Xu Shuangfeng, Li Ang, Zhu Ling, Wu Biao, Liu Lulei, Jiao Minghui, Li Jiaqi, Xue Suyan, Mao Yuze
College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
Biology (Basel). 2025 Feb 10;14(2):176. doi: 10.3390/biology14020176.
In order to examine the seasonal variations in the morphological characteristics and diet of in the Northern Yellow River Delta's intertidal zone and provide a scientific basis for its resource conservation and population restoration, tested clams were collected in four consecutive seasons from summer of 2022 to spring of 2023. Morphological traits were measured, and the DNA of the stomach contents was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. The tidal differences and seasonal variations in the northern habitat of the Yellow River Estuary significantly affect the morphological characteristics and growth of . Among the four seasons, significant differences in the morphological characteristics of were observed between the middle-tide and low-tide zones ( < 0.05). In both middle-tide and low-tide zones, the morphological characteristics and body wet weight of in winter were significantly higher than those in other seasons ( < 0.05). Moreover, the morphological characteristics of were extremely significantly influenced by the interaction between tide and season (two-way interaction, < 0.001). In all seasons, in the middle- and low-tide zones exhibited positive allometric growth. While there was no significant difference in the stomach content between the spring and summer samples in the same tidal zone ( > 0.05), there was a significant difference between the middle- and low-tide samples in winter ( < 0.05). This suggests that seasonal variations, rather than tidal differences, had a larger impact on the diet of in the northern Yellow River estuary and that feeding differences may be related to changes in environmental factors, such as temperature. The findings of this study provide initial insights into the feeding ecology of and offer a scientific foundation for the conservation and management of its resources.
为研究黄河三角洲北部潮间带贝类的形态特征和食性的季节变化，为其资源保护和种群恢复提供科学依据，于2022年夏季至2023年春季连续四个季节采集受试贝类。测量其形态特征，并采用高通量测序技术分析胃内容物的DNA。黄河口北部生境的潮差和季节变化显著影响贝类的形态特征和生长。在四个季节中，中潮带和低潮带的贝类形态特征存在显著差异（P<0.05）。在中潮带和低潮带，冬季贝类的形态特征和体湿重均显著高于其他季节（P<０.０５）。此外，潮汐和季节的交互作用对贝类形态特征的影响极显著（双向交互作用，P<0.001）。在所有季节中，中潮带和低潮带的贝类均呈现正异速生长。同一潮区春季和夏季样本的胃内容物无显著差异（P>0.05），但冬季中潮带和低潮带样本间存在显著差异（P<0.05）。这表明，季节变化而非潮差对黄河口北部贝类的食性影响更大，摄食差异可能与温度等环境因素的变化有关。本研究结果为贝类的摄食生态学提供了初步见解，并为其资源保护和管理提供了科学依据。
