Do you love oysters? Well, you’re not going to very happy about this. Scientists from The Nature Conservancy and the University of California, Santa Cruz have determined that if changes aren’t made soon to alleviate stresses on their natural habitat, the beloved bivalves won’t be long for this world. The study, which appeared in BioScience, the journal of the American Institute of Biological Scientists, and translated into layman’s terms by ScienceBlog, found that 90 percent the reefs that were once abundant with oysters are now gone, and the precious mollusks are “functionally extinct.” Four of the five ecoregions where most of the world’s oysters are harvested are said to be in poor or worse condition. As for the fifth? That’s the Gulf of Mexico. And there the jury’s still out on the long term effects of last year’s colossal oil spill. So it looks like those dried oysters that are so popular with Salon writers could soon be the only varieties left. [ScienceBlog]
