Length-weight Relationship, Condition Factor and Percentage Edibility of Lyrate Hard Clam, Meretrix lyrata (Swerby, 1851) Collected from The Sundarbans Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh

Abstract

Length-weight relationships (LWR) and condition factor (K) are crucial biological parameters for understanding growth patterns, population dynamics, and the well-being of bivalve populations. This study aimed at investigating the LWR, condition factor, and percentage edibility of the Asiatic hard clam, Meretrix lyrata collected from Alorkol, adjacent to Dubla Island in the Sundarbans East Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh. A total of 130 individuals were sampled, with shell lengths (SL) ranging from 3.87 to 6.53 cm, shell height (SH) varying from 2.34 to 4.68 cm, shell thickness (ST) changing from 3.31 to 5.61 cm and total weights (TW) ranging from 23.75 to 85.95 g. The SL-TW, SHTW and ST-TW relationship, regression parameters (a and b) and coefficient of determination (R2 ) were established for M. lyrata obtained from the habitat. The regression equation obtained for SLTW was TW = 1.077 SL2.333. The same in logarithmic equation can be written as ln(TW) = 0.074 + 2.333 × ln(SL). The correlation coefficient (r) between SL and TW was 0.934 indicated very strong positive correlation between the variables. The regression equation constructed for SH-TW was TW = 8.281 SH1.535 and for ST-TW was TW = 1.992 ST2.037. The b value obtained for three different lengthsTW relationships (2.333 for SL-TW, 1.535 for SH-TW and 2.037 for ST-TW) indicated negative allometric growth of M. lyrata along the southeast coast of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh. Fulton’s condition factor (K) for M. lyrata ranged from 0.09 to 0.65, with a mean value of 0.36 ± 0.07 is comparable with the K values reported for other clam species from different geographic locations. Percentage edibility (PE) of M. lyrata ranged from 6.42 to 14.19%, indicating poor well-being of the species in the habitat. These findings provide baseline biological data for sustainable management of M. lyrata in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh.