Biometric Relationship of Tegillarca granosa (Bivalvia: Arcidae) from the Northern Region of the Strait of Malacca

Abstract

This study on the growth pattern of the blood cockle Tegillarca granosa focused on the aspects of biometric prints on the shell, which aimed to predict the growth of the T. granosa population in the northern region of Malacca Strait. The local sample populations of the cockle were collected in three different intertidal areas called Lhokseumawe and Banda Aceh in Indonesia and Pulau Pinang in Malaysia. The biometric analysis showed that the length–weight relationship model of T. granosa populations in this region indicated that the cockle population generally had a negative allometric growth pattern (b < 3) or that shell length is more dominant compared to shell weight. Therefore, the result showed that the growth performance of T. granosa was not ideal, and the highest b value (the coefficient of biometric relationship) was recorded in Lhokseumawe, followed by Banda Aceh and Pulau Pinang. The value of the coefficient b could be affected by various factors such as environmental conditions, adaptation, and dietary patterns. Cluster analysis revealed that the population of T. granosa from the northern region of the Strait of Malacca was divided into two clusters, which were T. granosa from the northern Strait of Malacca (Banda Aceh and Lhokseumawe in Indonesia) and T. granosa from the Western Strait of Malacca (Pulau Pinang in Malaysia). The factors that might cause the differences in the biometric component of both clusters were at the geographical level on the source of population and local environmental parameters.