The unexpected consequences of climate change are often, well, unexpected. Researchers at the Moss Landing Marine Labs Aquaculture Facility are working with the shellfish industry to make sure that “out of stock” signs at our favorite oyster bars won’t be one of those consequences.
Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to changes in our weather patterns but also lead to increases in the carbon dioxide within our oceans. The excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves into sea water, increasing the oceans acidity (lowering its pH) which then poses problems for marine life that lives within a naturally narrow range of ocean acidity. Decreases in the local ocean pH have already been causing real impacts, including impacts to shellfish industries.
Already, oyster farms are struggling to raise oyster spat (young recently settled oyster larvae) because the more acidic coastal waters make it difficult for the young oysters to mineralize shell material. Dr. Luke Gardner, Sea Grant Aquaculture Specialist at Moss Landing Marine Labs notes that Hog Island Oysters must now raise the pH of their Humboldt Bay hatchery waters in order for their oyster seed to settle and grow. To support the industry, aquaculture center researchers are studying ways to buffer ocean acidity through integrated techniques where algae and shellfish grown together in multi-chamber recirculating tank networks. This research is critical, notes Gardner, because we are “rapidly approaching a time when shellfish growth will be impacted by ocean acidification.”…
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