Few people can find much good to say about the so-called dead zones, the low oxygen conditions that develop in Narragansett Bay each summer. But a Brown University researcher has found one positive consequence: Rhode Island’s prized quahogs seem to thrive in dead zones.

Andrew H. Altieri, a postdoctoral researcher in the university’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology, made news two years ago when he published research showing that summer algae blooms triggered low oxygen conditions that killed an estimated 4.5 billion mussels in the Bay in the summer of 2001.

Heavy rains and hot weather that summer caused algae blooms that were more prolific than in summers past. The mussels, which had been so prevalent they could filter all the waters in the Bay in 20 days, lost 75 percent of their filtering capacity, Altieri reported in a paper published in the journal Ecology.

Altieri’s latest research found a good side of dead zones — they are a boon for quahogs.

In a paper published this month, again in Ecology, Altieri found that the quahog’s ability to survive in oxygen-starved waters that kill their predators results in quahogs not only surviving, but thriving.

“You’d be hard-pressed to say dead zones are good,” Altieri said in a statement released by Brown. “But with this study, you can’t say that dead zones are simply doom and gloom. Ultimately, it’s a silver lining in a very dark cloud.”

In experiments during the summer and fall of 2003 and 2004, Altieri placed quahogs, soft-shelled clams and blue mussels in three locations in the Bay known to become hypoxic (low in oxygen) in the summer, and in one control location. All three species tolerated mild hypoxia, Altieri found, and benefited because predators left the areas. But Altieri found that only quahogs survived severe hypoxia. In fact, he found the densest quantities of clams in the most oxygen-starved waters.

Altieri found quahog densities declined in healthier waters. Quahogs, valued at $8.4 million last year, are one of Rhode Island’s dominant fisheries.

Michael McGiveney, president of the Rhode Island Shellfishermen’s Association, was not surprised by Altieri’s findings.

“When we had the big fish kill in Greenwich Bay [in 2003] we didn’t see any clam deaths,” McGiveney said last week. “Afterwards, we actually had one of the best sets ever. Clams can go 30 days without oxygen. That’s why they have a great shelf life. They are very hardy.”

Predators of clams include snails and crabs, McGiveney said.

Now, McGiveney said, fishermen worry that the state’s response to the fish kill — ordering sewage treatment plants to spend millions of dollars lowering nitrogen levels in the Bay — may upset the food chain and put quahogs at risk. Scientists continue to debate that issue.

New CRMC group meets Wednesday

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is forming a R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan stakeholder group. The first meeting will be Wednesday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Hazard Room at the University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Institute building on the Narragansett Bay campus. The meeting is open to the public.

SAMP will serve as a management and regulatory tool that promotes a balanced approach to considering the development and protection of Rhode Island’s ocean-based resources. The SAMP, through a public policy process that includes the best available scientific research and stakeholder involvement, will make Rhode Island the first state in the nation to zone its offshore water for current uses — such as commercial fishing; habitat protection for fish, marine animals and wildlife; and marine transportation — and potential new activities, including renewable energy development.

All stakeholder group meetings will be open to the public. Those planning on attending should call Amber Neville at (401) 874-6106 or e-mail amber@crc.uri.edu. For information on the effort, visit seagrant.gso.uri.edu/oceansamp.

Resource Recovery hosts 2 collections

The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is hosting two collections. The free services are for Rhode Island households only.

A computer recycling and Eco-Depot collection for household hazardous waste will be held on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Monastery Complex, 1464 Mendon Rd., Cumberland. All types of household computer waste including CPUs, monitors, printers, keyboards, laptops, hard drives, scanners, modems and mouse devices and cell phones will be accepted.

The Central Landfill, 65 Shun Pike, Johnston, will hold a Eco-Depot collection only on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to noon.

Appointments are necessary for all collections. Call (401) 942-1430 ext. 241 or sign up online at www.rirrc.org and click on the Eco-Depot logo on the right-hand side of the page.

Benders Caffe ‘green restaurant’

The Green Restaurant Association, a national nonprofit organization that helps the restaurant industry improve its environmental practices through research, environmental consulting, education and certification, recently named Benders Caffe, 129 Weybosset St., the first certified green restaurant in Rhode Island.

Certification was granted on Oct. 14 upon implementation of environmentally sustainable practices in accordance with the association’s guidelines. Benders Caffe was opened in July by owners Chris Mathis and Julie Pung.

For information, visit www.benderscaffe.com.

Stone wall lecture this afternoon

Prof. Robert Thorson will lead a walk and present a stone wall lecture today from 1 to 3 p.m. at Canonchet Farm in Narragansett. For information, call (401) 783-3951 or visit www.canonchet.org.

The Environmental Journal is a listing of brief news items about the actions of individuals, organizations and businesses that affect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the landscape that surrounds us. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact environment reporter Peter B. Lord at 277-8036, or by email at plord@projo.com or by writing him, care of the Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, R.I. 02902.