Borehole Site Selectivity Lab

Hayley Jankowski Block 2

12.6.17

Introduction w/ hypothesis:

Bivalves are a class of molluscs that have their visceral mass enclosed in a shell consisting of
two hinged parts. These animals, such as clams oysters and scallops, are a primary food source to
carnivorous gastropods. This is an example of a predator-prey relationship in which the predator, a
gastropod, uses a method known as boring to consume its prey, a bivalve (Kong, Lee, Park, & Lee,
2017). However, a bivalve has a very strong adductor muscle that makes it nearly impossible for its
predators, such as moon snail, to pry it open; in this case, they developed a different feeding method
known as boring. When boring, a gastropod uses its foot to locate and bring a bivalve up from the
sand and then attaches itself to the bivalve usually near the umbo, the highest part of each valve.
Then, it begins a two step process beginning with the use of its accessory boring organ or ABO to
soften their prey’s shell using hydrochloric acid, enzymes and other substances. Next they use their
radula, a tongue-like structure covered in denticles (see Figure 1), to scrape away at the shell
hopefully breaking through, enabling them to eat away at the clam’s tissues (Thomas, 2007).

This process leaves behind boreholes in a prey’s shell, providing information on the predator-
prey relationship, and the predator’s size, selectivity, and behaviour. For instance, research by Grey,
Boulding, and Brookfield (2005) suggests that the ratios of inner to outer diameters in boreholes
produced by naticids, or moon snails, displayed significant differences depending on the species of
naticid. This makes it easier to identify the eating habits of these species, and also helps to fill in fossil
records. Moreover, a noteworthy amount of boreholes created by a variety of the species are in the
same place, near the umbo. In fact, a study done by Kong, Lee, Park, and Lee (2017) found that nearly
96% of their samples had a borehole near the umbo, yet it is not known whether the location of a
borehole has any crucial meaning.

The umbo is also the oldest part of a bivalve’s shell and also the thinnest (see Figure 6),
possibly making a predator’s drilling process a lot easier and faster. The umbo would be located near
the hinge of the bivalve, corresponding to sector 2 in the grids (see Figure 2). Therefore, it can be
assumed that the most boreholes will be located in that region since it provides a more efficient
location for drilling than any other spot on the bivalves collected

Materials:

For this lab we had a small list of materials that included two buckets, the shells we collected,
National Audubon Society field guides, and calipers.
Procedure:

To begin, as a class we traveled to Ship Bottom and scanned the shore line for shells with circular
holes in them. Once a sufficient amount was collected in the buckets we brought them back to our
classroom to analyze them. Together, we sorted the shells into shape and then identified their
species with the help of a National Audubon Society field guide and calipers to measure their lengths.
Once we separated the shells a lab by Richard Alexander guided us into dividing each shell into 9
sectors. Then the boreholes on each shell were pinpointed and assigned to the sector in which they
were located.

Data:

Table 1: Species with boreholes collected and Identified by Shape

Common Name Scientific Name Shape

Coquina Clams Donax variabilis rectangular

Blue mussel Mytilus edulis rectangular

Bay Scallops Argopecten irradians ovate

Jingle shells Anomia simplex ovate

Transverse Ark shells Anadara transversa ovate

Surf clam Spisula solidissima triangular

Dwarf surf clam Mulinia lateralis triangular

Figure 1: The radula that aids carnivorous gastropods’

feeding methods
 Figure 2: Sections in which the shells are divided
into to quantify the boreholes locations

1 2 28
231

2 1 7

1 1

Figure 3: Boreholes found on Figure 4: Boreholes found on Ovate

Triangular Bivalves (n= 235) Bivalves (n=39)

2 7 1

1 3

Figure 5: Boreholes that appeared on Rectangular Bivalves (n=14)

Figure 6: The shell thickness of bivalves as it decreases when it comes closer to the umbo.
Discussion:

The hypothesis of this study was that the most boreholes would appear near the umbo, or in
sector two. The data collected therefore supports this hypothesis, for each shape had the greatest
amount of boreholes in sector 2. Previous research by Richard Alexander used the thickness diagrams
above to support the idea of a borehole’s location being an advantage to the feeding process of
carnivorous gastropods. In most of the shell species observed their thinnest shell points occurred
towards the hinge, which could provide a reason for the abundance of boreholes in that position.
The number of boreholes in sector 2 for each shape was sufficiently higher than any other sector; in
fact, around 92% of the boreholes occurred there, meaning that gastropods might have discovered
that boring near the hinge will speed up the drilling process and save them energy (“Predators &
Defenses”)

The data could answer many questions about a bivalve’s predators; for instance, the data can
defend the assumption that they know the structure of their prey’s shell and have succeeded in
finding the best way to attack it. It could also help us understand the predators that profit from this
information, like the ones that drilled in sector 2 could have had an easier time obtaining food than
the ones who drilled in a different sector. Eventually, this could allow those predators who drilled in
the thinner sections to drill faster and ultimately outcompete the other predators for food. This
knowledge could be automatically passed down to their offspring leading to the prosperity of their
species.

However, the uneven amount of shells collected could have affected the outcome. Since the
number of surf clams and dwarf surf clams was 196 more than the ovate species and 221 more than
the rectangular species, the results could have been altered. The triangular shells contained the most
boreholes in sector 2 therefore having a major effect on the data’s outcome.

Conclusion:

Overall, the data collected can only entertain the hypothesis. These findings coincide with
other research and these trends suggest that the most common place for a borehole to occur is at the
thinnest part of a bivalve’s shell. Although it is not enough information to confirm that there is a
reason behind the locations of these boreholes, it can be said that drilling through a thinner section
would require less effort. All in all, sector 2, which is the most tender, and thinnest part of the shell,
had the largest summation of boreholes in all 6 species of bivalves studied.
Citations:

Kong, D., Lee, M., Park, C., & Lee, S. (2017, October 17). Boreholes on three bivalve species

found on the sand beach at Sagot Cape, Baengnyeongdo, Korea. Retrieved December 06,

2017, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2287884X17301243

Thomas, B. (2007, July 15). Loyola University New Orleans. Retrieved December 06, 2017,

from http://www.loyno.edu/lucec/natural-history-writings/carnivorous-marine-snails

Grey, M., Boulding, E. G., & Brookfield, M. E. (2005, June 28). SHAPE DIFFERENCES

AMONG BOREHOLES DRILLED BY THREE SPECIES OF NATICID

GASTROPODS | Journal of Molluscan Studies | Oxford Academic. Retrieved December

06, 2017, from https://academic.oup.com/mollus/article/71/3/253/1022783

Predators & Defenses. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2017, from

http://www.asnailsodyssey.com/LEARNABOUT/CLAM/clamDefe.php