CANBERRA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Molluscs are able to adjust their physiological functions to withstand marine heatwaves, a study has found.

The study, which was published by the University of South Australia (UniSA) on Thursday in collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, found that mussels - a collective name for several families of bivalve mollusc species - are capable of coping with environmental stress.

According to the research, mussels that were exposed to three weeks of warm ocean temperatures increased their heart and clearance rates, which then returned to normal within a week of the heatwave ending.

Clearance rate - also known as a filtration rate - refers to the rate at which mussels clear a volume of water from all their particles.

Laura Falkenberg, co-author of the study from UniSA, said in a media release that the findings were a good sign for the ability of molluscs to survive the impacts of climate change.

"This bodes well for their survival under future marine heatwaves, with these events predicted to increase in severity, frequency and duration," she said.

"We expected to see some marked impacts of increased ocean temperature on their vital signs, including survival, heart and respiratory rates, but to our surprise they were extremely resilient, persisting through - and recovering after - the marine heatwave.

"Mussels have limited strategies to regulate their core body temperature, and adjusting their heart rate and clearance rate may be the primary ways they can respond."

In addition to being a popular seafood, mussels also play a critical role in recycling nutrients and improving water quality in coastal ecosystems, the report said. Enditem

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