WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.759 Oh hey, it's your waitress who just innocently upsolds you 2 00:00:02.839 --> 00:00:05.440 to the bucket of garlic fries. Ali Ward, I'm back 3 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:10.599 with a fresh episode of Ologies. Scallops. You're asking scallops, 4 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:16.000 I'm saying, but also I'm saying pec pectinodology, which is 5 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:19.320 difficult to say. But I found it exactly one time 6 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:23.160 in the literature. It was an online forum for fossil collectors. 7 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:26.239 But it's a word, Okay, it comes from the Latin 8 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:31.719 word pectin for comb or rake because of scallops, ridgie shells. 9 00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:34.280 We're going to get into it. But yeah, scallops not 10 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:38.200 only are they iconic on everything from mermaid attire to 11 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:41.880 gasoline company logos, but also you may have eaten one 12 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:44.399 and they can flippy flap swim. We're going to get 13 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:45.840 into all of it. But first, thank you so much 14 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:48.159 to everyone at petron dot com slash Ologies for supporting 15 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:50.359 the show for a dollar or more a month and 16 00:00:50.439 --> 00:00:53.439 submitting your questions. Thanks to everyone who shares episodes with 17 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:57.000 friends and the folks who rate and leave reviews. I 18 00:00:57.079 --> 00:00:59.679 read them all every week to brighten my days, such 19 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:02.359 as this one from Sadie Jane, who said that Ologies 20 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:04.799 got them through so many long days and nights during 21 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:08.280 their daughter Rosie's first year of life, and also said 22 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:11.480 that I have golden retriever energy, which I appreciate. Also, 23 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:15.480 congratulations to Audrey Burnham. And yes, I'd love a photocopy 24 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:17.840 of your PhD. Doctor Burnham. Send it to pobox twenty 25 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:20.719 one to twenty one, La California nine double oh seven eight. Also, 26 00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:24.840 I'll take postcards from anyone's summer adventures. Send it my way, kiddos. Okay, 27 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:26.640 we're going to get into it with a guest who 28 00:01:26.760 --> 00:01:31.680 was highly recommended by your favorite urban rodentologist, which was 29 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:34.680 a fan favorite episode and it made me cry about 30 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:36.480 sewer rats. I'm going to link that in the show 31 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:39.120 notes for you. But this expert for this episode did 32 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.519 their undergrad at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte 33 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:45.239 in biology, got a master's in biology while belonging to 34 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.519 the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and then went 35 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:51.560 to Rutgers for a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology. 36 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.400 So we're going to ask the not smart questions to 37 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:58.439 learn all about the gossip of scallops versus oysters, why 38 00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:01.719 they have so many dang eyes. Wait, they have eyes. 39 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:06.640 We'll talk about shell ruffles, Disney bras, months without ours, 40 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:13.919 bass gallops, sea scallops, filter feeders, shellfish volunteering, curious baby bivalves, seagrass, 41 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:17.360 red tides, free buffets, and even check in with the 42 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.919 James Beard Award nominated chef Miles Thompson with some cooking 43 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:24.039 tips with a fair warning right before if you're a vegetarian, 44 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:28.319 and also things like changing career paths and theft on 45 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:33.280 the brackish tides with pectinidologist doctor Samantha Lynch. 46 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:56.520 Samantha Lynch, she her, and I go by Sam. If 47 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:58.840 you want to go into Sam that I answer to 48 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:00.439 that just as easily as Samana. 49 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:03.919 Okay, good, we can get casual about scallops, Shelle. 50 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:04.240 Yes. 51 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:08.159 And now, from what I understand, you had dinner with 52 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:12.240 doctor Bobby Corgan, who is an urban rodentologist. Is that correct? 53 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:13.000 Yes? It is. 54 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:16.759 Where did you meet him? I'm so jealous because I've 55 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:17.800 never met him in person. 56 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:19.879 You never know who you're gonna have dinner with in 57 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:22.759 New York City, and I ended up at a business 58 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.080 dinner with a group of those folks. A couple of 59 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.879 times I've met doctor Corgan over dinner on a couple 60 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:30.479 of occasions, and I always have the pleasure of sitting 61 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:32.439 next to him and we get to chat science for 62 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:33.120 a little while. 63 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:37.439 Oh he's the best. He's the best. I honestly cried 64 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.680 recording his episode just because talking about rats. I was like, 65 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:44.840 I've never felt this way about rats before. He's so great. 