Natural history collections are unique archives of biodiversity. They document how living things transform over time and what effects aspects like climate change or other man-made environmental changes have on their distribution. A good example is the decline in numbers of the European oyster (Ostrea edulis) in the North Sea, which has been continuing for over 100 years. Researchers from Kiel University (CAU), in cooperation with the NORe museum association for the North and Baltic Sea region and the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, have now managed to shine some light on this phenomenon. They have concluded that the occurrence of the invasive American slipper limpet (Crepidula fornicata) is not one of the main causes for the European oyster dying out—unlike previously assumed. The researchers published their study in the renowned journal PLOS ONE in October.
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Source: Phys.org