Observations of a mass occurrence of Macoma balthica larvae in midsummer

Experimentally extending the spawning season of a marine bivalve using temperature change and fluoxetine as synergistic triggers

“…obs.). Giinther et al (1998) even found a bimodal distribution of the presence of pelagic M. balthica larvae in the German Wadden Sea with maxima in April/May as well as in the period September to December.…”

Maximizing lifetime egg production in a Wadden Sea population of the tellinid bivalve Macoma balthica: a trade-off between immediate and future reproductive outputs

“…Such plasticity is adaptive (Bayne 1985), since it enables survival during periods of low nutrients and delaying reproductive output to periods when conditions are favourable and body weights sufficiently high. In more northern areas, M. balthica populations almost invariably spawn during a short period in spring, although there is some anecdotal evidence of occasionally late spawning in the Wadden Sea (Günther et al 1998). It would be interesting to determine whether southern M. balthica populations (with presumably year-round small scope for growth) produce fewer (and/or smaller) eggs than populations at higher latitudes.…”

Differences in reproduction and condition of Macoma balthica and Mytilus trossulus in the Gulf of Gdańsk (Southern Baltic Sea) under anthropogenic influences

“…One of the exogenous factors most often cited as controlling reproduction, next to food, salinity and light, is temperature (Seed and Suchanek 1992). The rise in water temperature in spring to above 10°C appears to trigger the spawning of M. balthica individuals (Günther et al 1998) and optimum temperature for gametogenesis for the blue mussel is between 2°C and 15°C (Gosling 2003). According to Wenne (1985), M. balthica from the Gulf of Gdańsk reaches reproductive maturity at the end of winter and the main spawning period lasts from April till the end of May.…”