66 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:49.240 So she met doctor Bobby Corgan through her husband. And 67 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:50.360 when did they meet? 68 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:55.240 I met him while I was working on my master's 69 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:01.639 degree specializing in environmental toxicology. So at the time I 70 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:06.000 was looking at the impacts of metal nanoparticles on oyster 71 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:08.080 and sea urchin embryonic development. 72 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:11.360 So if you'd like a whole episode on sea urchins, 73 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:14.680 we got it. It's linked to the show notes, alongside 74 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:18.240 ones on corals and shells and snails and squids and fish. 75 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:24.519 We got covered. Also linked some colonology episodes. Do you 76 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:25.959 guys eat scallops? I got any? 77 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:29.040 You know what's so funny? That question has followed me 78 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:32.319 throughout my entire career, and it's okay, No, It's one 79 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:38.079 I always anticipate and the answer is no, okay, and 80 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:41.000 then everybody goes, oh, no, should I not eat them, 81 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:47.160 none of my business. I'm allergic to shrimp, and this 82 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:51.759 is not based on anything scientific. I just then avoided 83 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:57.759 a most all shellfish like creatures. I just avoid them all. 84 00:04:57.879 --> 00:04:59.920 You're kind of a friend to them, I suppose. 85 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.600 Definitely one of their advocates. 86 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:06.240 So doctor Lynch is studying the health and well being 87 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:11.439 of scallops and advocating for their populations. But studying some critters, 88 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:17.720 whether it's bugs or bivalves, means really studying them, getting 89 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:20.560 in there, and in this case also because some people 90 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:24.160 eat them, and the research helps make sure people don'tate 91 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:28.439 too many of them, or they don't eat them not safely. 92 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:31.759 And as I've mentioned on some other episodes, part of 93 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:36.079 just living on planet Earth as a human means impacting 94 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:41.240 other creatures, some big, some teeny tiny, just walking on roads. 95 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:44.879 It sucks. It's tough ethically, no matter how hard you try. 96 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:49.279 But theologists studying the ecology are looking to improve the 97 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:53.759 bigger picture, either locally or globally. Now, did you grow 98 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:55.439 up on the East Coast. You have a little bit 99 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:56.800 of maybe an East Coast accent? 100 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:00.439 Yeah, yes, so I am originally from South Florida, but 101 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:03.319 when it was very young, made my way to Charlotte, 102 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:07.759 North Carolina, then moved to New Jersey, and I'm back 103 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:10.160 now in southern Florida. 104 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:11.959 Are there a lot of scallops in southern Florida? 105 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:13.439 No, there aren't any. 106 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:16.079 Okay, we do. 107 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:20.720 Actually, they'll have a nice population of base gallops on 108 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.120 the Gulf Coast of Florida, and actually one of the 109 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:27.879 I believe it's one of the only remaining recreational fisheries 110 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:29.399 here in the United States. 111 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.319 Oh, I didn't know that there were scallop fisheries. 112 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:36.319 Yes, well, there used to be, actually quite abundantly, but 113 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:40.160 that all ended around somewhere in the nineteen seventies. The 114 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:43.680 populations just declined to the point that it was just 115 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:44.639 not sustainable. 116 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:48.920 So in Florida there are regions where recreational divers can 117 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.639 catch a few dozen scallops measured by the gallon with 118 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:53.959 the shells, and these are the base gallops, a little 119 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:56.319 other ones, and that all has to be done by hand. 120 00:06:56.759 --> 00:06:59.839 You got a snorkel, you got sunscreen, you got a boat. 121 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:03.439 It's kind of like a seafaring easter egg hunt, really. 122 00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:06.439 But when it comes to the bigger ones, the sea scallops, though, 123 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:10.680 boats from Massachusetts and New Jersey and Virginia as well 124 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:14.120 as some from Maine are out there. They're looking for 125 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.879 the goods in the sea. And the US, fun fact, 126 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:22.439 has the largest sea scallop fisheries on the planet. Okay, 127 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:25.759 but what about just growing them? What if you want 128 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:28.160 to farm them? So the good news is is that 129 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:33.600 ecologically scientists are into this. They're on board that boat 130 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:39.000 because aquaculture has its benefits, but there's also some considerable 131 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:42.360 side eye, according to several papers such as the legendary 132 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:47.360 two thousand study Effect of Aquaculture on World Fish Supplies. 