Research: Effect of environmental change on organisms in aquatic habitats - heat-resisting oysters

Researchers have been able to show there are heat-resistant genes in Sydney Rock oysters Saccostrea glomerata. This is encouraging news, given predictions of rising estuary and ocean sea temperatures.

As carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere increase, so does the CO₂ dissolved in the oceans. This means the ocean waters become more acidic, and this has implications for marine organisms, such as oysters, because their shells are made of calcium carbonate and over time may slightly dissolve.

Researchers have already identified how to breed oysters that are resistant to QX and winter mortality diseases. Now scientists have compared growth rates under normal (375 ppm) and elevated (1000 ppm) water CO₂ concentrations, and in different water temperatures, of normal Sydney Rock oysters and Sydney Rock Oysters with a specific genetic trait. Oysters with the specific trait showed higher growth rates under elevated CO₂ concentrations and temperatures than the control group.

These findings show that we may be able to breed oysters that can withstand some of the changes predicted by climate change scenarios.

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