Asian clams: Reduce oxygen in the water

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    10%
  • Certainty
    50%
  • Harms
    not assessed

Study locations

Key messages

  • A controlled laboratory study conducted in the USA found that Asian clams were resistant to extreme very low levels of oxygen, irrespective of water temperature or length of immersion in the test conditions.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A controlled laboratory study in 1999 on specimens from a dam and artificial stream in Texas, USA (Matthews & McMahon 1999) found that Asian clams Corbicula fluminea survived low oxygen levels for extended time periods. They survived an average of 12, 35 and >84 days at 25°C, 15°C and 5°C, respectively. Survival rates were comparable with the control (normal oxygen levels). However, larger clams were less tolerant to low oxygen than smaller ones. Groups of clams were acclimated to 5°, 15° or 25°C for 14 days. A group of 30 adult clams were held in water that was either aerated (control) or had reduced oxygen at 5°, 15° and 25°C. In low oxygen treatments, partial pressure of oxygen was reduced to less than 5% of full air saturation by continually bubbling the water with nitrogen. The water was changed every 2-3 days. Testing ceased when all clams had died or after a maximum of 12 weeks. Oxygen concentrations and survival of clams were recorded daily.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Aldridge, D., Ockendon, N., Rocha, R., Smith, R.K. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Some Aspects of Control of Freshwater Invasive Species. Pages 555-87 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

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Control of Freshwater Invasive Species

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species
Control of Freshwater Invasive Species

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species - Published 2017

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species Synopsis

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