133 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.399 So this was published in the journal Nature, and it 134 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:54.519 called out fish farming for being a bigger environmental burden 135 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:56.959 because people had to go out and catch a shitload 136 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:01.720 of wildfish to feed the farmed fish. But then they're 137 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:05.639 scallop farming, which relies on a food source that's already 138 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:08.920 floating in the water. So it can improve water quality 139 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:12.519 having things like scallops filter feeding, but it's not cheap, 140 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:16.240 especially since sea scallops, which can live up to twenty years, 141 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:20.199 can take three years to become adults, and also the 142 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:24.399 labor can be costly, so some farmed sea scallops have 143 00:08:24.439 --> 00:08:26.759 to get a little hole drilled in their shell to 144 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:29.920 hang on a line, and they put those sometimes in 145 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.320 depths of seventy five to one hundred feet below the surface. Now, 146 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:37.519 as for base scallops, they're much smaller. They're found in 147 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.000 shallow waters, but of course with either type, their meat 148 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:45.559 is prized as a delicacy. Well, how did you end 149 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:48.240 up as someone who with a shellfish allergy? How did 150 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:52.679 you wind up being a scallopologist? Which is a I 151 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:55.039 feel like maybe a little bit of a rare niche 152 00:08:55.159 --> 00:08:55.559 to hold. 153 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:58.879 Yeah, I guess it kind of fell into its sideways 154 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:02.279 a little bit like a lot of ten year old kids. 155 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:09.159 I fell in love with dolphins, wanted to study dolphin 156 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:14.080 behavior or whale songs like all those marine mammals, And 157 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:18.240 after doing a little protting, I realized I needed to 158 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:22.360 become a marine biologist in order to do some of 159 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.879 those things that I wanted. But growing up in Charlotte, 160 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:29.279 North Carolina doesn't put you in a very good place, 161 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.120 at least geographically to study whale song. 162 00:09:33.559 --> 00:09:35.440 Charlotte, North Carolina is about a three and a half 163 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:38.759 hour drive from the beach, but the draw to dolphins 164 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:43.039 is understandable. Just ask doctor Justin Greg of the recent 165 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:46.960 two part Dolphinology episodes about dolphins. I'll link them in 166 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.080 the show notes. But yes, with that long a journey 167 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:53.879 to the beach, Sam took a detour into an undergrad 168 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:58.679 position studying honeybees, which provided kind of the animal behavior 169 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:03.600 excitement that she wanted. Fewer weird research scandals than dolphins, 170 00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:05.799 trust me, but still a thrill. 171 00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:08.919 It was just so cool to just be standing outside 172 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:14.240 and to watch a honeybee sworn just take off, suddenly 173 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:18.159 take off in mass and fly out to their new 174 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:22.360 nest site, and just they're flying all around you. The 175 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:27.000 sound was so loud, the buzzing of their wings, and 176 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:29.360 it was just so cool to sit there and go, 177 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:31.639 how this has nothing to do with me, but I 178 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:33.679 get to see it. You know, they don't care that 179 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:37.519 I'm standing here. They definitely paid us no mind whatsoever. 180 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:40.039 They were on a mission. But it was just so 181 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:43.120 cool to realize that I just got to witness something 182 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:46.559 that not everybody gets to witness and be a part of. 183 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:51.120 So that definitely opened my eyes to how cool research 184 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:55.320 was and is. But it also through that experience I 185 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:58.240 realized that I did not want to study honeybees for 186 00:10:58.279 --> 00:10:59.360 the rest of my life. 187 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:01.240 Are to them at all? Yes? 188 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:01.720 Yes? 189 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:04.080 Oh no? 190 00:11:04.759 --> 00:11:07.840 Yeah. So I realized after a couple of run ins 191 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:11.919 with them, unfortunate run ins, that I do I swell. 192 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.360 I have a lot of localized swelling wherever they may 193 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:17.399 sting me. And if I wanted to see out of 194 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:22.000 both my eyes for the rest of my life, honey 195 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:26.159 bees and I should probably go our separate ways. 196 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:31.559 Go waggle dance that direction verally. Well, yes, and so 197 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:35.559 how did you end up dipping back into the water. Yeah. 198 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:39.240 So then I participated in that lab as an undergraduate student, 199 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.759 but at the same time I was doing the honeybee research, 200 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:45.879 I was also working just as a student lab tech 201 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:49.720 in an oyster research lab. They're on campus, and I 202 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:53.320 really didn't get to interact with the oysters or a 203 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:55.919 lot of the science at all. I was just mostly 204 00:11:55.960 --> 00:12:00.399 preparing gels for gel electrophoresis and kind of doing a 205 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:03.440 little bit of like grunt undergrad lab work. 206 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:08.200 So she was approached by a faculty member who was like, heyes, 207 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.559 you want to work with some oysters over here. 208 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.120 And so I thought, wow, well, this now can check 209 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:20.080 off my other box and get me back into the 210 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:21.879 water and they don't sting. 