Of the many new initiatives scientists are thinking up to protect threatened species from the perils of record ocean temperatures, Florida’s new “mussel speed dating” program may be the most effective.
Researchers act as… suitors for the queen clam, a mollusk that has iconic status in the Florida Keys. They work by removing the clam from the warmth of its nearshore habitat and relocating it to deeper, colder waters where a multitude of new potential mates await.
The small but dedicated team at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is running a sort of underwater Tinder for the gastropods, whose numbers have been in near-total decline in recent years as sea temperatures rise.
“Clams are meant for a life of celibacy, we’re trying to sort it out”
The researchers believe that the environmental change encourages the clams, which are mostly lethargic and infertile in excessively warm shallow waters, to roam free and mate in more suitable environments with a new pool of potential mates.
“Mussels near the shore are destined for a celibate life, and we’re trying to fix that,” says Gabriel Delgado, FWC research scientist and shellfish specialist, who has overseen the relocation of more than 200 clams.
“It’s like, Hey people, you’re having trouble meeting a seashell. Well, here’s a few more at the party, now you can open up a little more to each other,” he adds.
According to the figures, the Florida queen conch population, once widespread in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and around Bermuda, has plummeted from about 700,000 in 2017 to 126,000 five years later, notes The Guardian.
Delgado lists other factors that contributed to the extinction, including hurricanes Irma in 2017 and Ian in 2022, which suffocated and killed large numbers of specimens, as well as the ever-present threat of poaching. Harvesting the queen clam has been illegal in Florida since the 1970s, but its meat remains a popular delicacy.
The population, invited to take part in the petition
However, Delgado and his team recently focused on the extreme heat of Florida’s oceans. Last year, the surface temperature in the Florida Keys was recorded at 38 degrees Celsius, believed to be a world record.
The relocation idea followed similar, but smaller-scale, experiments earlier this century in which inshore clams were moved into offshore spawning aggregations and quickly established themselves as “breeding capable” , he explains.
“They were mating, laying eggs, but unfortunately we never followed up the next year to see if they became indistinguishable from the native seashells,” Delago adds.
This year, finding seashells for relocation was a community effort.
“I asked the public to be careful. They flagged them online, some people sent emails, and we used community volunteers to collect the 208 that we moved in June to an offshore aggregation,” explains the specialist.
We also recommend that you read:
What have researchers learned about past climate change after studying fossilized seashells?
Why it is not good to collect seashells from the beach
The running track at the Paris 2024 Olympics was made of seashells
The secret to a long life may be found in clams
Source: www.descopera.ro
