2023 Author: Bryan Walter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 22:24
Variations in mussel shells from high to low latitudes (left to right). Shells become rounder as temperature and salinity rise
The shell shape of edible and Pacific mussels is mainly influenced by the temperature and salinity of the water, as well as access to food, scientists have found. Thus, by analyzing changes in the environment, it will be possible to predict changes in the outer shell of molluscs, according to Scientific Reports.
Mussels quickly adapt to adverse conditions. During low tide or strong desalination of water, mollusks tightly close the shell valves and get by with the reserves of seawater stored in the mantle cavity, which allows them to hold out for several days. In addition, they easily tolerate significant fluctuations in salinity and sharp daily and seasonal temperature jumps. But until now, it was not clear how long-term climate changes affect mussels.
To find out, a team of marine biologists led by Luca Telesca from the University of Cambridge studied 16 populations of edible (Mytilus edulis) and Pacific mussels (M. trossulus) that live off the coast of the North Atlantic, the Arctic and the Baltic Sea. Scientists analyzed the shell shape of molluscs from different geographic regions, as well as the temperature and salinity of the water, the amount of food available (estimated by the content of chlorophyll a). The research was carried out in two stages: in December 2014 and January 2016.
Biologists found that the level of salt in the environment most of all influenced the length of the shell of mussels, and the main factors in the diversity of forms were temperature and abundance of food. The less salty the water was and the lower its temperature, the more elongated and narrower the shells of the mollusks were, and their ventral and dorsal edges were more parallel to each other. When the water became saltier and warmer, and food supplies, on the contrary, decreased, the shell of the mussel became rounder and taller, and the length of the bridge increased. It is important to note that molluscs living in different regions reacted in a similar way to adverse conditions.
Scientists' work helps to understand how mussels respond to environmental changes. In the future, this will help predict how shellfish will change in response to global climate change.
Earlier, chemists at the University of California have uncovered a molecular mechanism by which mussels and other molluscs can attach to rocks in salt water. This ability turned out to be associated with the production of special proteins containing simultaneously two types of amino acids: those that provide binding to the surface and those that clear this surface for binding.
