Time Lapse Video of Clam Filtration

Hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) are filter feeders and, therefore, improve the water quality of the environment in which they are cultured. In this time lapse video, University of Florida/IFAS scientists demonstrate the clam’s water-cleaning efficiency by placing 24 littleneck-size clams in a 2.5 gallon aquarium containing microscopic marine phytoplankton (density of 396,000 algal cells per milliliter). Compare what happens, over the course of 100 minutes, in the aquarium with clams (right) and the aquarium without clams (left). A single littleneck-size clam can filter 4.5 gallons of seawater per day!