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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Richard Luscombe in Miami

Hot queen conch seeks cool mates: Florida’s new ‘speed dating’ service to save endangered shellfish

Florida Fish FWC
A researcher holds a juvenile queen conch to display its large eyes on the end of stalks coming out of the spiral shell
Numbers of Florida’s prized queen conch have plummeted in recent years due to rising sea temperatures, as well as hurricanes and poaching. Photograph: Jennifer Doerr, Noaa SEFSC Galveston

Of the many novel initiatives dreamed up by scientists to protect threatened species from the ravages of record ocean temperatures, Florida’s new “speed dating for shellfish” programme might be about the most extraordinary.

Researchers are acting as matchmakers for the queen conch, a mollusc with iconic status in the Florida Keys, by removing them from the heat of their nearshore habitat and relocating them to deeper, cooler waters where a plethora of potential new partners awaits.

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