• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
Celebrating our 1,000th edition. The climate news you need
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  FEATURED
Ex-Fossil Workers Convert Old Oilfields to Solar Farms After ‘Rapid Upskilling’ in Alberta June 29, 2022
London Becomes Biggest City to Sign Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty June 29, 2022
G7 Miss ‘Golden Opportunity’, Walk Back Pledge to Cut International Fossil Finance June 29, 2022
Soaring Fertilizer Prices Could Deliver ‘Silver Lining’ For Emissions, But Farmers Struggle to Limit Use June 26, 2022
BREAKING: UN Nature Summit, the ‘Paris Conference for Biodiversity’, Moves to Montreal in December June 19, 2022
Next
Prev
Home Climate News Network

Researchers study shellfish success

December 24, 2013
Reading time: 3 minutes
Primary Author: Alex Kirby

Scottish mussel beds: The European research will be globally relevant

Scottish mussel beds: The European research will be globally relevant

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The British Antarctic Survey is leading a research programme aimed at helping the European fishing industry and monitoring the effects of climate change on several shellfish species. LONDON, 24 December – If you like the occasional plate of grilled scallops or fancy an oyster now and then, read on and ponder. The health of several species of European shellfish is under threat. The bad news is that the shellfish face an uncertain future as the oceans become warmer and more acidic because of the changing climate. But there is some better news too: the European Union is funding an international research team to work out how these changes will affect several species vital to the European fishing economy and to marine biodiversity. Scientists do not fully understand how shellfish like oysters, mussels, scallops and clams produce their shells, or how a change in environment will affect their populations. To address this the EU is funding a €3.6 million (£3 m) programme called CACHE (Calcium in a Changing Environment). Shellfish are an important part of the European marine economy which provides an estimated 5.4 million jobs. Coordinated from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge, UK, the programme will research how the animals produce their shells. The scientists will also try to identify populations which are resilient to climate change. These relatively small animals are important as part of the wider pattern of marine biodiversity. And, as they make their shells from calcium carbonate, they also help to absorb the greenhouse gas CO2 from seawater.

Biotech applications

The risk to them comes from their dependence on calcium carbonate – a substance which dissolves under acidic conditions.  As the oceans become warmer and more acidic their shells will either thin, or the animals will have to expend more energy on producing thicker shells.  This will affect their population sizes and the quality of their flesh, directly affecting fisheries and consumers. How shellfish produce their shells also matters to the biotech industry, which is interested in imitating (in a process known as bio-mimicry) the way in which shellfish take a soluble compound like calcium to make solid, robust structures. A better understanding of this could reduce the carbon footprint of producing construction materials and create the potential for “fixing” CO2 into the building process. The species the research team is looking at are the king scallop, the Pacific oyster, the blue mussel and the soft shell clam. It will also study the native oyster to help conservation plans, as it is listed as a priority species in the UK.

Iceberg protection

Dr Melody Clark of BAS, the programme coordinator, told the Climate News Network: “The programme is driven by the science. We really don’t know the fundamentals of how shellfish respond to changing environments. “We do know that, in response to environmental conditions, they can change how much shell they produce, for example growing thicker shells in response to predators. In the Antarctic, inter-tidal limpets grow much thicker shells than sub-tidal ones, because they are bashed by icebergs. “And we don’t know just how they make their shells, whether with calcium from their food, or from the seawater. “On bio-mimicry, this research may let us start to develop ways of producing more robust structures without carbon, and with little energy. “We’re researching shellfish in European waters, but we’re recruiting the researchers worldwide, and the results will be relevant beyond Europe.” – Climate News Network



in Climate News Network

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

stux / Pixabay
Air & Marine

Big Seven European Airlines Lag on Reducing Sky-High Emissions: Report

June 13, 2022
75
Ars Electronica/flickr
Solar

Unique ‘Smartflower’ Microgrid to Power Saskatchewan High School

June 13, 2022
152
http://midwestenergynews.com/2013/10/24/as-pipeline-concerns-mount-a-renewed-focus-on-the-great-lakes-enbridge-mackinac-line-5/
Pipelines / Rail Transport

Line 5 Closure Brings Negligible Rise in Gas Prices, Enbridge Consultant Finds

June 10, 2022
205

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Keith Hirsche

Ex-Fossil Workers Convert Old Oilfields to Solar Farms After ‘Rapid Upskilling’ in Alberta

June 29, 2022
304
François GOGLINS/wikimedia commons

Corrosion Problem Shutters Half of France’s Nuclear Reactors

June 29, 2022
131
David/flickr

U.S. Supreme Court Expected to Gut Emission Controls as Climate Scientists Petition for Plan B

June 26, 2022
1.2k
Number 10/flickr

G7 Miss ‘Golden Opportunity’, Walk Back Pledge to Cut International Fossil Finance

June 29, 2022
116
London Eye UK England

London Becomes Biggest City to Sign Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

June 29, 2022
103
Danielle Scott/flickr

Advocate Urges Ottawa to Intervene Before Ontario Builds Highway 413

June 29, 2022
87

Recent Posts

AJEL / Pixabay

Windfall Tax on Food, Fossil, Pharma Giants Would Raise $490B to Solve ‘Catastrophic’ Food Crisis: Oxfam

June 29, 2022
48
futureatlas.com/flickr

Ottawa Demands Deeper Fuel Emissions Cuts, Offers Fossils a Double-Dip on Tax Breaks

June 29, 2022
72
Province of B.C./flickr

Comox Joins Municipalities Seeking Ban on New Gas Stations

June 29, 2022
58
/Piqsels

Refocus Agriculture Spending to Cut Emissions, Boost Productivity, OECD Urges Governments

June 29, 2022
25
Jimmy Emerson, DVM/flickr

Public Vigilance Key to Protecting Greenbelts for Climate Resilience, Report Finds

June 29, 2022
27
Miguel V/Wikimedia Commons

Forests Fall Short of Full Carbon Storage Potential, Study Finds

June 29, 2022
46
Next Post
A garbage picker in Peru: Rising temperatures may endanger the country’s anti-poverty policies

Climate imperils Peru's poverty drive

The Energy Mix

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}