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Summary of our research
Assistant Professor Shouji Houki and a master student Mana Ozaki (the present affiliation: Himeji City Aquarium) at Graduate School of Bioresources, Mie University applied the Diatom-specific DNA metabarcoding to the dietary analysis of Manila (Asari) clams, and revealed what and how this species feed on in natural waters, and how its feeding habit ontogenically changes. They also revealed that some of the diverse diatoms in the sea water and on the seafloor surrounded clams are not suitable as food for them. These findings are expected to provide indispensable scientific evidence for clarifying the causes of the decline in clam stocks in Japan, formulating measures for the recovery of the stocks, and verifying the effectiveness of these measures.
Title of paper: Ontogenic shift of feeding habit in Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum after settlement revealed by diatom specific DNA-metabarcoding diet analysis
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109244
Researcher information
HOUKI Shouji
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Bioresources
Specialized area：
Ecology of marine invertebrates
Current research field：
・Feeding ecology of bivalves
・Feeding ecology of skeleton shrimp (Caprella)
・Effect of feeding behaviour of marine benthos on plastic debris on the seafloor
・Development of new aquaculture of the Manila clam using the submarine spring