The fact that we found an impact in everything we measured was pretty astounding,” Mooney says. “That means that squid, this keystone species, might be really impacted by the environment that we’re changing, and that’s going to have ramifications down the line.”
Those ramifications could include significant changes to the ocean ecosystem, where squid play a vital role, as well as economic losses. Squid are a key food source for many commercially important fish, including tuna and hake, and are themselves a valuable commodity: In 2011 alone, U.S. fishermen harvested more than 300 million pounds of squid with a value of more than $100 million.
Mooney and his colleagues are planning additional studies to better understand how squid may fare in changing ocean conditions. Future experiments may look at a range of different levels of acidity, to determine which levels squid can and can’t tolerate, and at the effects of temperature changes, as seawater is also expected to warm in the coming century. The researchers also hope to observe and measure behavioral differences in squid reared in more acidic seawater to form a clearer picture of how the animals’ lives may shift as the ocean around them changes.
The research was funded by a WHOI Student Summer Fellowship and WHOI/MIT Joint Program, the Penzance Endowed Fund, the John E. and Anne W. Sawyer Endowed Fund and by grants from the National Science Foundation and the NOAA Sea Grant program.
The fact that we found an impact in everything we measured was pretty astounding,” Mooney says. “That means that squid, this keystone species, might be really impacted by the environment that we’re changing, and that’s going to have ramifications down the line.”
Those ramifications could include significant changes to the ocean ecosystem, where squid play a vital role, as well as economic losses. Squid are a key food source for many commercially important fish, including tuna and hake, and are themselves a valuable commodity: In 2011 alone, U.S. fishermen harvested more than 300 million pounds of squid with a value of more than $100 million.
Mooney and his colleagues are planning additional studies to better understand how squid may fare in changing ocean conditions. Future experiments may look at a range of different levels of acidity, to determine which levels squid can and can’t tolerate, and at the effects of temperature changes, as seawater is also expected to warm in the coming century. The researchers also hope to observe and measure behavioral differences in squid reared in more acidic seawater to form a clearer picture of how the animals’ lives may shift as the ocean around them changes.
The research was funded by a WHOI Student Summer Fellowship and WHOI/MIT Joint Program, the Penzance Endowed Fund, the John E. and Anne W. Sawyer Endowed Fund and by grants from the National Science Foundation and the NOAA Sea Grant program.
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