A Pacific Northwest Clamtastrophe!

Brian Turner

The SciFund Challenge

$955

Pledged

106%

Funded

$897

Goal

0

Days

Success! This project was funded on
7 March 2014

Inducible defenses are physical or behavioral changes that some organisms undergo in response to the presence of a predator. These changes may affect if a non-native species will successfully establish in a new location. This research will determine which signals from a Pacific Northwest crab predator trigger inducible defenses in the non-native purple varnish clam and if this response is innate or has developed since the clam's introduction.

Budget

Budget Overview

Funds for this project will primarily be used to cover the costs of shipping varnish clams from native populations in Japan ($300) and introduced populations in British Columbia ($100), as well as fuel for specimen collection trips on the Oregon coast ($150). Once the organisms are collected I will need to house these organisms in the Marine Ecology Aquarium Lab at Portland State University. Since the lab has no source of natural seawater, I will need to make artificial seawater using Instant Ocean mix. I am requesting enough mix to make 600 gallons of saltwater ($150). To feed the organisms, I will purchase shellfish food for the varnish clams ($60) and frozen squid for the Dungeness crabs ($50). To cover the operating and transaction fees for this project, the host site takes a well deserved 8% of my target budget ($67). And finally, to keep my undergraduate assistants chipper on a rainy day in the field, I want to provide them with doughnuts from that well known symbol of Portland, Voodoo Doughnuts ($20).

Meet the Researcher

Background

During my time as an undergraduate at the University of California Davis, I took a course on invertebrate zoology. Since then, I haven't been able to get enough of these spineless wonders. Whether it was my time spent as the outreach coordinator at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis or as a research assistant catching crabs for scientists at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, I've spent most of my adult life working with these diverse and fascinating organisms. For my dissertation, I am studying non-native marine invertebrate species such as the European green crab, Carcinus maeanas, and the purple varnish clam, Nuttallia obscuratta, to examine what makes a species a successful invader. In addition to my research, I have a strong interest in science education and outreach. And nothing gets the attention of a bunch of 6th grade science students like a bucket of live crabs. It is my hope to contribute to our understanding of the natural world while engaging with the public.

REWARDS:
For those of you that scrolled down this far, congratulations! You can read about the exiting rewards you can receive in appreciation for funding this project.
For those of you who donated and did not scroll down this far, congratulations! You are going to receive rewards you were not expecting.

Donation $5:
A electronic thank you note guaranteed to have at least one marine science related pun, plus a public thanks on Twitter from @dukeofcrabs (me).

Donation $10:
An electronic copy of the projects final publication and all previous rewards.

Donation $20:
A haiku for you,
written about the project,
plus prior rewards.

Donation $50:
Sponsor a clam! Name your clam and receive a photo, background info (size, place of origin), and updates on its participation in the project. Those who sponsor a clam will receive updates on the fates of all sponsored clams. You will also receive all previous rewards.

Donation $100:
Project puppet set! Get a set of puppets like those seen in the video (but new and improved) to recreate the research right in your very own home! Includes bonus European green crab and red rock crab puppets so you can test how clam response varies with different predators! See upcoming posts in the lab notes to see what happened when I ran those tests in real life. You will also receive all previous rewards.



References:

Bourdeau P (2009) Prioritized phenotypic responses to combined predators in a marine snail. Ecology 90:1659–1669.

Grason EW, Miner BG (2012) Behavioral plasticity in an invaded system: non-native whelks recognize risk from native crabs. Oecologia 169:105–15.

Kimbro DL, Grosholz ED, Baukus AJ, et al. (2009) Invasive species cause large-scale loss of native California oyster habitat by disrupting trophic cascades. Oecologia 160:563–75.

Project Backers

JledyardCindy WuFriesenbturnerBrian Beardfoxsohneroonabarreidobkathleenreedajturner47blissketTJCoopercameronshirvellBarbaralehmanlaurenmackishargrelauratlehmanamycolletteMtunerDavidsonTMlwhanson

Categories

BiologyEcology