#clamfacts
https://scicomm.xyz/@dantheclamman/110850474448619074

#Clamfacts
@centerforbiodiv sues USFWS for Green Floater protection in several states

These short-lived, trapezoidal-shelled freshwater mussels have been on the waiting list since 1991, and the Center petitioned to protect them in 2010. This time the Center didn’t have to sue, but it did take the Service 13 years to act.

https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/freshwater-mussel-proposed-for-protection-in-seven-eastern-states-2023-07-25/

#Clams #EndangeredSpecies

@dantheclamman So cool! Thank you kindly for all the fascinating #clamfacts.

@stickfog When I saw your post on my feed, before I scrolled down and saw the picture I assumed it would be a photo of the #ClamFacts guy. 😂

@Zdbennett Can I interest you in some #ClamFacts ?

https://scicomm.xyz/@dantheclamman/110680665754685398

@dantheclamman #ClamFacts are just great, and I'm not just saying that because of the Train Wine.

@dantheclamman had been gently talking about clams for years, and then mentions pseudofeces and woosh - completely took off!
#clamfacts

I should be sleeping but #clamFacts

@SaruNinjaDesu okay I had to go and have a look so am now also going to receive a daily helping of #ClamFacts

I have just followed a hashtag called #ClamFacts and I am now officially ready to proclaim, loudly and from the rooftops, that Mastodon is a significantly better place to be than Twitter ever was, even at its highest zenith. My feed is *LIT* y'all!!!! 🤣😂🤣

@doot @dantheclamman Did I miss something? I am only seeing about 15 posts under #Clamfacts

Little clams with big dreams. This handful of tiny 4 month old fluted giant clams (Tridacna squamosa) can grow to be ~40 cm each and live decades! From Heslinga et al. 1984 #clamFacts

Humans have been eating clams for a long, long time. Stone tools dating to 125,000 years ago have been found among oyster and giant clam shells bordering the Red Sea, remnants of early migrations from Africa. And before that, Homo erectus is thought to have often hit up the raw bar, based on middens of shells they left behind! 🦪 #clamFacts

In olden times bivalves were called "pelecypods," which means axe-foot. They got the name because the feet of some species allegedly look like axes, but tbh it was just taxonomists giving into their foot fixation and trying to make them "match" with the gastropods, cephalopods, scaphopods, brachiopods, arthropods... #clamFacts

Clams help protect us from harmful algae! In mesocosm experiments (300 L tanks simulating the natural environment), quahogs were able to draw down Aureococcus populations from tens of thousands of cells/L to zero within a couple days. The degree of decline was related directly to the number of clams present! Aureococcus causes "brown tides" which cause millions of dollars of damage to fisheries every year, and the clams help us fight them for free! Thanks clams! #clamFacts

When organisms have a similar niche, they often convergently evolve to similar phenotypes (outwardly observable characters). Burrowing mammals are one example. Recent research from @spissatella showed boring bivalves (that drill into solid rock) are *more* variable in body shape than bivalves overall. They are kind of between a rock and a hard place since it's rare to evolve back once they take that path, but there are many ways to drill a rock! #clamFacts
https://phys.org/news/2023-02-rock-boring-bivalves-diverse-non-boring-mollusks.html

How is a scallop like a giant space observatory? They both use mirrors to see. In the scallop's case, their dozens of eyes are based off hemispherical mirrors made from guanine crystals. A new study proposes a design for a microscope using this principle to form sharper images in liquid media (where lenses can have issues). A great example of how evolution is in some cases a very effective engineer! #clamFacts
https://phys.org/news/2023-03-scallop-eyes-microscope.html

The SF Bay was once a paradise for oysters. Then they were overharvested and environmental changes led to them never returning in the same numbers. But the legacy of tens of thousands of years of prolific oyster reef growth still supports an industry dedicated to mining fossil oyster shell from the floor of the Bay. These days, the shells are used to create calcium supplements for the chicken industry. #clamFacts
https://phys.org/news/2023-03-ancient-mound-shells-san-francisco.html

Clams slow down growth in the tough times of year! My first PhD chapter was on this topic, because when clams slow down growth, they make a line in their shells! Like a chapter marker in their life story. We found that growth lines are mostly formed as a function of low temperature, particularly in the middle latitudes. Meanwhile clams at the equator grow mostly year round, while clams in polar regions may stop in the winter due to lack of plankton food in the dark winter months. #clamFacts

One of my fave YouTube channels, Deep Look, has a lovely video showing how mussels use their feet to create byssal threads to attach themselves to rocks. Many bivalves make such "beards" (called a byssus). The famous Pinna nobilis makes such a luxurious beard that it was used to make a strong, valuable fabric called sea silk! #clamFacts https://youtube.com/watch?v=4vWtkzwFnS0&feature=share