2010) have expanded nearly monolithic representations of Northwest Coast aboriginal peoples as “Hunter-Gatherers” towards an understanding of these peoples as active resource managers and cultivators (Deur and Turner 2005). 2006 Langdon 2006 Menzies 2006 Thornton et al. Over the last 15 years, assessments of previously overlooked practices of plant cultivation (Boyd 1999 Deur 1999, 2000, 2002 Deur and Turner 2005 Lepofsky and Lertzman 2008 Thornton 1999 Turner 1999, 2005 Turner and Clifton 2006 Turner and Peacock 2005 Turner and Wilson 2008), and management of fish resources (Butler and Campbell 2004 Haggan et al. 2015 Minnis and Elisens 2000 Turner and Berkes 2006 Turner et al. 2003 Lepofsky and Lertzman 2008 Lepofsky and Caldwell 2013 Lepofsky et al. Anderson 2009 Berkes 2012 Blackburn and Anderson 1993 Boyd 1999 Hunn et al. This article presents the only account of these activities, their motivations, and their outcomes, based on the first-hand knowledge of a traditional practitioner, Kwakwaka’wakw Clan Chief Kwaxistalla Adam Dick, trained in these techniques by elders raised in the nineteenth century when clam “gardening” was still widely practiced.Īrchaeologists, anthropologists and other researchers increasingly recognize that the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America actively managed clam beds well before European contact, often generating features termed “clam gardens.” These anthropogenic ecosystems represent a single element within an entire suite of managed habitats and Indigenous resource management systems in this region (M. In some cases, harvesters also removed stones or even created stone revetments that served to laterally expand sediments suitable for clam production into previously unusable portions of the tidal zone. Among those practices that have escaped the attention of anthropologists until recently is the traditional management of intertidal clam beds, which Northwest Coast peoples have enhanced through techniques such as selective harvests, the removal of shells and other debris, and the mechanical aeration of the soil matrix. Hemolymph can be obtained readily from the pericardial cavity without affecting the performance of the organism signiﬁcantly, which further makes vitellogenin a valuable, nonlethal marker for this genus.The indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America actively managed natural resources in diverse ways to enhance their productivity and proximity. Vitellogenin or vitellin can be used as a reliable quantitative index of gender and degree of gonadic maturity in females. Vitellin content mirrored the evolution of each maturation stage and correlated signiﬁcantly with oocyte diameter. The weightspeciﬁc content of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates in the gonads was signiﬁcantly greater during PVt and ES than the other gonadal stages, and remained relatively constant thereafter. Quantitative changes in proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates in the hemolymph did not show a clear temporal pattern, yet the level of vitellogenin increased from 16.4 (PVt stage)–47.8 mg/mL (LVt stage) and correlated with the oocyte diameter. The percent of lipids and carbohydrates evaluated histochemically in females closely mirrored the gonadal stages, as well as the diameter. Oocyte diameter varied between 25.5 mm(PVt stage) and 74.8 mmduring the late vitellogenic stage (LVt). Spawning took place in December/January when the temperature reached a plateau of 18.5. Five distinct gonadal stages were identiﬁed in both male and female geoducks, with previtellogenic (PVt)/early spermatogenic (ES) gonads being observed in October. The theoretical diameter of oocytes was also estimated from their surface area, measured in histological sections of gonads. Biochemical quantiﬁcation of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitellogenin, and vitellin was performed on hemolymph and gonad tissues of all specimens. Histological and semiquantitative histochemical changes (total lipids and carbohydrates) were assessed in gonad tissue during the maturation process. Thirty adult organisms of Panopea globosa, an endemic geoduck species from Baja California, Mexico, were collected monthly during a maturation cycle (October through January).

Clam to horse clam to geo duck