Shell museum to present next lecture in series
In celebration of its 25-year anniversary milestone, the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum is presenting a lecture series available virtually and free of charge via Zoom. Extending through the fall, it will spotlight some of the diverse connections between shells and different fields of human endeavor.
The next lecture in the “Celebrating 25 Years” series is:
– Sept. 16 at 5 p.m.: “Why Am I Growing Giant Clams in the Middle of the Arizona Desert?” with Dan Killam, Ph.D., researcher with Biosphere 2 and the University of Arizona
Giant clams are special among bivalve mollusks in using symbiotic algae within their bodies to speed up their growth, like corals do, yet little is understood of how they will fare in the face of climate change and ocean acidification. To look into the future and explore these questions further, Killam is growing smooth giant clams in a 700,000-gallon coral reef tank of the Biosphere 2 in Arizona to understand how they manage to grow their shells so quickly. In the Biosphere 2 “ocean,” juvenile giant clams have more than doubled in size in just one year and will eventually reach 2 feet long.
The controlled conditions of the tank provide a perfect setting to explore and experiment. As with corals, the partnership between giant clams and their internal algae only works within a narrow range of temperatures and pH levels. As the oceans grow warmer and more acidic, this relationship will be put under stress, reducing their growth. Killam will share insights from his groundbreaking research on the impacts of changing oceans on mollusks, featuring images and video of the Biosphere 2 facility.
The series is free, but advance registration is required at ShellMuseum.org.