Harley took thermal images which showed dead mussels sitting in temperatures as hot as 125 degrees Fahrenheit in some of the hottest parts of the beach. "There’s sort of a standard low tide smell, which you wouldn’t bottle up and sell as perfume, but this was much much worse than that," Harley explained.
When Harley went to collect samples on the second day of the devastating heat wave, he noticed the horrible stench of dead mussels covering the beach. RELATED: Pacific Northwest heat wave may have killed hundreds, officials say He added that dozens of species have been negatively impacted by the excessive heat. Harley and his team are observing the Salish Sea, which covers the inland waters of British Columbia and northern Washington state, representing several thousand miles of coastline. "And then you start adding in the barnacles and the sea stars and the snails and crabs and the clams and everything else and the numbers get big real fast," said Harley. These shellfish casualties will also affect the local seafood and fishing industries, as the typical life cycle of a mussel takes two to three years.Until SAT 11:00 PM MST, Yavapai County Mountains, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County, Western Mogollon Rim, Eastern Mogollon Rim, White Mountains, Northern Gila County, Yavapai County Valleys and Basins, Oak Creek and Sycamore Canyons, Western Pima County including Ajo/Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Tohono O'odham Nation including Sells, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys including Nogales, Tucson Metro Area including Tucson/Green Valley/Marana/Vail, South Central Pinal County including Eloy/Picacho Peak State Park, Southeast Pinal County including Kearny/Mammoth/Oracle, Upper San Pedro River Valley including Sierra Vista/Benson, Eastern Cochise County below 5000 ft including Douglas/Wilcox, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys including Clifton/Safford, White Mountains of Graham and Greenlee Counties including Hannagan Meadow, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains including Mount Graham, Chiricahua Mountains including Chiricahua National Monument, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains including Bisbee/Canelo Hills/Madera Canyon, Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains including Mount Lemmon/Summerhaven, Baboquivari Mountains including Kitt Peak, Kofa, Central La Paz, Aguila Valley, Southeast Yuma County, Gila River Valley, Northwest Valley, Tonopah Desert, Gila Bend, Buckeye/Avondale, Cave Creek/New River, Deer Valley, Central Phoenix, North Phoenix/Glendale, New River Mesa, Scottsdale/Paradise Valley, Rio Verde/Salt River, East Valley, Fountain Hills/East Mesa, South Mountain/Ahwatukee, Southeast Valley/Queen Creek, Superior, Northwest Pinal County, West Pinal County, Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, Tonto Basin, Mazatzal Mountains, Pinal/Superstition Mountains, Sonoran Desert Natl Monument, San Carlos, Dripping Springs, Globe/Miami, Southeast Gila County The loss of so many shellfish all at once could create dire issues in the food chain.
Shellfish help keep the oceans clean by filtering seawater and are a major source of food for larger animals, such as migrating seabirds. They're at the mercy of the environment." "They are stuck there until the parent comes back, or in this case, the tide comes back in. "A mussel on the shore in some ways is like a toddler left in a car on a hot day," says Harley, in an interview with CBS News. According to Eater, "mussels have evolved to withstand high temperatures - they hold water inside their shells to prevent from drying out, and live in beds, or clusters which ordinarily help to protect the collective against the heat." But even these tough bivalves couldn't compete with the high temperatures, which combined with the low tides, created a truly fatal combination.
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