Recreational clam harvests occur more widely in Cook Inlet and provide a boost to local economies. Currently, the only commercial razor clam fishery in Alaska occurs in west Cook Inlet (WCI) near Polly Creek, and the annual harvest has averaged approximately 900,000 clams since 1980. In this study, we identified no differences of gene expression between east and west populations, leading to two potential conclusions: (1) differences in factors capable of influencing physiology exist between the east and west and are sufficient to influence razor clam populations but are not detected by the genes in our panel, or (2) physiological processes do not account for the differences in abundance, and other factors such as predation or changes in habitat may be impacting the east Cook Inlet population.Īlaska’s Pacific razor clams ( Siliqua patula) are important for commercial and personal harvest and as prey for marine animals. The target gene profile used was developed for razor clam populations in Alaska based on physiological responses to environmental stressors. We used gene expression to investigate potential causes of the east side decline, comparing razor clam physiological responses between east and west Cook Inlet. One population (east) supported a sport and personal use fishery, but this has been closed since 2015 due to declines in abundance, and the second population (west) continues to support commercial and sport fisheries. ![]() We examined two adjacent populations of Pacific razor clams ( Siliqua patula) in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. ![]() With rapidly changing marine ecosystems, shifts in abundance and distribution are being documented for a variety of intertidal species.
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