Climate Change Benefits Oysters From Growing Faster, Study Reveals

A team of scientists discovered that climate change may actually benefit oysters as they tend to grow faster at warmer temperatures. Taken into consideration, that they will be provided with enough food.

The study was printed in the journal Functional Ecology. It was led by researchers from University of California, Davis. The team examined the oysters in the lab and the oyster beds at San Francisco Bay and California's Tomales Bay, according to Phys.Org.

The team found that native oysters can tolerate climate change and could grow faster. On the other hand, there are also predators such as oyster drills and predatory snails that also benefit from climate change. These eat the oysters. The oyster drill secretes acid and bore the tiny hole in the oyster's shell. Once the hole is made, the oyster is gone.

Brian Cheng, the lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at UC Davis Bodega Marine laboratory talked about the oyster drills. "Once they made that hole, they will use their mouth parts to tear away little bits of oyster flesh." He further said that it is the worst ways to go as he imagines the death is quite slow. He also said that the oyster drill could eat the oyster faster and devastate the population with climate change, as noted by Capital Public Radio.

The study also indicates that the oyster drill problem will get worse before it gets better and this must be managed well for the survival of the oysters and oyster farms. Cheng said that oysters are expected to do better if provided with enough resources. On the other hand, they don't know if that will be the case in the wild under climate change. He further said that ocean acidification may put oysters in danger too.

Most oysters belong to the family of Ostreoidea. They live in marine or brackish habitats. Humans eat them raw or cooked. The valves are highly calcified and irregular in shape. There are also some types of oysters that are harvesters for the pearl developed within the mantle, which is known as pearl oysters. Meanwhile, the windowpane oysters are harvested for their translucent shells and used as decorative objects.