• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2014

To assess the effect of environmental factors on the sustainability of cultured production manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum), we investigated the habitat characteristics of tidal flat (Hwangdo and Jeongsanpo in Taean). We measured the physiochemical parameters (temperature, salanity, pH, dissolved oxygen and nutrients) and the characteristics (mean size, chemical oxygen demand, ignition loss, C/N ratio and C/S ratio) of surface sediments. The C/N ratio of Hwangdo and Jeongsanpo were 9.0, 5.3 and the C/S ratio was 0.162, 0.159. The concentration of chlorophyll a at Hwangdo was higher than that of Jeongsanpo and species of micro algae were 102 and 100. The enrichment factor (Ef) and index of accumulation rate (Igeo) of the metals showed that those research areas can be classified as heavily polluted, heavily to moderately polluted, or more or less unpolluted, respectively. So two survey area of cultured clams in the tidal flat have been effected by the various environmental conditions, there are needed an improvement methods and continuous research for increasing the production of manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum).

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2013

In Incheon bay, mass mortalities of Manila clam associated with winter storms have been reported. In the present study we have monitored pathologic condition of the clams stranded on the tidal flats by the winter storms occurred in late March to early April in 2007. The field surveyed indicated that mortality of the Manila clam in the study areas ranged 10-15%. Condition index, a ratio of tissue weight to the shell weight, of the stranded clams was significantly lower than the non-stranded normal clams collected from the same locations (p < 0.05), indicating that the stranded clams were comparatively in poor physiological condition. Perkinsus olseni, the protozoan parasite was observed most of clams used in the analysis and the infection prevalence ranged 77-90%. The infection intensity of P. olseni determined using Ray's fluid thioglycollate medium (RFTM) cultivation and the 2M NaOH digestion assay indicated that the clams collected during late March and early April in 2007 involved 67,182-1,124,727 P. olseni cells/g tissue. The infection intensity of clams from Gung-Pyeung was significantly higher than the intensities observed from Dae-Bu and Young-Heung (p < 0.05). No clear correlation was found between the infection intensities of P. olseni in the non-stranded normal clams and the stranded clams. The stranded Manila clams were also infected with trematode parasite with the prevalence ranged 5 (Young-Heung) to 12.5% (Dae-Bu). The trematode-infected clams exhibited castrated follicles in the gonad, a typical sign of trematode infection. It was believed that mass mortality of Manila clam observed in this study was associated with the poor physiological condition as indicated by CI, although impacts of the parasite infection cannot be ruled out.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2013

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important intra-intercellular signaling molecule that regulates many physiological processes and participates in the development some pathological conditions in animals. In this study, we compared different methods for determining NO concentration in the hemocytes of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum. For measuring the intracellular NO levels, we used the specific fluorescent probe 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2 DA), and the quantification methods that were compared were based on image analysis, spectrophotometry, and flow cytometry. NO concentration could be determined using all the 3 methods, and the concentration varied significantly depending upon the presence of NO regulators in the hemocytes; NO concentration increased in the presence of L-arginine, while it decreased in the presence of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. In particular, it is found that estimation of NO using a flowcytometry is more economical, reliable and accurate compared to image analysis and spectrophotometry. Accordingly we believe that determining NO concentration by using flowcytometry will be useful in evaluating physiological and pathological conditions in marine bivalves.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2016

To evaluate the applicability of cellular energy allocation (CEA) in the bivalves as a biomarker for the assessment of environmental contamination, the energy contents and energy consumption in several tissues of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum were analyzed. The contents of lipid, glucose, protein and electron transport system (ETS) activity in the foot, siphons, gills, and body of R. philippinarum exposed to crude oil-spiked sediments were measured at 1, 2, 4, 7, 10 days after exposure. The reserved energy (energy available, EA) in the lipid, glucose and protein decreased as contamination level and exposure time increased. In contrast, the ETS activity (energy consumed, EC) showed the reverse tendency. The order of available energy contents were foot > siphons > gill > body. Significant differences in both EA and EC were found only at the highest contamination level (58.3 mg TPAHs/kg DW). EA decreased significantly in the foot and gill at 1 day, in the body at 2 and 7 days after exposure. EC increased significantly in the body at 4 days after exposure. CEA showed higher sensitivity to the contamination than EA or EC. Especially, CEA in the foot and body decreased significantly at lower ranges of contamination level (as low as 6.5 mg TPAHs/kg DW) during 1 to 7 days after exposure. The CEA is more useful than EA or EC alone for the assessment of sediment contamination at lower level that acute toxicity could not be detected. CEA analyses in the body of R. philippinarum after 4 days' exposure to contaminated sediments seem to be the most sensitive and reliable.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 1999

