Climate-Driven Dynamics of Bivalve Populations

Bivalve populations are profoundly influenced by climate-driven changes in coastal and estuarine environments. Rising sea temperatures and more frequent marine heatwaves modify metabolic rates, reproductive phenology and geographic distributions, while ocean acidification and altered salinity regimes challenge shell formation, energy budgets and larval survival. Extreme events such as storm-driven sediment mobilisation can disrupt benthic habitats, affecting feeding behaviour and community structure. Variation in life-stage sensitivity compounds these pressures, as early juvenile stages often exhibit lower resilience than adults. These climate forcings not only shape natural assemblages but also have direct implications for aquaculture, influencing yield, species selection and sustainable management. Integrating physiological experiments with in situ observations and remote sensing has advanced our understanding of how coupled stressors drive patterns of growth, recruitment and ecosystem services provided by bivalves on a global scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent work on ontogenetic salinity tolerance in the common cockle Cerastoderma edule reveals stage-specific energetic responses to salinity stress. Early drifting juveniles initiate acclimation within two days and achieve metabolic homeostasis by day seven, whereas settled individuals delay feeding recovery and incur greater respiratory costs under low-salinity exposure. These life-stage differences influence estuarine population distribution and resilience under climate-mediated shifts in freshwater inputs.

Climate-Driven Dynamics of Bivalve Populations publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in climate-driven dynamics of bivalve populations across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Acidification: Reduction in seawater pH due to increased carbon dioxide absorption, affecting calcium carbonate saturation.
Clearance rate: Volume of water filtered per unit time by a bivalve, indicating feeding activity.
Energetic plasticity: Capacity of an organism to adjust energy acquisition and expenditure in response to environmental change.
Marine heatwave: Prolonged anomalously warm seawater event, typically lasting days to weeks, with ecological impacts.
Salinity regime: Spatial and temporal pattern of salt concentration in coastal waters, influenced by freshwater discharge and evaporation.

References

1. Responses to salinity stress in bivalves: Evidence of ontogenetic changes in energetic physiology on Cerastoderma edule. Scientific Reports (2018).
2. The infaunal clam Polititapes rhomboides exposed to sediment mobilization and seawater warming: Recovery patterns and energetic constraints. Ecological Indicators (2024).
3. Experimental determination of differential seasonal response in seed of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, in context of climate change. Aquaculture (2023).
4. Assessing high resolution thermal monitoring of complex intertidal environments from space: The case of ECOSTRESS at Rias Baixas, NW Iberia. Remote Sensing Applications Society and Environment (2023).