• What is a Study Group
• Objective
• Experienced and Benefit

• Accommodation
• Transportation
• Attraction

• Registration Fee
• Registration

• Problem 1
• Problem 2
• Problem 3
• Problem 4
• Problem 5
• Problem 6

• Problem 1
• Problem 2
• Problem 3
• Problem 4
• Problem 5
• Problem 6
• Problem 7

JOHOR BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIODIVERSITY CORPORATION (JBIOTECH).

Problem Background:

Giant Clams are a family of bivalve molluscs that live in tropical waters on coral reefs. They are unique due to their large size and very specialised feeding mechanism. The two mantle lobes that line bivalve shells are fused and hugely enlarged for exposure to sunlight. Their mantle tissue exposed to sunlight is packed with single-celled algae. The single-celled algae serve the same symbiotic function of using the host’s waste molecules to photosynthesis organic molecules, which are shared with the host. These mechanisms show that they are well adapted to the low nutrient levels in the sea water of coral reefs. Another unusual life-style for a giant clam is it also filter-feed on fine suspended particles using cilia on their gills, which is unusual method of feeding used by bivalves. Some giant clams take longer than many mammals to reach full sexual maturity as their testes developing first between two and six years of age, and then ovaries within the same organ at three to ten years. They have only one gonad in which testes and ovaries are finely intertwined. Yet, despite this disorderly plumbing, the clams reproduce by first expelling a dense cloud of sperm and later eggs, reducing the chance of self-fertilisation. There are six to seven different species of giant clams existing in tropical seawaters of Johor. In fact, giant clams represent a very diverse and vulnerable ecosystem. The population of these species are found decreasing due to many factors that threaten their survival. Among them are increased water temperature, solar irradiance, sedimentation, salinity changes (ph value), pollution, tourism, diseases, and fishing practices. The decrease in population of giant clams has motivated government (currently the Mersing Project which is a joint research between JBIOTECH with Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Marine Department, Marine Park Department, several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and corporate bodies) to do a research in order to study the behaviours of these species in order to conserve the population specifically in islands of Johor. The study areas involve three islands near waters of Johor, which are Tinggi Island, Aur Island, and Lima Island. This is an ongoing research started since 2013. 450 of giant clam babies were placed in three batches of 150 per batch. One of the batches was placed in a cage on dead coral which are 5-18 meters depth under the sea level, and the other two batches are laced scatteredly around the islands. The data was taken three times per year for the batch placed in the cage.

Problem statement:

According to earlier pilot study, the growth of giant clams is different even though they are placed in the same cage. The expected factors that influence the differences in growth rate among others are genetic factor of the clam babies and their survival. It is hoped that a mathematical model can be obtained to predict the growth rate of giant clams and hence optimize the conservation of the giant clams’ population and sustain the bio-industrial development in Johor.