Elevated temperature and carbon dioxide levels alter growth rates and shell composition in the fluted giant clam, Tridacna squamosa.

ABSTRACT: Giant clams produce massive calcified shells with important biological (e.g., defensive) and ecological (e.g., habitat-forming) properties. Whereas elevated seawater temperature is known to alter giant clam shell structure, no study has examined the effects of a simultaneous increase in seawater temperature and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO₂) on shell mineralogical composition in these species. We investigated the effects of 60-days exposure to end-of-the-century projections for seawater temperature (+ 3 °C) and pCO₂ (+ 500 µatm) on growth, mineralogy, and organic content of shells and scutes in juvenile Tridacna squamosa giant clams. Elevated temperature had no effect on growth rates or organic content, but did increase shell [²⁴Mg]/[⁴⁰

SUBMITTER: Armstrong EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9247080 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature