Mentor: Roxanne Beinart (University of Rhode Island)

Project Location

University of Rhode Island – Bay Campus

Project Description

Awning clams (Solemya velum) are abundant infaunal clams found in Rhode Island intertidal habitats including Narragansett Bay and our coastal ponds, that host symbiotic chemosynthetic bacteria in their gills. The symbionts of awning clams remove hydrogen sulfide from the sediment via the process of chemosynthesis and provides nutrients to the clam such that it doesn’t need to capture and consume food. The student joining this project will work with the Beinart lab at University of Rhode Island and the Shellfish Research Program led by Dr. Bayer at Roger Williams University to better characterize awning clam habitats for the purpose of recreating these conditions and ultimately culturing these clams in an aquarium or hatchery setting. Research will include small-boat based fieldwork on coastal ponds surveying benthic communities and associated sediment parameters, like sulfide concentration and sediment porosity, and/or experiments with awning clams in aquaria measuring their growth and survival under different conditions and interactions with sediment chemistry.

This project involves:

• field work
• lab work

Available for SURF Flex?

No

Required/preferred skills

Background in biology, chemistry, and/or marine biology preferred. Interest or experience with coastal fieldwork and/or aquarium or aquaculture systems may be useful, but is not required.

Transportation needs

Will need vehicle to drive themselves to field locations around Rhode Island, and to go between University of Rhode Island and Roger Williams University.

2022