The Influence of Acute Thermal Stress on the Biodeposit Production of Marine Bivalves: Comparative analysis between Ruditapes philippinarum, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and Crassostrea gigas

Abstract

As the consequences of climate change and rising ocean heat content, discrete periods of extreme regional ocean warming called marine heatwaves (MHWs) are observed to become more frequent and severe. Intense heating occurs regionally and can have devastating effects on the marine ecosystem. As many as 1 billion marine animals in the intertidal zone died during a historic record-breaking marine heat wave (MHWs) in the Pacific Northwest. The effects of the heatwave were especially detrimental to marine invertebrates residing in the intertidal zone; an unprecedented number of mussels, clams, barnacles, snails, and sea stars died struggling to survive acclimates to the abnormal and unrelenting heating. The induced mortality for bivalves such as mussels, oysters and clams can have dire impacts on the condition of the ecosystem because they are important food sources to larger animals and play a significant role in inhibiting excess phytoplankton production. Thus, an investigation on the influence of MHWs on marine bivalves that are ecologically and economically important can help guide policy making regarding the conservation of marine ecosystems. This study explores the influence of acute thermal stress on the biodeposit of Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum, and Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis by collecting and weighting the fecal matter over a three-day period. The data collected from this study suggests a significant influence of thermal stresses on the feces production of C. gigas and R. philippinarum while M. galloprovincialis appears to be unaffected.