According to the study the species that may move north are those of shellfish and snails, and at least 77 molluscan lineages – about a third of shallow-water shellfish species in the Bering Sea – may spread to the Atlantic. It would not be the first migration as their ancestors kept migrating until cooling conditions that set in three million years ago changed their migration patterns for the long run, states the study published in the journal Science.
Scientists believe that the predicted warmer Arctic Ocean by 2050 will bring back conditions that last exists some three to 3.5 million years ago. There are several north Pacific species have relatives in the north Atlantic, and the fossil record Pacific species invaded Atlantic waters at that time. As the cold increases the migrating species, through a lack of food, were unable to follow their usual Arctic route. As productivity in the Arctic rises once more due to ice melts, the northward journey of the molluscs will resume where it was cut off three million years ago.
According to the scientists the native species are not expected to necessarily decline as a result of the new species invasion. Researcher Geerat Vermeij told that the fossil record rarely supports the idea of invasions wiping out native species in marine environments. Vermeji also add that the invasion will add new species and hybrids and boost competition in the North Atlantic.
