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Archaeological Study Shows Human Activity May Have Boosted Shellfish Size
North Carolina State University ^ | Tuesday, August 31, 2010 | Dr. Scott Fitzpatr[i]ck

Posted on 08/31/2010 5:49:20 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

In a counter-intuitive finding, new research from North Carolina State University shows that a species of shellfish widely consumed in the Pacific over the past 3,000 years has actually increased in size, despite -- and possibly because of -- increased human activity in the area.

"What we've found indicates that human activity does not necessarily mean that there is going to be a negative impact on a species -- even a species that people relied on as a major food source," says Dr. Scott Fitzpatrick, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at NC State and co-author of the study. "The trends we see in the archaeological record in regard to animal remains are not always what one would expect."

...At issue is the humped conch, Strombus gibberulus, a small mollusk that has been a food source in the Pacific islands for thousands of years. The researchers dated and measured more than 1,400 humped conch shells found at an archaeological site on the island of Palau in the western Pacific. They expected the size of the conchs to decrease over time, based on the conventional wisdom that an expanding human population would result in the conchs being harvested before they could achieve their maximum size.

Instead, the researchers were surprised to find that the average size of the conchs actually increased in conjunction with a growing human population. Specifically, the length of the average conch increased by approximately 1.5 millimeters (mm) over the past 3,000 years. That may not sound like much, but it is significant when you consider the conchs are only around 30 mm long -- which means the conchs are now almost 5 percent larger than they used to be.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.ncsu.edu ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; strombusgibberulus
Strombus gibberulus

Archaeological Study Shows Human Activity May Have Boosted Shellfish Size

1 posted on 08/31/2010 5:49:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 21twelve; 240B; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; 3AngelaD; ..

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2 posted on 08/31/2010 5:50:59 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Democratic Underground... matters are worse, as their latest fund drive has come up short...)
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To: SunkenCiv

3 posted on 08/31/2010 6:03:27 PM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: Red_Devil 232

That ain’t no conch, bro. The conch is a gastropod (snail) and that thing in your picture is a pelecypod. Like a clam, yunnastan?


4 posted on 08/31/2010 6:07:20 PM PDT by hellbender
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To: SunkenCiv

Conventional wisdom gets conch-ed out. People forced this critter to grow up faster and reproduce before it could be eaten. Hardly a surprise.


5 posted on 08/31/2010 6:10:24 PM PDT by hellbender
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To: SunkenCiv
"What we've found indicates that human activity does not necessarily mean that there is going to be a negative impact on a species ..."

For this blasphemy, his funding gets yanked in 3, 2, 1...

6 posted on 08/31/2010 6:14:43 PM PDT by magslinger (DISCLAIMER: No liberals were harmed in the making of this post. I'm sorry and will try harder.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Human activity has greatly improved the razor clam by the addition of garlic butter sauce and linguini.


7 posted on 08/31/2010 6:46:11 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Obama. Chauncey Gardiner without the homburg.)
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To: Red_Devil 232

Pearl bowling balls when they’re that size. ;’)


8 posted on 08/31/2010 7:25:05 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Democratic Underground... matters are worse, as their latest fund drive has come up short...)
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To: hellbender

Iodide before I’d have thought of it.


9 posted on 08/31/2010 7:25:45 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Democratic Underground... matters are worse, as their latest fund drive has come up short...)
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To: muir_redwoods

Sure, but what doesn’t? :’)


10 posted on 08/31/2010 7:31:34 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Democratic Underground... matters are worse, as their latest fund drive has come up short...)
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To: magslinger

They still hang the blame on humans, claiming that runoff from agricultural areas led to better nutrition for the shellfish — the Pacific only comprising half the Earth’s surface — but even that’s gonna get them sent to study flora in the Sahara for the rest of their careers.


11 posted on 08/31/2010 7:33:21 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Democratic Underground... matters are worse, as their latest fund drive has come up short...)
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To: SunkenCiv

12 posted on 09/01/2010 12:09:56 AM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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To: SunkenCiv
Humped conch?

No wonder conch chowder is reputed to be an aphrodisiac.

Worked for him.

13 posted on 09/01/2010 1:50:21 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: colorado tanker

Chowder joke — out.

Not the only size that got boosted...


14 posted on 09/01/2010 5:23:12 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Democratic Underground... matters are worse, as their latest fund drive has come up short...)
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To: JoeProBono

[a VP of development at Long John Silver’s] “I went to Vegas for the weekend, and had this great idea...”


15 posted on 09/01/2010 6:22:41 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Democratic Underground... matters are worse, as their latest fund drive has come up short...)
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