Crushed shells in the sand: an Indigenous practice just passed its genetics test

For generations, Indigenous communities of the Pacific coast have mixed crushed shells into beach sand to keep shellfish beds healthy. UC Davis scientists have now shown why it works. Over 90 days at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, baby Pacific littleneck clams raised in shell-enriched sand grew larger shells — and, at the genetic level, the stress signature of acidified seawater all but disappeared, according to first author Hannah Kempf. Co-author Tsim Schneider, an anthropologist at UC Santa Cruz, hopes the findings help tribes reawaken dormant stewardship knowledge. The study is published in Biogeosciences.

SDG 14 · Life below water — Mechanism: community action