Like it or not- the invasive Manila Clam is making one of its homes on the Massachusetts coastline and a team of biologists at UMass/Amherst, MIT and the Center for Coastal Studies say that may not be such a bad thing.
The Manila clam has hit the Atlantic coastline-the last place in the northern hemisphere to have been previously Manila Clam Free.
"The team’s findings, published in Biological Invasions, document an exceedingly rare moment when an invasive species first takes hold in a new environment and begins to spread."
Aly Putnam, who is a postdoctoral researcher at UMass Amherst and lecturer at Smith College, as well as the paper’s lead author, says "The home range of the Manila clam is from the coast of Russia’s Sakhalin Islands through Japan and southern China, but since at least the early 20th century they have been spreading to coastlines throughout the northern hemisphere. "
Putman says the invasion is not bad- since it is a delicious clam and now represents a seven-billion-dollar industry.
“Given that Manila clams are everywhere else in the northern hemisphere, it was only a matter of time before they showed up here, and we’ve been keeping an eye out for them,” says Putnam.
It’s not clear how the clams arrived in the northwestern Atlantic, nor is it clear what the future holds for the Northeastern U.S.’s waters now that they’re here.
(Photo with thanks UMass/Amherst)