Courtesy Justin Ries
A lobster raised for 60 days at normal levels of CO2 exposure (left), and one raised at seven times that level.
December 12, 2009
New
research shows that if carbon emissions soar, we could end up with
super-sized lobsters. But you'll have to strap that bib on fast; the
jumbo lobsters probably wouldn't last for long.
A new study published in the journal Geology
shows that if carbon dioxide emissions reach extreme levels, the
changes in the world's oceans might result in lobsters 50 percent
bigger than normal.
Lobsters can take carbon from the water and
use it to build their exoskeletons, says marine geologist Justin Ries,
who oversaw the study. The theory, he tells NPR's Guy Raz, is that
lobsters are able to convert the extra carbon into material for
building up their shells.
Ries is an assistant professor at the
University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. To conduct the study, his
team built several tanks to hold marine life, and simulated high-CO2
environments at the rates predicted for 100 years from now, 200 years
from now and beyond.
Lobsters, crabs and shrimp did well in the
environment, according to Ries, but other things didn't — corals and
other "calcifiers" like clams, scallops and oysters, for example.
Unlike the lobsters, these species' shells grew thinner in the
increased CO2 environments. "Actually, six of these species began to
dissolve under the highest CO2 level," Ries says.
And that's why
those giant lobsters might want to stay trim. Clams and other species
are part of the lobster's diet. If thinner shells make them easier
prey, the lobsters' food source won't last long — not good news for the
predators. "Even though lobsters are building stronger shells, their
populations would probably be sure to follow," Ries says.
For more information and the complete story;
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121378547&sc=emaf
