Introduction
The life cycle of marine invertebrates alternates between development phases which exhibit different physiological and ecological characteristics. The larvae (and sometimes the eggs) of most crustaceans, echinoderms, and mollusks, for example, are small and conventionally mobile, and they constitute the dispersive stages. In addition, larvae and embryos are considered in some traits less “complex” than adults, often lacking certain physiological mechanisms that allow advanced stages to cope with slight or even higher changes in the environment. However, early life stages are as important as subsequent instars; either population renewal, dispersion as connectivity, rely on the ability of these stages to overcome the adverse environmental conditions (Levin, 2006; DiBacco et al., 2006). As any impact observed in those early life phases will be deleterious to the whole population, functioning as a “bottleneck”, it is fundamental to understand the effect and capacity of response to the different stressors.
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Pérez García M., Nuñez J. D., Luppi T. A. & Ocampo E. H., 2024. Effect of low pH on embryonic and larval traits in the estuarine semi-terrestrial crab Neohelice granulata. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 296: 108598. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108598. Article.
