Project: Can Raman spectroscopy be used as a high-accuracy method to identify bivalve larvae?

Identification of bivalve larvae is notoriously difficult and time consuming; currently no ‘gold standard’ method exists for distinguishing larvae collected in the field. We proposed to determine if Raman spectroscopy could be used to identify species of bivalve larvae. Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive method that uses a focused laser to produce a spectrum, a graph with peaks that indicate the presence of different molecules like calcium carbonate and organic pigments. Previous work exploring the use of Raman spectroscopy on shells of bivalve larvae revealed that larval shells of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) exhibit a unique spectrum at one wavelength which was distinguishable from those of six other bivalve species. The objective of this research was to analyze additional species of larvae and to determine if spectra collected at three different wavelengths could be used to distinguish the larvae. We collected Raman spectra at three wavelengths from 25 samples of bivalve larvae representing 16 species and four taxonomic Orders. Use of the Raman spectra with three wavelengths enabled classification of larvae into Order/Family groups with accuracies ≥ 92% (Thompson et al. in prep). This study indicates that continued evaluation of this approach would be a fruitful line of research which could advance knowledge of shellfish biology and ecology.

(Project description provided by Dr. Elizabeth North.)