro-environmental conditions that might affect an individual scallop. We estimated von Bertalanffy growth parameters for scallops at survey stations in the English Channel and also extracted environmental variables from available datasets for these locations. Regression analyses carried out to explore the relationships between growth parameters and environmental variables suggested that temperature and seabed stress were positively related with maximum size (L∞), while increasing depth had a negative effect. The k parameter was influenced by catch rate (i.e. abundance), sediment type and depth, whereas Phi prime was influenced by temperature, although seabed stress was also significant when considered alone. As in many studies of this kind, strong correlations both between environmental signals and between the growth parameters themselves complicated interpretation.

Reference

M.T. Smith and P. Whelpdale (2007) Environmental variables and their influence on growth of the great scallop (Pecten maximus) in the English Channel. ICES CM 2007/G