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Range Expansion and First Observation of Tridacna noae in American Sāmoa
  • +1
  • Paolo Marra-Biggs,
  • James Fatherree,
  • Alison Green,
  • Rob Toonen
Paolo Marra-Biggs
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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James Fatherree
Hillsborough Community College
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Alison Green
Alison Green Marine, Gold Coast Australia
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Rob Toonen
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology
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Abstract

Giant clams are ecologically important, benefitting species of all trophic levels. But numerous populations have declined drastically in numbers due to past intensive exploitation that led to their listing in both CITES Appendix II and IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.. However, giant clams are notoriously difficult to identify, and recent molecular work has revealed that morphological misidentification of giant clams have confounded current population assessments and extinction risk.  The most recent study of the status of giant clams in the Samoan Archipelago was published in a journal over 20 years ago, without molecular corroboration of visual identifications. Using morphologic characteristics and ezRAD genetic techniques, we identify the existence of Tridacna noae in the Samoan Archipelago, presenting the first observation and a resulting range expansion. Accurately identifying the extant species in the archipelago is the first step towards a much-needed population status assessment to effectively manage these long-lived species.
17 May 2022Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
18 May 2022Submission Checks Completed
18 May 2022Assigned to Editor
19 May 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
28 May 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
27 Jun 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
06 Sep 20221st Revision Received
06 Sep 2022Submission Checks Completed
06 Sep 2022Assigned to Editor
06 Sep 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
09 Sep 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
03 Oct 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
17 Nov 20222nd Revision Received
21 Nov 2022Submission Checks Completed
21 Nov 2022Assigned to Editor
21 Nov 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
22 Nov 2022Editorial Decision: Accept