Growth Rate Measurement of Shipworms

Measurements of Teredo pedicellata were carried out at Miami Beach during 1949 and 1950 primarily for the purpose of comparing burrow length and body weights as indices of seasonal growth rate fluctuation. Growth was shown to take place most rapidly during midsummer, with a secondary maximum in March. It was noted that in panels exposed for more than two months the summer growth rate was reduced as a result of overcrowding, due to the heavy summer attack rate. The dry weight is shown to vary as the 1.28 power of the burrow length. The approximation to a linear relationship may possibly result from the disproportionately high weight of shell and pallet in smaller animals.