Coughing scallops may provide a novel way to determine water quality.
A scallop “coughs” when it cleans out its shell. If the inside gets dirty more often, the scallop coughs more often. A scallop’s cough is distinct from other underwater noise made by nearby sea dwellers. Unlike whale songs, which can be heard for miles, a scallop’s cough can only be heard up to a little over thirty feet away.
The cough could indicate that water quality is decreasing. Pollution from fish farms, runoff from agricultural, and other contaminants can affect how the scallops grow and how often they cough. Current methods used to determine how scallops are faring in polluted waters include attaching motion sensors to their shells and examining tiny ridges on their shells, both of which are intrusive to the scallop. Monitoring coughs would be a kindness to the scallop while saving researchers time and effort.
Curious to know what a scallop sounds like when it’s coughing? The scientists recorded it. You can listen to it here.
Scallops photo via Shutterstock
You must be logged in to post a comment.