MASS MORTALITY IN NOAH ARK ARCA NOAE (LINNAEUS, 1758): A CASE STUDY FROM THE STRAIT OF MESSINA (MEDITERRANEAN SEA)

Subtidal shell deposits of the edible bivalve Arca noae in the Strait of Messina (Central Mediterranean) were investigated and compared with an adjacent live population, testifying that dead and live populations were similar but distinct. The age-class structure of the two compared populations, whose lifespans ranged from 5 to 7 y, indicated that in this area unexploited Noah's ark stocks have generally low survival and recruitment. Shell morphometrics and size distributions suggested that the shell deposits were descriptive of the premortality population structure, as expected in a mass mortality episode.