ABSTRACT Recent (2001-2002) surveys of hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria density and distribution, using patent tongs in a stratified random design (n = 7,358 stations) in lower Chesapeake Bay are not consistent with historic descriptions of clam habitats and densities. The highest average densities observed, up to 3.1 clams [m.sup.-2], were in the lower James River. The highest modern average density observed is half that of clam densities commonly observed in these same habitats ...
<11 m on one end of Axis I with shell substrate and those from depths><0.001). A posthoc multiple comparison test delineated four groups of strata corresponding to zero, low (0.01-0.8 clams [m.sup.-2]), medium (0.9-1.4 clams [m.sup.-2]), high (1.5-2.1 clams [m.sup.-2]) and very high (><1.7 clams [m.sup.-2]), medium (1.7-4.0 clams m-Z), and high (>