CBC News Reports on Grad Student’s Research on Lobsters, Climate Change
CBC News reported on research by Jesica Waller, a University of Maine master’s student in marine biology, that focuses on the effects climate change may have on lobster. Waller is working with a University of Prince Edward Island professor to determine why lobster larvae are growing more slowly, according to the article. The researchers test the larvae by growing them in water conditions expected 85 years from now due to climate change, the article states. “I saw that they grew to the same size and length but had decreased measures of metabolism, specifically respiration rates,” said Waller. “This gives us a clue that the impacts of ocean acidification and ocean warming may be happening internally, affecting a lobster’s ability to grow and breathe correctly.” This summer the researchers will test swimming speed and ability to catch prey, actions that could be harmed by poor breathing, Waller said. Radio Canada International also reported on Waller’s research.