The Study of Pholas Orientalis’s Life Cycle and Its Relationship with the Ecological Parameters in States of Kedah, Perak and Selangor, Malaysia

The angelwing clams or known locally as ‘siput mentarang’; Pholas orientalis, can be one of the potential species for aquaculture industries in Malaysia and hopefully in near future it can be an option for farmers to culture the clams. As most bivalves culture system, the seeds are obtained naturally and collected by farmers on certain time of the year. Thus, knowledge of the clam’s life-cycle will be advantageous in aquaculture especially in farm’s planning and scheduling. Three locations in Kedah, Perak and Selangor have been selected for this study. The samples were collected periodically using a systematic sampling method starting from March 2015 to April 2016 at each sampling sites. Plankton net was used to collect the eggs, larvae and umbo stage of P. orientalis, while soil samples were collected at depth of about 0.5m using a scoop for juvenile and adult stage analysis, and soil quality. The study showed that the three locations had different seasonal timing of the life-cycle developmental stages of the clams. A combination of abiotic factors such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrient may contribute to the differences of the developmental stages of P. orientalis within the study areas. It was found that the abundance of food (planktons) contributed greatly to the life cycle timing of the clams.