Are These Clams Key to Climate Adaptation?
November 17, 2025 at 04:30PMEver heard of a shipworm? It’s a strange, slug-like, wood-eating mollusk. Contrary to its name, it’s not a worm, and is referred to more as a clam. For The Contrapuntal, Crystal Chow spends time with scientists in the mangroves of the Philippines to learn more about this climate-resilient creature that can do so much: It keeps mangrove ecosystems healthy, acts as a nutritious and sustainable seafood alternative, and holds immense biomedical potential. Chow reports on both the science of shipworms and the people on the ground passionate about this research. As Chow highlights, these quirky creatures have much to offer the region’s coastal communities—and science at large.
If shipworms were recognised not just as pests warranting control but as sources of biodiversity and a deeply storied subsistence food for Indigenous communities, Gardner wrote, “more than simply language changes”: It could help revitalise cultural ecological knowledge about how to care for our coastal environments and the species they sustain.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/11/17/shipworms-clams-philippines/
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