Climate change in mid-Atlantic region threatens survival of the 'Whelk' - a sea snail

According to a study by scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, climate change in the mid-Atlantic region can threaten the survival and development of common 'whelk' - a type of sea snail. The common whelk, scientifically known as Buccinum Undatum, is an important commercial species that has been harvested for decades in Europe and Canada for bait and human consumption. Its habitat within the mid-Atlantic region is one of the Earth's fastest-warming marine areas.

READ | AAP mocks both BJP & Congress as Jyotiraditya Scindia jumps ship, triggers MP meltdown

 This is the first time the species' annual reproductive cycle in the mid-Atlantic has been documented.

"Previous studies showed that the common whelk, a cold-water species, has some resilience to warmer temperatures," said lead author Sarah Borsetti, a doctoral student at Rutgers' Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

"But rising temperatures may have a negative impact on whelk survival, recruitment, development, and growth." Commercial fishermen are interested in developing a fishery for this species in the mid-Atlantic. Similar to the United States, whelk fisheries have expanded in many countries, resulting in a global increase in whelk landings over the last 20 years. Borsetti added that the Whelk has highly variable traits, such as their reproductive timing, that need to be studied before intense fishing begins. The species is vulnerable to overexploitation if fishery managers assume populations are uniform throughout its habitat.

READ | As Scindia joins BJP, Rahul Gandhi wistfully retweets photo from when disenchantment began

READ | HUGE: MP leader claims 10,000 Congress office-bearers quit party after Scindia's exit

"The resilience of whelk comes with a trade-off: fewer offspring, which can negatively impact the whelk population and fisheries landings," said co-author Daphne Munroe, an associate professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences who is based at the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in Port Norris, New Jersey.

Research conducted previously and led by the Rutgers group examined traits such as the size whelk reach in maturity, sex ratio and abundance. For the study on whelk reproduction, the team caught 602 whelks off the coast from Cape May County to the Delmarva Peninsula from January 2017 to September 2017. The study examined fluctuations in whelk body metrics, gonad weights and sea-bottom temperatures. Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center contributed to the study.

READ | Jyotiraditya Scindia jumps fence from Congress; Yechury says 'worst horse-trading by BJP'

(With inputs from ANI)