211 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:27.840 Me safe from tiny little animals that stapped her with 212 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:31.440 their butts. Sam indeed got aquatic at the University of 213 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.480 North Carolina at Charlotte, where she did her master's thesis 214 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:38.600 Comparative developmental sensitivities of sea urchin and oyster embryos and 215 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:41.960 larvae to metal nanoparticles, because. 216 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:48.559 I wanted to ask questions regarding the impacts of utrification. Sure, sorry, 217 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:52.919 what so? Utification is basically like the nutrient loading of 218 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:55.759 a bay or a coastal water body to the point 219 00:12:55.919 --> 00:13:01.600 that you see some really measurable, observable impacts such as 220 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:05.679 algal blooms, you kind of micro algal blooms, macro algal blooms, 221 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:11.000 fish kills as a result of those algal blooms. And 222 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:13.879 then what I really wanted to hone in on was 223 00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:18.840 seagrass bed die offs as a result of those algal 224 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:20.960 blooms by way of utrification. 225 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:23.600 And so that's when things get out of balance, and 226 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:26.639 this kind of delicate balance and the ecosystem gets thrown 227 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:29.480 off and then you see big dieoffs in certain parts. 228 00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:33.360 Yes, yes, exactly. So you have these submerged aquatic vegetation. 229 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:38.320 These seagrass beds that in a healthy estuary will oftentimes 230 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:41.879 you know, cover a very large area. These seagrass beds 231 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:47.960 are critical habitat. They provide a refuge from predation for 232 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.840 multitudes of different species in what would otherwise be almost 233 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:56.720 a barren landscape, you know, just bare bottom sand mixed 234 00:13:56.759 --> 00:14:01.840 with a little muck and mud, place for say a 235 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:05.759 small fish to hide or a base gallop to hide. 236 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:10.600 So your seagrass beds provide that spatial refuge. When you 237 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:14.320 have these algal blooms that just get out of control, 238 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:19.159 they block the sunlight from penetrating into the water. And 239 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:21.840 so sea grass is a plant, so just like the 240 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:25.559 plants in your backyard, they need sunlight to grow and survive. 241 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:29.279 And so when these algal mats block that sunlight, the 242 00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:30.600 seagrass beds die off. 243 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:34.919 So in the big chain of things, these giant algal 244 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:39.639 blooms keep things shady. So shady sea grass is like 245 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:43.360 you have killed our food are light, And these sea 246 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:46.240 grasses said goodbye to Earth and they go to heaven. 247 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:49.559 And then the critters down in the sea have nowhere 248 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:51.639 to live, and then they get gobbled up so it's like, 249 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:54.240 thanks Algae, you're having such a good time. You ruin 250 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:57.840 thinks for everyone, and now great, Okay, we got to 251 00:14:57.879 --> 00:14:59.600 hold the phone here because you're like, there's no place 252 00:14:59.639 --> 00:15:02.759 for ust to hide. And it just occurred to me 253 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:07.720 scallops are like free ranged chickens and mussels and oysters 254 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:11.519 are hanging on to something. Yes that, okay, okay, I 255 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:13.519 never even thought about that. I never even thought that 256 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:16.080 scallops are like buddy and like they don't need to 257 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.960 hang onto a rock. Okay, take me back, What is 258 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:22.320 a scallop? What are they? Who are they related to? 259 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.080 What are they doing with the big coin full of 260 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:28.600 delicious in the middle? Why aren't they using little threads 261 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:29.480 to hang onto rocks? 262 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:32.159 Well, I'm going to kind of talk here specifically about 263 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:36.279 bass scallops and base gallops are bivalves, so they're in 264 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:39.000 the same class as your oysters and your muscles and 265 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:42.399 your clayoms. But as you mentioned, they are mobile. They're 266 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:47.519 kind of like the charismatic species of bivalves. They look 267 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:51.320 at you with those little blue eyes and they're pretty. 