Pismo clams are found from Monterey Bay, California through Baja California, Mexico. Our project focuses on the California portion of the area where Pismo clams are found. Last summer we managed to cover a good chunk of California beaches, but were missing the most northerly area. The long, 3 day weekend was a perfect opportunity to take a group of students north to survey for Pismo clams! However, at the last minute State Parks called me and said the campground we had intended to stay at would be closed. There were big wind storms, rain, and generally unpleasant weather. Instead of camping, we opted for a hotel (which ended up being closer to the beaches we wanted to survey anyway!) Even though clams are anecdotally in low abundance here and the weather/surf made surveys challenging, we found them! All of the clams were well below legal size for recreational harvest (in Monterey county clams must be greater than 5 inches across to harvest!). Our scientific collecting permit allows us to take a small number of clams from beaches in California. We collected a small number of the clams we found for genetic samples. As of now, we have genetic samples from beaches in Monterey Bay to the San Diego area. Though not part of my thesis research, I hope the samples we are collecting will tell us more about habitat connectivity. We don't know much about baby, larval clams: how long they stay floating in the water, how far they can travel in ocean currents, how related clams on different beaches are. These samples will help us answer those questions! On Sunday, the survey wasn't until later in the afternoon. We took a break from the rain and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I LOVE this aquarium and am thankful we could spend a couple hours here between surveys. :) Overall, this was a successful, fun survey weekend!
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