Science. 1986 Jan 3;231(4733):46-8. doi: 10.1126/science.231.4733.46.
Stable isotopic and shell-growth banding studies of the symbiont-bearing giant clam Tridacna maxima reveal the existence of two growth phases related to sexual maturity that can be discerned in the shells of extinct and extant mollusks. The changeover from the first to second growth phase at an age of approximately 10 years is accompanied by a decrease in rate of calcification and suggests a reordering of energy priorities between biomineralization and reproduction. The carbon-13 to carbon-12 ratio of Tridacna maxima is systematically depleted relative to symbiont-barren mollusks, making it possible to determine the importance of algal-molluscan symbiosis to the functional morphology and paleoecology of mollusks in the geologic record.
稳定同位素和壳生长带研究表明，共生巨型蛤 Tridacna maxima 存在与性成熟相关的两个生长阶段，这在已灭绝和现存软体动物的壳中可以分辨出来。大约 10 岁时，从第一生长阶段到第二生长阶段的转变伴随着钙化率的降低，表明生物矿化和繁殖之间的能量优先顺序发生了重新排列。Tridacna maxima 的碳-13 与碳-12 的比值相对于无共生软体动物系统地减少，这使得确定藻类-软体动物共生对地质记录中软体动物的功能形态和古生态学的重要性成为可能。
