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Graduate Research
Bivalve molluscs , such as mussels, clams and oysters, begin to develop their shells at their larval stages and will continue to grow their shells throughout their juvenile and adult lives. As the environment constantly changes, these shelled organisms will leave specific growth lines on their shells, indicating when growth occurred, whether that be daily, monthly, seasonally, and/or yearly. My research will compare various environmental parameters, such as water temperature and pH, to the growth lines seen on the shells to determine the extent in which environmental stressors will impact their growth.
When bivalves grow and leave behind their growth lines on their shells, they provide us clues to what their environment might be like as they are maturing. By looking at the oceanic parameters gathered by various instruments set by CeNCOOS and SCCOOS near the farms where the molluscs reside, I can compare the conditions of the water to the growth lines on the bivalve shells. Due to the overall temperature increase of the ocean and OA, researchers are finding an increasing presence of corrosive water during upwelling events occurring along California's coastline. By examining growth lines in the shells, I can predict to what extent the presence of more corrosive water may have affected their growth at present and how this environment could affect their growth and overall survival in the future.
Oysters, mussels and clams farmed and harvested along California provide an expansive economic impact and profit to the seafood market, especially within the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of these bivalve molluscs are keystone species and their survival in esturaries, the intertidal and open ocean affect the success and survival of other fauna. Due to the energetic needs of building a shell, bivalves struggle to make more calcium carbonate to build stronger shells in low pH water, making these organisms more vulnerable to predation and other environmental stressors. By using farmed bivalve molluscs along the California coast that are exposed to these changing oceanic conditions, we predict the larger impact on marine communities within San Francisco Bay and in the Pacific Northwest.
Question #1: What do the shells of bivalve molluscs tell us about their environment?
Question #2: How can we connect changes from the ocean to the growth lines present on bivalve shells?
Question #3: To what extent is OA affecting bivalve molluscs and other communities within San Francisco Bay as well as along the Pacific Coast?
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