PROXIMATE COMPOSITION WITH DIMENSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN MERETRIX CASTA AND VILLORITA CYPRINOIDES FROM NEENDAKARA PART OF ASHTAMUDI LAKE, KERALA, INDIAN. Parvathy, B.T. Sulekha and S. SheebaAbstract Besides the augmentation of palatable value, relationship between shell characteristics and proximate composition of bivalves are significant to understand the ecological productivity of a system. Dimensional studies have great significance in fishery researches, for the improvement of current production and management. During the study period (July 2021 to May 2022), a total of 300 individuals from each clams, M. casta and V.cyprinoides were collected bimonthly from Neendakara region of Ashtamudi Lake, a Ramsar site from Kerala. The allometrical relation and the biochemical composition of bivalves were determined. The negative allometric growth showed by the length to width and thickness relationship implies that the increase in the width and thickness of the bivalves were inferior to the growth in length. Linear regression results showed that there is significant variation (p<0.05) in the allometrical relationship in the two bivalves. Various biochemical constituents such as, ash, moisture, carbohydrate, protein and fat have been also estimated. Single Factor ANOVA studies of bimonthly data reveals that, there was no significant differences (p>0.05) in the proximate compositions of the two clams. Condition Index (CI) and Edibility Percentage or Percentage Edibility (EP) were also estimated. Condition Index was recorded to be <1 during the entire study period. The results showed that the studied bivalve species could be considered as a good dietary resource, due to its high protein content as well as remarkable composition of carbohydrate and fat contents. Therefore, the present study will be helpful for implementing various sustainable management practices to increase the culturing potential of the bivalve in the estuarine beds. |