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The Dungeness crab and the razor clam are two of 12 economically and culturally important ocean species along the coast likely to be seriously impacted in multiple ways by climate change over the coming decades, McGill University researchers say.
The researchers modelled how climate is changing the environment within the massive ocean current that flows northwards from California to the outer coast of Vancouver Island. The changes, the researchers recently reported in the journal Global Change Biology, are having knock-on effects within the highly productive coastal marine ecosystem in that underwater ocean superhighway.
The researchers say the biggest responses will occur along the Washington and B.C. coast and in areas close to shore. The region could see substantial losses in kelp forests, declining survival of red urchins, Dungeness crab and razor clams, and losses of anchovy and pink shrimp habitat.
Dungeness crab is one of the most commonly caught crab species in B.C., accounting for about 99 per cent of the province’s commercially harvested crab.
Global carbon emissions drive three main marine stressors — ocean acidification, warming water temperatures and low oxygen levels. The study suggests acidification will have the biggest, most widespread impact on the species.
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Monique Keiran, Times Colonist, 28 August 2022. Full article.
