Emily Chan
Over the last century, the giant clam population has dropped by more than 80 percent, putting the species in danger of extinction.
A new assessment of the marine invertebrates led by Ruiqi Li, a postdoctoral researcher and biologist from the Museum of Natural History at the University of Colorado at Boulder, prompted the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to update their status.
Now, the giant clam is classified as “critically endangered.” Overfishing and climate change are the biggest threats these clams face. The statuses of 11 other related species were changed as well.
“Along with coral reefs, these clams provide important habitats for other creatures living in the reefs,” said Li.
“They are also important nutrient producers in shallow ocean water, which is generally deprived of food. If the giant clam becomes extinct, it will have significant ecological impacts on tropical oceans.”
Recently, representatives from 175 countries have gathered in Columbia for the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference to discuss ways to stop what has been dubbed the “sixth mass extinction.”
The fifth mass extinction occurred 65 million years ago and wiped out all the dinosaurs. According to the World Wildlife Fund, global marine wildlife has declined by 56 percent since 1970.
The giant clam (Tridacna gigas) is the largest marine bivalve mollusk in the world. The clams are part of a group of invertebrate animals with two-part shells.
They live in shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean and off the coasts of Malaysia, Fiji, and Australia.
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