With the continuous warming of the global climate, the Pacific seawater absorbs more and more carbon dioxide, resulting in a decreasing ocean pH and faster and faster acidification of seawater. A recent new study has given Pacific foodies a headshot, the tastiest, most palatable, most popular and valuable crustacean crabs on the Pacific Northwest, the shells of the Pacific golden crab (dungeness crab) are being dissolved and damaged, and the crabs' receptors are also damaged.
The study, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Southern California Coastal Water Research Program, was led by senior scientist Nina Bednasek and involved 13 scientists.
The scientific name of the golden crab is the chief zodiac crab, also known as the treasure crab, most of which weigh 860 grams to 1.4 kg, and when commercial fishing requires only male crabs of more than 16 centimeters, the female crabs need to be immediately released back into the sea to ensure the reproduction of golden crabs. Some places like to eat crab yellow, really should be a good reflection.
According to Wikipedia, the golden crab "has tender, delicious flesh, a faint nutty flavor, smooth and tender flesh on the body, and solid foot meat, mainly because the golden crab can move in different directions and can be quite fast if necessary." It can be fried, fried, steamed, boiled, or mixed with other seafood. ”
Is it already salivating, moving your index finger, and grunting in your stomach? However, the golden crab may already be in big trouble!
Since 2016, Nina and the researchers have been tracking gold crab larvae on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean and finding that ocean acidification has created an unpredictable crisis for their survival. Through a combination of different methods such as scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, element mapping, and X-ray diffraction, the scientists focused on the effects of redox reactions on the dissolution of the crustacean larvae. It was found that the shell of the golden crab larvae began to dissolve when it hatched, and the acidic seawater also destroyed the elongated bristle structure, an important mechanoreceptor involved in the crab's sensory and behavioral responses.
This can be greatly ominous because the dissolution of the shell may weaken the crabs' ability to resist predators and regulate buoyancy in the water, causing them to slow down and affecting the rate of growth; while the destruction of bristle structures can cause them to crawl more slowly and find food.
Scientists have also found that not only crabs, but also ocean acidification has an impact on other marine life. Crustaceans and corals dependent on carbonate ions bear the brunt of the attack, making it more difficult to form strong shells and reefs; ocean acidification has also changed the environment near the coast, releasing more nutrients into the ocean, causing algae to overproliferate and increasing the temperature and salinity of the ocean.
Scientists have also found that the dissolution of crab larvae by ocean acidification occurs slowly, and its effects take a long time to manifest, most likely not until the end of the century, when it may be too late. Based on the expected decline in food sources for pacific golden crabs, as well as rising ocean acidity, based on another 2017 study, the number of golden crabs on the west coast of the Pacific could decline by about 30 percent by 2063.
Crustaceans, whether crabs, oysters, etc., play an extremely important role in the entire marine food chain, and if the number drops significantly, it will undoubtedly be catastrophic for the marine food chain, including our seafood supply. The solution given by Noaa is only two, either to control our carbon emissions and reduce the carbon dioxide entering the ocean; or to strengthen the education of marine animals, requiring them to endure humiliation, share the difficulties, adapt to the increasingly acidic marine environment as soon as possible, thrive, and keep the food chain stable.
The second approach doesn't seem to work very well, so what else can we do?
The study was published Jan. 22 in the journal Holistic Environmental Science.
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