WABI interviews Hamlin, Harrington about lobsters in acidic water
WABI (Channel 5) spoke with University of Maine professor Heather Hamlin and recent marine biology Ph.D. graduate Amalia Harrington about their research that found ocean acidification and warming may be an unhealthy combination for lobsters. The researchers found heart rates of lobsters who lived 60 days in water with predicted end-century ocean pH levels became erratic significantly sooner during an abrupt warming event than those of lobsters in ocean water with current pH levels. “I think the take-home message is not that our lobster population is on the verge of collapse, but I think what we do need to do is sort of pay attention because as our oceans become more acidic — sort of like humans, we get run down or stressed, we may be more vulnerable to things like colds — we really have to pay more attention to our lobster populations, too,” said Hamlin, a reproductive endocrinologist and associate professor in the School of Marine Sciences. “So, as the oceans become more acidic, we just have to be more vigilant in watching them for things like disease emerging.” WMTW (Channel 8 in Portland) also carried the WABI interview.