268 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:52.720 They're pretty darn cute. 269 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:54.200 Cute and fast. 270 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:59.320 They are totally mobile as adults, So as you mentioned oysters, 271 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.039 they submit themselves down and so they don't really care 272 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:05.039 about the seagrass bed. They form their own reefs and 273 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:08.000 they're not, you know, an oysters not hiding. It just 274 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:10.840 closes up a shell real tight and hopes that somebody 275 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:14.960 doesn't come along and you shuck it off the clump. Oh, 276 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.600 and your muscles they're attaching using those little hairy bistle threads. 277 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:22.799 Your clams are mobile, but they're usually just kind of 278 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:26.440 going up and down in the sediment. They can occasionally 279 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:29.440 use their little foot to crawl around, but they're definitely 280 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:32.919 not swimming like we see bass gallops do and other 281 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:36.080 scallops as well. But at what point in a base 282 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:40.440 gallops life history they do kind of use bistle threads 283 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:43.080 to attach to the seagrass blades. 284 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:45.919 Oh do they do that when they were tiny little babies. 285 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:49.320 Yeah, actually when they're a little bit bigger than tiny 286 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:52.600 little babies. So bass scallops they start out their life 287 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:57.919 in the water column as free swimming pelagic larvae. So okay, 288 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:01.960 kind of floating around there in the water column. And actually, 289 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:05.039 can we talk about how base gallops reproduce because that's 290 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:06.200 kind of wild. 291 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:10.000 Yes, We're definitely going to get to scallop fucking because 292 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:14.839 people have questions. Yes, let me tell you so, Yes, 293 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.599 put a pin in that, because for sure I'm still like, 294 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:20.039 what's the difference between a base scallop and a sea scallop? 295 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:21.119 But we're also going to get to. 296 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:21.680 That, okay. 297 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:25.119 So first off, there are over three hundred species of scallop. 298 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:28.000 Did you know that? Neither did I? But only one 299 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.720 of them is argo pectin Iridians, the base scallop. Again, 300 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:37.279 base scallops, they're much smaller if you've eaten them. They're 301 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:39.759 like kind of like the size of a macadamia nut, 302 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:43.000 depending on how poorly you cook them. So in my 303 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:46.440 case they get small, I do it wrong. But they 304 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:50.079 live in shallow coastal waters and they have a shorter 305 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:55.039 lifespan too. Now, sea scallops them the bigger boys, and 306 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:58.680 we'll talk more on their sex later, but they live 307 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:02.680 from the tide to about one hundred meters deep, but 308 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:09.000 some species and subspecies have really specific and even deeper niches. Also, 309 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:12.759 sea scallops tend to live much longer, but probably not 310 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:15.559 as long as ming, who was a clam found in 311 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.440 two thousand and six off the coast of Iceland that 312 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:24.319 scientists estimated was over four hundred years old. This clam 313 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:28.160 until they did more analysis and they discovered that Ming 314 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:33.559 was actually five hundred and seven. And a headline about 315 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:40.559 Ming read scientists discover world's oldest clam, killing it in 316 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:44.720 the process, the world's oldest clam. They're like, let's check 317 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:47.640 the date. Oops, And if you feel like crying, you 318 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:50.519 can please enjoy a free ticket to the Wikipedia page 319 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:54.519 list of Longest living organisms, which tells the tales of 320 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:58.720 number sixteen, a forty three year old spider, or the 321 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:02.599 still alive Bobby, which is a Portuguese dog who is 322 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:06.119 on the cusp of millennial and gen Z, having been 323 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:09.400 born in nineteen ninety two. Now, I accidentally clicked on 324 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:12.839 Bobby's page because I needed serotonin and dopamine, and I 325 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:15.240 found out that he was the only one of his 326 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.359 litter to survive because the man who owned the woodpile 327 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:21.279 he was born on did not want to care for puppies, 328 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:24.480 so he did something terrible to them. But Bobby was 329 00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:29.000 wood colored and survived that incident, which was carried out 330 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:33.279 by the father of Bobby's current owner. So Bobby's owner's 331 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:37.079 dad killed all of his siblings, well Bobby's siblings, not 332 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:39.000 his own son siblings that would be his own son's. 333 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:42.119 But at Bobby's last birthday, his owner said, Bobby is 334 