June 20, 2019 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing the future of marine life, affecting everything from habitats, to migration, to spawning patterns. But new research shows that at least one species has unique features that have allowed it to adapt well to a warming ocean.

The study, published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, finds that surfclams are able to shift their range into previously inhospitable waters as the surrounding oceans temperatures rise. This information will be essential for fisheries managers struggling to effectively manage species in the face of climate change.

The key to this adaptability, according to authors Drs. Jeremy Timbs and Eric Powell, of the University of Southern Mississippi, and Dr. Roger Mann of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, is the number of larvae that surfclams produce. Ordinarily, surfclams produce a massive amount of larvae, which end up distributed across a wide range of the ocean. Most of these larvae will die from predators, lack of food, or inhospitable temperatures. But the study found that, as ocean temperatures shift, the range of acceptable habitat shifts along with it. Larvae that would have died under cooler conditions now survive, gradually changing where surfclams are located.

“For a sedentary species, surfclams are remarkably adaptable to ocean changes that would cause problems for other shellfish,” says Dr. Powell. “This is especially important for fishermen who depend on surfclams, and who are trying to adapt with the rest of the industry to the challenges posed by climate change.”

The study, which examined 30 years worth of surfclam data, was funded through the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS). A collaborative project funded through a National Science Foundation grant and support from the fishing industry, SCeMFiS funds groundbreaking research around pressing scientific issues identified by our industry partners.

“Studies like this confirm what we have been seeing since the 1990s, and help us predict the industry’s future,” said Guy Simmons, of SeaWatch International, which is one of the largest harvesters of clams in the country. “We need to work with our partners in the scientific community as we continue to adapt to a changing ocean.”