As climate change accelerates, the oceans are rapidly acidifying.
As climate change accelerates, the oceans are rapidly acidifying. An innovative new study by University of Chicago biologists shows that mussels raised in an acidic experimental environment grew smaller shells than those grown at normal levels, but the overall survival rate of mussels grown under both conditions was the same.
The surviving population in the acidic environment differed genetically from the others, suggesting that genetic variants that already exist in a subset of the natural population of mussels allowed them to adapt to the harsher environment. This could be good news for conservationists and seafood lovers alike, as the mussels find ways to adjust to the changing seas.
“The hope is there are already a few individuals in the species that already have some genetic makeup that allows them to withstand the change in the environment,” said Mark Bitter, a UChicago graduate student who led the study, published Dec. 20 in Nature Communications. “This effectively allows evolution to work a lot faster if you're not waiting around for some new mutation to arise.”
The finding offers some hope, though the authors cautioned it does not promise species will be able to fully withstand the challenges of climate change: pH is just one variable expected to change in the near future.
Read more at University of Chicago
Image: Existing genetic variation in natural populations of Mediterranean mussels allows them to adapt to declining pH levels in seawater caused by carbon emissions.(Credit: Lydia Kapsenberg)
