All Conched Out

In 2010-2012, we conducted research on growth, reproduction, and sexual maturity of channeled whelks Busycotypus canaliculatus, in Massachusetts. We captured >10,000 whelks in Buzzards Bay, MA, and marked and released about 9700 of them, and dissected over 250. In 2010 we set up our new histology laboratory at the Paul Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Laboratory. This equipment will help us study the reproduction of whelks, crabs, and fish or as I like to say "Snails, scales, and tails". My Ph D student Val Hall came down from Massachusetts to help train the students in histology technique. Then we started to process a backlog of tissues collected over the last year. In 2013 Bhe-Jin Peemoeller graduated from UMES with an MS degree based on his work on this project. We have published two journal articles based on this work (see publications page). We greatly appreciated the cooperation of fisherman Jarret Drake, and undergraduate students Samara and Keno Amegada who assisted with this project.