Japan scientists study oyster 'language'
They talk in a healthy fashion:
Japan: Scientists in Japan have begun studying the "language" of
oysters in an effort to find out what they are saying about their
environment.
Researchers are monitoring the opening and closing of the molluscs in
response to changes in seawater, such as reduced oxygen or red tide, a
suffocating algal bloom, that can lead to mass die-offs.
Using a device they have nicknamed the "kai-lingual", a play on the
Japanese word "kai" or shellfish, scientists from Kagawa University want
to see if they can decode oyster movements that might warn of possible
problems.
The "kai-lingual" uses a series of sensors and magnets to send
information on the opening and closing of shells in response to
environmental changes.
The technique has never before been used on oysters farmed for food,
but has been employed by pearl oyster farmers.
"With kai-lingual, we can hear the 'screams', like 'we are in pain
because of insufficient oxygen',"said Tsuneo Honjo, director of the Seto
Inland Sea Regional Research Center at the university.
Pearl oysters have been placed among their food-farmed cousins where
they have acted as "interpreters", alerting growers to ocean changes, he
said.
"We have firmly established conversations with pearl oysters through
years of research. They should translate into the reactions of the
farmed oysters for us in this project," he said.
The research started in October and will last until the harvest in
March, Honjo said.
"So far, oysters are talking in a healthy fashion," he said. AFP
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