Shellfish: Nature's Water Filter

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of our experiment is to determine which of three shellfish species (mussels, clams, and oysters) filter bay water for food the fastest. We believe that the mussels will filter the water faster than the oysters and clams because the mass of the animal inside the shell is larger than that of the oysters and clams. Methods/Materials We used four 10 gallon tanks, algae, filtered bay water, 8 Pacific oyster, 23 mussels, and 23 clams. We placed oysters, clams, and mussels each in separate tanks (the fourth tank was the control tank). We put 2 ml of concentrated Nannochloropsis algae into each of the four tanks and visually monitored the clarity of the water over the next 24 hours using secchi discs. Results Our experiment produced differing results when repeated. After eight hours, the first experiment showed that the clams filtered the water fastest. The mussels were next fastest and the oysters were slowest. An interesting thing happened during the first experiment: the mussels spawned in their tank which added to the murkiness of their water. In the second experiment the clearance rate of the mussels was faster than the other mollusks. The mussels did not spawn during the second experiment. Conclusions/Discussion Our conclusion is that mussels are the fastest at filtering water. If they had not spawned during the first experiment, we feel they probably would have consistently been the fastest. The oysters, by comparison, were the least efficient animal during both experiments.

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Zoology · Entry J2203

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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