Luo Xin, Masanja Fortunatus, Liu Yong, Zhao Liqiang
Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China.
Pearl Research Institute, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2025 Jan;210:117362. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117362. Epub 2024 Nov 30.
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have increased strikingly in past decades, leading to dramatic changes in global marine ecosystems. As dominant infaunal species in coastal ecosystems, clams play a critical ecological role, but little is known about their behavioral responses to intensifying MHWs. Here, we investigated behavioral performances and associated gene expressions of an ecologically and economically important clam species, Ruditapes philippinarum, under recurrent scenarios of MHWs. While burrowing behaviors of R. philippinarum were not significantly affected by low-intensity MHWs, its burrowing ability decreased significantly when acutely exposed to MHWs occurring at high-intensity. Virtually unaffected behavioral performances, yet, were shown in clams under repeated scenarios of MHWs, in line with significantly increased expressions of genes closely associated with energy metabolism and behavioral neuroscience. These findings contribute to a better understanding of behavioral responses of infaunal organisms to MHWs and make a leap forward in linking climate change to bioturbation in marine ecosystems.
在过去几十年中，海洋热浪（MHWs）显著增加，导致全球海洋生态系统发生巨大变化。作为沿海生态系统中的优势底栖动物物种，蛤蜊发挥着关键的生态作用，但人们对它们对不断加剧的海洋热浪的行为反应知之甚少。在此，我们研究了一种具有生态和经济重要性的蛤蜊物种——菲律宾蛤仔在反复出现的海洋热浪情况下的行为表现及相关基因表达。虽然低强度海洋热浪对菲律宾蛤仔的挖掘行为没有显著影响，但当它急性暴露于高强度海洋热浪时，其挖掘能力显著下降。然而，在反复出现海洋热浪的情况下，蛤蜊的行为表现几乎未受影响，这与能量代谢和行为神经科学密切相关的基因表达显著增加一致。这些发现有助于更好地理解底栖生物对海洋热浪的行为反应，并在将气候变化与海洋生态系统中的生物扰动联系起来方面取得了飞跃。
