Growth, longevity, and climate–growth relationships of Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) in Hongze Lake, China

AbstractCorbicula fluminea is invasive in other parts of the world, but in China, it is native and supports important commercial fisheries. Surprisingly little is known about the ecology of native C. fluminea populations in China, including how life-history parameters, such as growth, may respond to widely variable environmental conditions, especially water-level management. A native C. fluminea population that supports a local commercial fishery in Hongze Lake (the 4th-largest freshwater lake in China and the largest impounded lake on the East Route of the South to North Water Transfer Project [ESNT]) was studied. Age, growth, and climate–growth relationships were estimated based on thin-sectioned shells. Sclerochronological techniques were used to detrend individual growth measurement series and to investigate climate factors that influenced growth over time. Six age-classes of C. fluminea were identified. Lee’s phenomenon (i.e., underestimated sizes at earlier age classes in survivors) was evident. A v...