The Pacific blue mussel (Mytilus trossulus) is the main and beneficial species in the intertidal environment of the northern part
As a primary species, Pacific blue mussels provide habitat and support They also have a growing economic value in Alaska, where about 8 million mussels are farmed annually .
For marine life that relies on calcium, climate change is a double whammy.They are affected by both the increase in temperature and the change in the pH of their habitat.to calcium deficiency in marine organizations.
As the amount of carbon in the atmosphere increases, seawater absorbs more and more carbon, triggering a chemical reaction that makesAccording to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ocean surface waters have already become about 30% more acidic.Mussels, like other calcifying mollusks, rely on calcium carbonate to make their shells.But calcium carbonate dissolves in an acidic environment, in fact, it is even used in conventional antacids.
For this study, the researchers used tidal basins in Sitka, Alaska, to simulate different aspects of climate change.Some tidal pools were artificially heated, some were artificially acidified, and still others were both heated and acidic.They observed the mussels for six months, checking the strength and thickness of the shell at three intervals.
While mussels in acidified pools had shells that were both weaker and thinner than in control pools in which conditions did not change, mussels from combined (heated and acidified) pools showed more complex results.It turned out that the combined effects of moderate warming and acidification reduced the damage to the strength of the shells of the shell M.trossulus from acidification.
However, scientists note that the resultsambiguous. Thus, thinning the shell can make mussels more vulnerable to predators. And the hardening of the husk, observed in pools with combined conditions, can make it more difficult for predators to feed, which in itself can affect the ecosystem. It will also complicate the shipping and fishing industries.
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