Aspects of ecomorphology of the mangrove oyster, Crassostrea cucullata, Born (Bivalvia)
Joseck, D. M. (1991). Aspects of ecomorphology of the mangrove oyster, Crassostrea cucullata, Born (Bivalvia). BSc Thesis. University of Nairobi/KBP Kenya: Nairobi. 55 pp.
The East African oyster, Crassostrea cucullata Born (Bivalvia) is a sedentary mollusc which grows in the wild on trunks, roots and pneumatophores and rocky substrata in brackish water environments that dot the Kenya coast. This oyster is a potential protein source which is generally underexploited. Its protein content is far superior to that of any red meat or even fish (Polk, 1985- 86). This work was primarily done in order to determine the relationship between shell length and live biomass of this littoral oyster. However, shell length is also correlated with height above bottom, diameter of substrate on which the oyster is growing, shell weight and orientation of the oyster. The height of the growing oyster above bottom, the diameter of the substrate on which the oyster is growing, and the orientation of the oyster in relation to tidal current direction (either parallel or perpendicular) are regarded as environmental factors. The shell length has a positive correlation with the biomass. The shell length versus diameter of substrate and shell weight also shows a significant positive correlation. No correlation was found between shell length and height above bottom on the one hand or orientation on the other. For the shell length versus biomass the correlation coefficient was 0.26. The correlation between shell length and diameter of substrate was also 0.26.
Dataset
Joseck D.M.; Vanden Berghe E.; Zoology Department. University of Nairobi: Kenya; (2016): Ecomorphology of the mangrove oyster Crassostrea cucullata in a mangrove swamp in Gazi (Kenya) in May 1991., more
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