Editing Clam (section)

== Food source and ecology ==

Clams are shellfish that make up an important part of the web of life that keeps the seas functioning, both as filter feeders and as a food source for many different animals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/education/documents/Marine%20Foodweb%20Handout.pdf|title = Outreach & Education|publisher=NOAA Fisheries|date = 11 June 2020}}</ref>  Extant mammals that eat clams include both the Pacific and Atlantic species of [[walrus]], all known subspecies of [[Harbor seal|harbour seals]] in both the Atlantic and Pacific, most species of [[sea lion]]s, including the [[California sea lion]], [[bearded seal]]s and even species of river otters that will consume the freshwater species found in Asia and North America.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=West Sound Wildlife|title=River Otters|url=https://www.westsoundwildlife.org/wildlife/FunFacts/FF_RiverOtters.html|access-date=23 January 2020|archive-date=11 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211124005/http://www.westsoundwildlife.org/wildlife/FunFacts/FF_RiverOtters.html|url-status=dead}}<br>- {{Cite web|url=https://www.marwell.org.uk/zoo/explore/animals/61/asian-small-clawed-otter|title=Asian small-clawed otter|publisher=Marwell Zoo|accessdate=8 November 2021}}</ref> Birds of all kinds will also eat clams if they can catch them in the [[littoral zone]]: [[roseate spoonbills]] of North and South America,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ambergriscaye.com/birds/roseate.html|website = Birds of Ambergris Caye|title=Roseate Spoonbill}}</ref> the [[Eurasian oystercatcher]], [[whooping crane]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/w/whooping-crane/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525162440/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/w/whooping-crane/|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 May 2017|title=Whooping Crane |work=National Geographic|date=11 November 2010}}</ref> and [[common crane]], the [[American flamingo]] of Florida and the Caribbean Sea,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.geographia.com/bonaire/bonbrd01.htm|title =The Birds of Bonaire|website=Bonaire}}</ref> and the [[common sandpiper]] are just a handful of the numerous birds that feast on clams all over the world. Most species of [[octopus]] have clams as a staple of their diet, up to and including the giants like the [[Giant Pacific octopus]].
[[File:Sandiego 11 bg 010706.jpg|thumb|right|A clam dish]]
[[File:Clams simmering in white wine sauce.jpg|thumb|Clams simmering in a white [[wine sauce]]]]