Clam Lease Assessment, Management, and Modeling Using Remote Sensing (CLAMMRS)

Investigators:
Dr. Shirley Baker, University of Florida, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Dr. Edward Phlips, University of Florida, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Dr. Clay Montague, University of Florida, Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences
Leslie Sturmer, University of Florida, Cooperative Extension Service
Sherman Wilhelm, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture

Funding:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State, Research, Education, and Extension Service

Time Period:
2001 - 2005

Objectives:
The CLAMMRS Project addresses the needs of an important emerging agricultural industry, the hard clam aquaculture industry, through a series of interrelated research, extension, and education activities. The needs being addressed are: 1) Risk of catastrophic crop loss, 2) Optimum farm management practices, and 3) Selection of new aquaculture areas. Adoption of remote sensing technologies in management practices will enhance the sustainable development of open-water clam farming by increasing production, farm efficiency, and profitability. Specific objectives and plans include: 1) Install and maintain remote water quality and weather monitoring stations in clam aquaculture lease areas to provide growers with timely information important to their management decisions, 2) Create a water quality database to be used by the pilot Cultivated Clam Crop Insurance Program to document events associated with crop loss, 3) Develop new techniques to monitor changes in natural food abundance and quality, 4) Develop a clam production model to examine optimum management practices to increase production and profitability, and 5) Use the production model and remote water quality monitoring in selection of new productive aquaculture areas.

Accomplishments to Date:
Water Quality Monitoring
Installation of water quality and weather monitoring stations to evaluate key physical, chemical and biological parameters at clam aquaculture lease areas throughout Florida was completed in 2002. Equipment, consisting of data loggers and probes (sondes), were installed at ten stations in seven clam-producing counties by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) Division of Aquaculture staff. Procedures for maintenance and calibration of the monitoring probes were developed. A web site to display the collected data was setup.

There are two types of data monitoring stations being used. The first are “real-time” with measurements being downloaded via a cellular transceiver to the web site on 2-hour intervals. These stations are located at the following lease areas:

The other stations are battery-operated. Measurements are downloaded to the web site on a monthly basis once they have undergone a quality control procedure. These stations are located at the following lease areas:

Click here to view an overall map of the monitoring station sites.

Water quality and weather parameters measured and recorded on 30-minute intervals at these stations include varying combinations of the following: wind speed and direction, air and water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll and depth.

Workshops were conducted throughout the state in 2002 to introduce users to the CLAMMRS web page, explain the value of the water quality and weather data, and provide instruction in the interpretation of the data. These workshops provided an opportunity to discuss how to use the information in management decision-making and in documenting crop losses for the pilot crop insurance program and other disaster assistance programs. A report, "Water Quality and Its Role on Hard Clam Production" (PDF 62KB), is available reviewing the water quality parameters being measured and their implications on clam production.

Data collected at real-time weather and water quality monitoring stations and several battery-operated units are available at Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) Division of Aquaculture website. To get to the data once on the website, click on Weather/Water Quality. The CLAMMRS page is then displayed. Select the various monitoring stations by clicking on the tabs. In addition to the electronically posted data, the web site includes other menu choices. For example, location maps show where each of the stations are located.

Archived Water Quality Data
Data is not archived until it is proofed by UF faculty using quality assurance procedures similarly developed by the National Estuarine Research Reserves. Basically, measured data is corrected for errors associated with equipment failure, biofouling, or other problems. This ensures the data is not misinterpreted so that management decisions are based on sound information. Graphs of selected archived water quality data obtained from aquaculture lease areas in Florida are available here. An annual QA/QC log is also provided per monitoring location. Archived tabular data for 2002-2003 is available on the DACS, Division of Aquaculture website under Weather/Water Quality.

Other CLAMMRS Components
Other components of the CLAMMRS Project include:

1. Determine impact of food resource availability and quality on clam productivity. Clam farm productivity, like all farming operations, is closely tied to the abundance and quality of natural food resources. Since clam farms are located in natural estuarine environments, they are at the mercy of natural spatial and temporal variations in food availability, planktonic organisms and detritus. During 2001-3, variations in phytoplankton and detrital availability were monitored at selected clam lease areas. Specifically, monthly samples were taken at 28 locations in the Suwannee Sound and 8 locations in the Indian River. Sampling shows that high phytoplankton productivity and high clam productivity are related. Other outcomes include an understanding of the effect of food quality on clam health and growth and establishment of a mechanism to monitor changes in food quality. Lab analyses of chlorophyll a concentrations, a measurement of phytoplankton abundance, correlate well with probe readings at some locations but not at others.

2. Fill gaps in knowledge of Florida clam physiology and response to stressors. The effects of temperature, salinity, food quality and quantity on clams will be examined in the laboratory over the ranges encountered at lease areas through water quality and phytoplankton monitoring efforts. The following clam metabolic rates will be measured: filtration, or feeding; metabolism, or respiration; and quantity of waste products, including feces and pseudo feces. Once quantified, scope-for-growth, a measure of the energy available for growth, will be calculated for various conditions. This can provide information and understanding of how environmental factors affect metabolic processes and how short-term or seasonal variability can results in growth variations and quality of clams. To date, laboratory tolerance tests have been conducted on seed size clams and indicate that high temperatures are a major stressor. Additional laboratory clam physiology experiments will be conducted.

3. Develop a computer simulation model of Florida clam production. The overall response of farmed clam populations to environmental conditions is determined by a complex combination of responses to a number of interacting environmental variables. The steps in developing a clam production model include: identify relevant features of farmed clam dynamics, identify key variables and their dynamics, identify the chains and loops of influence among key variables that cause variation in clams, represent them in mathematical equations, quantify the equations, simulate clam dynamics by implementing the quantified equations on a computer, and analyze simulated dynamics for plausibility. A prototype clam model has been developed based initially on published clam physiology data and laboratory trials. The model must be calibrated by comparing predictions with actual field measurements obtained from the Gulf Jackson lease area in Levy County. Next the model must be validated by using information from other clam growing areas. A variety of farm management practices will be simulated using the clam production model, including planting dates, growout density, seed size, and others, in order to increase clam growth, farm efficiency, yield and profitability. Further, the production and carrying capacities of lease areas will be examined.

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Last updated March 24, 2005
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