Investigator: Todd Osborne and Tracey Schafer, UF/IFAS Soil, Water and Ecosystem Sciences Department
Objectives: This study investigates the role of sediment organic matter (SOM) in temperature driven summer mortality events of hard clams. Mortality events could be due to low oxygen (hypoxia), hydrogen sulfide toxicity or a combination brought about by increased temperatures. The presence of organic matter influences hypoxia by stimulating respiration in microorganisms and can similarly fuel production of hydrogen sulfide. Thus, this work aims to test that SOM would result in clam mortality proportional to SOM concentration.
