Severe climate-driven loss of native molluscs reported off Israel’s coast

Mediterranean study finds subtidal populations of cockles, whelks and other species have collapsed by 90%

The world's most devastating climate-driven loss of ocean life has been reported in the eastern Mediterranean, one of the fastest warming places on Earth.

Native mollusc populations along the coast of Israel have collapsed by about 90% in recent decades because they cannot tolerate the increasingly hot water, according to a new study, which raises concerns about the wider ecosystem and neighbouring regions.