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:44.920 special because looking at him is like remembering the people 335 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:48.160 who are part of our family and are unfortunately no 336 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.079 longer here, like my father, my brother, or my grandparents 337 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:54.799 who have already left this world. Said, but I like 338 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:57.759 to think that Bobby has existed longer than any other 339 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:02.119 dog on earth. Is this simple and faithful fuck you 340 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:04.680 to that guy who didn't even want him to live 341 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:07.440 as a palette cleanser. Though, I read about a beetle 342 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:09.960 that took a forty seven year nap as a baby 343 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:13.400 larva and then emerged from a some staircase in England 344 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:17.359 being like mourning. But we're not here for beetles. We're 345 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:20.839 not here for Bobby, or even for five hundred year 346 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:25.599 old clams, which, unlike scallops, cannot swim. So base scallops, 347 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.799 they're swimming tiny little babies, yes, like larva. 348 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:32.680 Yeah okay, yeah, so they're swimming little tiny baby larvae 349 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:35.440 they're actually called and this is true for oysters as well, 350 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:37.559 and a lot of your bivalves. They call them d 351 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:40.440 like das and dog villager larvae. 352 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:44.319 So a villager is a planktonic larva and it means 353 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:48.079 sale bearing. And if you are desperate to know how 354 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:51.880 different groups of the same species have regional wiggles, you 355 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:54.920 can see the nineteen ninety six paper villagers from different 356 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:58.920 populations of sea scallop have different vertical migration patterns. 357 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:01.839 They look like a capital d oh okay, or you 358 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:04.680 can call it like a straight hinge larvae, and they 359 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:08.279 have shells. They have shells by forty eight hours after fertilization. 360 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:11.079 Oh my god, so fast. Yeah. 361 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:14.000 So they have these little shells and they have like 362 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:17.119 a little vlum that sticks out with celia on it, 363 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:22.559 and that allows them to swim and eat and explore 364 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:25.119 the water column and try not to get eaten. So 365 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:28.400 they're they're kind of getting moved along mostly by water currents, 366 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:30.519 but they do have a little bit of control of 367 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:34.559 their vertical orientation, so they can swim up or swim 368 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:36.640 down or sink down really fast. 369 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:38.920 Do they have an elevator or something? 370 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:43.640 And they do this by moving in like a clockwise helix, 371 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.039 So this a little like spiral as they're going up 372 00:21:46.119 --> 00:21:48.319 and down in the water column and they do that 373 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:52.759 for about two weeks until finally, hopefully they land in 374 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:57.240 a patch of sea grass, and then they receive different 375 00:21:57.319 --> 00:22:00.000 environmental cues that say, hey, this is a good spot, 376 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:04.799 settle down here, and they go through a settlement process 377 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:07.640 where then they become juveniles. They've grown, they're a little 378 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:11.240 bit larger. There may be like fingernail size at this point, 379 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:14.359 and they crawl up on the blades of eel grass 380 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:17.039 or turtle grass or whatever seatgrass you have. They're in 381 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:19.200 that particular ecosystem, so. 382 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:22.240 They're able to shuffle up to safety when they're young, 383 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:26.000 so they don't get snacked upon by snails or crabs 384 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:27.039 below the grass. 385 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:29.599 They don't want to go too high because goals could 386 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:32.160 come down and eat them, so they orient themselves kind 387 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:34.359 of in the middle, and they use bissele threads to 388 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:36.400 hold on to those seagrass blades. 389 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:39.119 And so do they do that until they have a 390 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:42.160 bigger shell, Do they shed their shell or do they 391 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:43.519 just keep building on top of it? 392 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:46.200 They just keep building. They just keep growing, and they 393 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:48.319 stay on those blades as long as they can, until 394 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:50.920 eventually they just get too heavy for their little bissele 395 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:53.640 threads to hold them up, and then they fall down 396 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:54.279 to the bottom. 397 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:57.880 And then are they kind of swimming in the mud? 398 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:57.960 Like? 399 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:01.240 Where do they spend most of their time under the sand? 400 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:04.720 Are they popping up every couple of days or every 401 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:05.400