A marine biologist has claimed that last week’s heat wave in Canada, which hit 49.6 degrees Celsius on June 29, may have killed more than one billion marine creatures in the Salish Sea, on the country’s southwest coast, such as mussels and starfish. And barnacles.
This comes as more regions around the world are reporting new temperature records.
The tragic event sheds light on the catastrophic effects of rising temperatures, which have already been linked to hundreds of human deaths, while the number of environmental casualties reportedly continues to decline. CBC News.
Temperatures above 50 degrees in rocky coastal habitats
The report added that infrared cameras used by Chris Harley’s team, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, recorded temperatures of more than 50 degrees in rocky coastal habitats.
“It doesn’t usually hit the beach when you walk on it,” Harley said. “But there were so many empty mussel shells all over the place that you couldn’t help but step on the feet of dead animals while walking.” Watchman.
Mussels are tough oysters, withstanding temperatures of up to 30 degrees, and barnacles are more resistant, surviving at temperatures up to 40 degrees for at least a few hours, according to British media. “But when temperatures exceed these values, the conditions are insurmountable,” Harley explained.
The deaths of these animals will temporarily affect water quality in the area, Harley said, as mussels and oysters filter the sea. By counting the number of dead marine animals found in a small area, Harley also estimated that more than a billion marine animals living on the coast of the Salish Sea could have died.
As mentioned interested in tradeThis isn’t the first time a heat wave has killed oysters. A heat wave in 2019 caused the highest mussel mortality rate in Bodega Head Bay, off the coast of California.
Little (CBC News, The Guardian, Business Insider)
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