Over my time at Hurricane this summer, I’ve developed a very curious question about our baby sea scallops that inhabit our coastal waters. Also referred to when they’re young as spat, these little guys show great diversity in their shell patterns and colors, and I’ve been very interested as to why they have so much diversity when they’re small, but lose that as they grow older.
According to the Oxford University Press, these variations have been typically associated with differences in growth, survival and other characteristics. As far as shell color goes, most sources say it's often been associated with environmental effects, but in other circumstances have been said to be more genetically controlled (Winkler, 2001). With the Gulf of Maine slowly warming, I wonder if that will make an impact on the variance? A study published on the NOAA Fisheries website in March of this year has already found that juvenile growth is hindered due to ocean acidification and warming, but would that suck the color out of them, too?
Photo Credit: Arturo Aguirre-Velarde
However, because the effects of environmental stressors, genetics, and other characteristics impacting color and shell patterning vary depending on species, I wanted to share some other information I found on the scallop of northern Chile and southern Peru- the Peruvian scallop. In hatchery production of these scallops as juveniles, other characteristics relating to shell colorations have been observed. On many of the juveniles, researchers noticed a white marking appearing on the center of the upper valve (See photo to the right). Researchers were able to make a reasonable assumption that hereditary mechanisms control color patterns more than environmental conditions (Winkler, 2001).
So, a lot isn’t known about this question specifically towards our native Atlantic sea scallop, but some generalizations can be made based on what we know concerning the Peruvian sea scallop!
I hope you all found this information interesting!
Yours in scallops,
Olivia
Sources
F. M. Winkler, et al. “Inheritance of the General Shell Color in the Scallop Argopecten purpuratus (Bivalvia: Pectinidae).” Journal of Heredity, https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/92/6/521/2187385.
NOAA Fisheries (2023, March 1). New study finds ocean acidification and warming hinder juvenile atlantic sea scallop growth | NOAA Fisheries. NOAA. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/new-study-finds-ocean-acidification-and-warming-hinder-juvenile-atlantic-sea-scallop
Pousse, Emilien, et al. “Juvenile Atlantic Sea Scallop, Placopecten Magellanicus, Energetic Response to Increased Carbon Dioxide and Temperature Changes.” PLOS Climate, journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pclm.0000142.
