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| Chlamys behringiana (Middendorff, 1849) Common name: Bering Sea's scallop Ch. behringiana is a Pacific widespread high-boreal species (Fig. 4). It occurs in the Pacific Ocean: Sea of Okhotsk - Sakhalin and Aniva Bays, Strait of Laperuz, southern and eastern waters of Kamchatka Peninsula, Kurile Islands (Paramushir and Shikotan); Bering Sea. In Arctic Ocean it was found in the southern part of Chuckchee Sea and Sea of Beaufort. It is registered at a depth of 24-200 m in muddy sands admixed with shingle and gravel; in gravel with pebbled grounds (Scarlato, 1981). This species occurs at temperature range of near-bottom waters from 0.79 to 4.79 °C; salinity range of 33.05-33.43 ‰ and oxygen abundance from 5.67 to 6.40 mg×l-1 (Myasnikov, 1985). Bering Sea's scallops are often inhabited by hydroids Eunephtya sp. and ascidians Pyaridae sp. (Myasnikov, 1986). According to recent investigations (Buyanovsky, 1999), larger scallops are observed at Karaginsky Island (72.7 mm) at the age 10-15 years and at Olyutorsky Bay (83.3 mm) at 20-25 years. After this age, shell height is not changed. Higher growth rates in scallops from Olyutorsky Bay are probably linked to more intensive water exchange. This is due to the fact that the main branch of Kamchatka Current is located there. The maximum age of scallops is 35 years, but older part of population is represented mostly by mollusks of 25-28 years old. The most intensive linear growth is observed in the first two years and can amount up to 15 mm×yr-1. At the age of 3-6, the shell grows by 4.2-11.5 mm×yr-1. Then (at the age of sexual maturity), linear growth decelerates considerably and it reaches 1.6-1.2 mm×yr-1 in 10-year-old mollusks (Silina, Pozdnyakova, 1991). Scallops reach marketable size (60 mm) in about 6 years (Table 1). In contrast to linear parameters, the weight of mollusks increases almost in proportion to its age (Buyanovsky, 1999). |
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