CRUSHING PREDATION ON BIVALVE SPECIES: FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF DUROPHAGOUS PREDATOR/PREY INTERACTIONS

The shells of bivalves are the mean of protecting these organisms from their environment. Disturbances such as e.g., water current or sedimentation can threaten their livelihood. Apart from abiotic factors, predators pose a major threat to bivalves and their shells are the main defense against these culprits. Predators such as e.g., gastropods drill holes in shells to access and prey upon the soft body of the organism, while other predators take a different approach. Durophagous predators crush the shell of their prey, using jaws or claws.

This study examines the predator/prey interaction between durophagous predators, here the stone crab Menippe mercenaria and bivalve prey. We aim to evaluate the structural integrity of different valve symmetries as defense against crushing predation.

For this study we simulate the crushing process using 3D scan models of Mytilus edulis, Mya arenaria, and Mercenaria mercenaria used in these models as prey organisms. Additionally, we are attaining microscale material parameters through nanoindentation material tests on the valves of each of the bivalve species as well as claws. All this information is analyzed using finite element analysis, and pressure simulations reminiscent of crushing predation are undertaken.