This study was carried out to describe the growth of Ruditapes philippinarum on Chohwa and Toksan tidal flat in Kwangyang Bay, from June 1994 to July 1995. On the Chohwa tidal flat, the mean gran size, organic content and chlorophyll-a of the surface sediment were the range of 2.50-4.46 , 4.99-5.11%, 14.53-19.90 $\mu\textrm{g}$ cm$\^$-3/, and on the Toksan tidal flat, 0.83-1.66 , 2.22-2.34%, 6.20-6.90 $\mu\textrm{g}$ cm$\^$-3/, respectively. The shell length of R. philippinarum increased rapidly from spring to summer, and gently from summer to autumn, and ceased during winter. Fresh weight increased during spring and autumn, and decreased during summer and winter. condition factors also showed the same variations of weights. Synthesized annual growth pattern of 4 year classes in shell length fitted the von Bertalnffy growth model well. The annual growth of weight fitted the Gompertz model relatively well. The values of w, initial shell growth rate, and AGR$\sub$max/, maximum weight growth rate, on the Chohwa tidal flat were lower than those on the Toksan tidal flat. Comparing the growth patterns in the same tidal flat, growth rate was higher on the lover tidal flat than those on the higher tidal flat. In conclusion, the Chohwa tidal flat maintaining higher density showed lover growth rate, because of relatively insufficient food supply and inhabiting space.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2005

Pathogenicity of Vibrio tapetis, the causative bacterium of 'brown ring disease (BRD)' was evaluated in Manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarumi by artificially 0.1 $m\ell$ infection of $1.0\times10^5$cells and $1.0\times10^8$ cells at 20 $^{\circ}C$. A PCR assay based on 16S rRNA to detect the bacteria in clam tissues was established. Accumulative mortality of clams infected with $1.0\times10^7$cells and $1.0\times10^4$ cells per an individual of the bacteria was 67.5% and 7.5%, respectively. However, the deposit of brown pigment in the inner shells by accumulation of chonchiolin was not found. The bacteria were not be able to re-isolate from the infected clams by the conventional agar plate method but were easily detected by PCR assay established in this experiment. In clams artificially infected with 10 species of Vibrio, a 414bp for V. tapetis was detected in PCR assay. The specific band in the clams infected with $1.0\times10^4$cells per an individual of V. tapetis was detected only in gills one day after the infection but never be found in any tissues including gills three days after the infection. In the case of clams infected with $1.0\times10^8$cells per an individual of V. tapetis the specific band was detected in gills and intestine one day after the infection, in all tissues three days after the infection, and then in gills and adductor muscle nine days after the infection. The PCR assay was applied to detect V. tapetis in manila clam, surf clam (Mactra veneriformis), oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and Thomas' rapa whelk (Rapana venosa) taken from Taean and Gochang from April to July 2004. The infection rates were detected to 23.1% and 9.4% in the oyster and surf clam, while manila clam and Thomas' rapa whelk were not found.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.303-309
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• 1999

Mass mortality of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum has been reported all along the west and south coast of Korea for the past several years. As a pathogenic agent, Perkinsus sp., an endoparasitic protozoan has been identified in this study and believed to be responsible for the mass mortalities. Prevalence and infection intensity of Perkinsus sp. was investigated from a Manila clam population inhabiting at Komsoe Bay in the west coast where mass mortality of the clam has been reported. A total of 142 Manila clam, 50 oyster, Crassostrea gigas, 10 ark shell, Scapharca broughtonii, and 5 predatory gastropada, Rapana venosa were examined for the presence and the quantity of Perkinsus sp. Ray's fluid thioglycollate medium method (FTM method) with modified Mackin's infection intensity scale and Choi's quantitative method were used in detecting and quantifying the parasite. All individuals of R. philippinarum examined in this study were infected with Perkinsus sp., indicating $100\%$ prevalence while none of the oysters and the gastropods exhibited the parasite. Six to ten individual hypnospores of Perkinsus sp. were counted from the ark shells. The number of hypnospores in the clam tissues varied from 16,667 to 4,091,667, with a mean number of 1,077,628. Average infection intensity according to Mackin's was 2.87, indicating a moderate infection. A negative correlation was observed between the number of Perkinsus sp. in the tissue and the condition index, a ratio tissue wet weight to shell cavity volume. The clam size and the infection intensity in terms of total number of parasites were positively correlated; the bigger clam, the heavier infection. Such high number of Perkinsus sp. counted in the clams could be enough to cause physiological disturbance of clams, such as retarded growth and reproduction. It is also believed that such a high infection leads mortality of the clam via continuous draining of the energy by metabolic activities and reproduction of the parasites. Correlation between the condition index and the infection intensity observed in this study supports this hypothesis.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2011

The manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) is mainly distributed in the coastal area which consist of mud, sand and gravel, but they rarely live on the upper and down reaches of river. For a long time the manila clam has been inhabited in Taehwa river which has been exploited as a traditional earning resources and has become as a major object by neighborhood fishermen. This study was undertaken to evaluate stock assessment and to build management implications with the ecological parameters in Taehwa river from June 2009 to June 2010. The maximum age of manila clam was determined to 6 years old from observing ring radius of shell, the length and weight relationship was TW = $0.0002SL^{3.063}$ ($R^2$ = 0.925). K and $L_{\infty}$ were respectively estimated 46.64 mm and 0.341/year by von Bertalanffy growth. The instantaneous total mortality was estimated to be 1.171/year and the age at first capture was 1.37 years by the Pauly's method using shell length composition. The current total biomass of manila clam was calculated 1,483 mt over study area $1.46\;km^2$ by swept area method. ABC (Acceptable Biological Catch) estimates of manila clam showed 512 mt with using $F_{0.1}$. It's desirable to determine the optimum harvesting time as after main spawning season, as well as it's required to manage fisheries resources considering capture age and biomass through adjusting a first age at capture.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.555-563
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• 2015

Organic matter and trace metals were investigated in surface sediments of Gomso Bay, where there is dense Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum farming activity, to evaluate contamination of sediments in intertidal shellfish farming area. We measured mean grain size (Mz), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ignition loss (IL), acid volatile sulfide (AVS), total organic carbon (TOC), and total nitrogen (TN), and trace metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb and Zn) in intertidal and sublittoral sediments. The intertidal sediments were mainly composed of coarser sediments (sand, silty sand, and sandy silt), with Mz values ranging from 2.61 to 4.79 Ø. Mz and the content of organic matter in sediments were lower in the intertidal zone than in the sublittoral zone. The mean metal concentrations in surface sediments decreased in the order Fe > Mn > Zn > Cr > Pb > Cu > As > Cd > Hg. The metal concentrations in surface sediments showed a significant positive correlation with Mz and organic matter content, indicating that metal concentrations in the surface sediments of Gomso Bay are controlled by Mz and organic matter. The concentrations of organic matter and trace metals in the study region were lower than or similar to those in other intertidal zones in western coast and much lower than those reported in other shellfish farming areas in Korea. Our results suggest that intertidal Manila clam farming sediments from Gomso Bay are not contaminated by organic matter and trace metals.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.291-297
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• 2011

In an attempt to improve the substrate condition for Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) culture, crushed oyster (Crassostrea gigas) shells were spread on the muddy tidal flat of Namseong-ri, Podu-myeon, Goheung-gun, Jeollannam-do in April 2008. To test the suitability of the crushed oyster shell added substrate, seed clams were transplanted from Taehwa river estuary in Ulsan city in June 2008. Over 23 months of sampling, the mean grain size and the sorting in the experimental site containing the crushed oyster shell were significantly higher than the control site. The ignition loss, water content, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and acid-volatile sulfide (AVS) level were also significantly higher in the crushed oyste shell added substratum. Survival of the clams transplanted to the crushed oyster shell added substratum was significantly higher and all the clams transplanted to the normal muddy substratum died in August 2009, 13 months after the transplantation. At the end of the experiment in April 2010, the transplanted clams reached 36.10 mm in shell length and 8.92 g in total weight with survival of 43.5%. Our study suggested than crushed oyster shell added in the mud dominant substratum greatly improved living condition and survivability of clams.