I agree with J. R. -- What fun this could be. It appears that enterovirus in the Black Clams seems to be the most serious and prevalent problem with the fishery. The source is untreated sewage in the growing water but it appears that they can be depurated relatively easily. Ideally, better treatment of sewage should be implemented but that is not an option for a poor country. Depuration is a possible solution (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_ui ds=9698943&dopt=Abstract ). In sny case, I suggest that you contact the National Chamber of Aquaculture ( http://www.cna-ecuador.com/ )and ask them what might be of most help to them given the financial and time limitations of your tour. Please let us know how this works out. -----Original Message----- From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marie Vicksta Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 9:52 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Ecuadorian Clam Project Hi all, My name is Marie Vicksta and I'm a student at the university of wisconsin. This field is entirely new to me, but I may have the opportunity to go to Ecuador this summer to do a study on a clam species, andara tuberculosa, on the coast. I an planning to do a population study in order to help the people there to create a sustainable management plan to bring back the population and hopefully help with mangrove restoration. I am also thinking of looking at the water quality and contamination levels in the clams. Since I am entirely new to this, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to sampling techniques, but any information that you all could throw my way would be much appreciated. Thanks Marie ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------