The shells of several Atlantic snails – an important link in the food chain – have grown significantly over the past century, according to a new study.
Using collections from the Philadelphia Institute of Natural Sciences, a team of researchers measured the sizes of 19 shell plots collected between 1915 and 1922 and compared them to samples from the same 19 locations today.
They found that the length of the shell had increased by 22.6% from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day.
“We have seen a significant increase in shell size, which could affect the entire food chain on the coast,” said lead researcher Jonathan Fisher of Queen’s University in Canada.
Previous studies have shown that larger snails generally eat clams and oysters and have shorter rest periods between meals compared to smaller snails.
Researchers also don’t know why snails grow so big and so fast.
“Many documented environmental changes between stages could affect a snail’s survival or growth rate,” Fisher said. Predatory fish species are declining, which can create conditions for snails to grow.
Water temperatures today are warmer than 100 years ago, which could also be the factor that accelerated the growth of snails.
However, whatever factors contribute to the growth of the snail, the marine environment is changing rapidly, concludes Fisher. This is the important thing ”.
The research was published in the March 23 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
