California’s Mussels affected by ocean acidification shows significant changes

Ocean acidification provides huge impact to the shells of California mussels

Aeglephysics.com -- Ocean acidification is one of the effects caused by the greenhouse gas. Whenever the gas is produced, it will go up to the atmosphere due to its light. However, it can react to the ocean and generate the acid inside the water. The more the gas, more acidic the ocean, and it causes acidification impacting to the coral bleaching. Mussels are also one of the animals that experienced the most during the acidification.

Mussels have been intriguing the scientists as the minerals contained on their shells. Despite of their problems to marine transportation throughout their attachment, the California mussels have a very unique shells including their composition of minerals, geometric regularity shape, long, and neat vertical rows with crisp. But, recent study published in journal Globe Change Biology suggested that the shells have been affected by the ocean acidification, implying to danger of acidification. It is because the mussels’ shells are composed with calcite crystals.

The most intriguing thing occur to the researchers is the rate of acidification which can overcome the rate of production of shell conducted by the mussel itself. Assistant of Professor of Biological Science Sophie McCoy, who led the study, stated to sciencedaily.com about the significant changes. She said,” These are significant changes in how these animals produce their shells that can be tied to a shifting ocean chemistry”. In conducting the experiments, the research team conducted observational record of natural California mussels’ specimens which were collected from Tatoosh Island off the northwestern tip of Washington.

According to their study, the significant impact happening to the shell of mussels is the disruption during the re-formation of the cells. As it is explained previously, the healthy mussels form their shells with calcium carbonate. They found that levels of magnesium in the current mussel’s shell has been elevating compared to the one which was collected 15 years ago. Meanwhile, the structure and the shape also has been altered by the acidification. The pattern of the shell is more disoriented and disorganized than those who were 15 years ago.

To some people, the extinction of mussels could become a very good solution, particularly for them who is working in marine transportation. However, ecology has taught us that the food chain is created to make equilibrium points in the ecosystem. If one living organisms’ numbers are disrupted significantly without “signaling anything”, it will affect the ecosystem in huge impacts. So, this unstable ecosystem might have been threat for us in the future.