Coral skeletal growth is sensitive to environmental change and may be adversely impacted by an acidifying ocean. However, physiological processes can also buffer biomineralization from external conditions, providing apparent resilience to acidification in some species. These same physiological processes affect skeletal composition and can impact paleoenvironmental proxies. Understanding the mechanisms of coral calcification is thus crucial for predicting the vulnerability of different corals to ocean acidification and for accurately interpreting coral-based climate records. Here, using boron isotope (δ11B) measurements on cultured cold-water corals, we explain fundamental features of coral calcification and its sensitivity to environmental change. Boron isotopes are one of the most widely used proxies for past seawater pH, and we observe the expected sensitivity between δ11B and pH. Surprisingly, we also discover that coral δ11B is independently sensitive to seawater dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). We can explain this new DIC effect if we introduce boric acid diffusion across cell membranes as a new flux within a geochemical model of biomineralization. This model independently predicts the sensitivity of the δ11B-pH proxy, without being trained to these data, even though calcifying fluid pH (pHCF) is constant. Boric acid diffusion resolves why δ11B is a useful proxy across a range of calcifiers, including foraminifera, even when calcifying fluid pH differs from seawater. Our modeling shows that δ11B cannot be interpreted unequivocally as a direct tracer of pHCF. Constant pHCF implies similar calcification rates as seawater pH decreases, which can explain the resilience of some corals to ocean acidification. However, we show that this resilience has a hidden energetic cost such that calcification becomes less efficient in an acidifying ocean
Posts Tagged 'individualmodeling'
Controls on boron isotopes in a cold-water coral and the cost of resilience to ocean acidification
Published 21 July 2020 Science ClosedTags: biogeochemistry, biological response, calcification, corals, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, morphology, North Pacific
Abalone populations are most sensitive to environmental stress effects on adult individuals
Published 17 June 2020 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, individualmodeling, modeling, mollusks, morphology, multiple factors, reproduction, temperature, toxicants
Marine organisms are exposed to stressors associated with climate change throughout their life cycle, but a majority of studies focus on responses in single life stages, typically early ones. Here, we examined how negative impacts from stressors associated with climate change, ocean acidification, and pollution can act across multiple life stages to influence long-term population dynamics and decrease resilience to mass mortality events. We used a continuous-size-structured density-dependent model for abalone (Haliotis spp.), calcifying mollusks that support valuable fisheries, to explore the sensitivity of stock abundance and annual catch to potential changes in growth, survival, and fecundity across the organism’s lifespan. Our model predicts that decreased recruitment from lowered fertilization success or larval survival has small negative impacts on the population, and that stock size and fishery performance are much more sensitive to changes in parameters that affect the size or survival of adults. Sensitivity to impacts on subadults and juveniles is also important for the population, though less so than for adults. Importantly, likelihood of recovery following mortality events showed more pronounced sensitivity to most possible parameter impacts, greater than the effects on equilibrium density or catch. Our results suggest that future experiments on environmental stressors should focus on multiple life stages to capture effects on population structure and dynamics, particularly for species with size-dependent fecundity.
Continue reading ‘Abalone populations are most sensitive to environmental stress effects on adult individuals’A multistressor model of carbon acquisition regulation for macroalgae in a changing climate
Published 10 June 2020 Science ClosedTags: algae, biological response, individualmodeling, light, modeling, multiple factors, photosynthesis, primary production, temperature
It is widely hypothesized that noncalcifying macroalgae will be more productive and abundant in increasingly warm and acidified oceans. Macroalgae vary greatly in the magnitudes and interactions of responses of photosynthesis and growth to multiple stressors associated with climate change. A knowledge gap that exists between the qualitative “macroalgae will benefit” hypothesis and the variable outcomes observed is regulation of physiological mechanisms that cause variation in the magnitudes of change in primary productivity, growth, and their covariation. In this context, we developed a model to quantitatively describe physiological responses to coincident variation in temperature, carbonate chemistry and light supply in a representative bicarbonate‐using marine macroalga. The model is based on Ulva spp., the best understood dissolved inorganic carbon uptake mechanism among macroalgae, with data enabling synthesis across all parameters. At boundary layer pH < 8.7 most inorganic carbon is taken up through the external carbonic anhydrase (CAext) mechanism under all conditions of photosynthetic photon flux density, temperature, and boundary layer thickness. Each 0.1 unit decline in pH causes a 20% increase in the fraction of diffusive uptake of CO2 thereby lessening reliance on active transport of bicarbonate. Modeled downregulation of anion exchange‐mediated active bicarbonate transport associated with a 0.4 unit decline in pH under ocean acidification is consistent with enhanced growth up to 4% per day without increasing photosynthetic rate. The model provides a means to quantify magnitudes of change in productivity under factorial combinations of changing temperature, p CO2, and light supply anticipated as climate changes.
Continue reading ‘A multistressor model of carbon acquisition regulation for macroalgae in a changing climate’The challenge of scaling up from individual physiology to population level effects: using the Dynamic Energy Budget to describe and predict crustacean responses to climate variability
Published 28 February 2020 Science ClosedTags: biological response, crustaceans, growth, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, morphology, North Atlantic, performance, respiration
Predicting how marine communities will be affected by environmental change is one of the most significant challenges facing researchers today. In order to tackle this challenge, a mechanistic understanding of climate impacts at the individual level is necessary, as variations in species physiological responses are often reflected in patterns at higher organisational levels such as populations and communities. In order to explore the relationship between individual physiology and higher-level dynamics more fully, the swimming crab Liocarcinus depurator (Linnaeus, 1758) was selected as a model species for experimental work in which whole organism responses (growth, respiration and allocation to reproduction) to climate drivers were investigated using a bio-energetic modelling approach. This species was selected as a model organism after analysis of epibenthic time-series from the Western English Channel monitoring Station L4 revealed that decapod crustaceans played a key role in structuring the benthic community, and that L. depurator was one of the most dominant species in the area, in terms of both abundance and biomass. A bio-energetic approach was used as the same time-series analysis identified water temperature and seasonal phytodetrital input (e.g. food) as the predominant drivers of variation in benthic community wet biomass at L4, with the two drivers appearing to primarily influence community biomass at different times of the year. It is possible that warmer water temperatures in the autumn trigger gonad development and a consequent increase in reproductive biomass, while the sedimentation of the spring phytoplankton bloom drives an increase in somatic biomass. This time-series analysis clearly highlighted the role of organism energetics, and the environmental conditions that influence energy allocation, in structuring benthic communities. Further work elucidated the relationship between environmental variables and individual energy budgets. L. depurator responses to climate drivers (temperature, hypoxia and ocean acidification) were tested experimentally, and a mechanistic Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model was parameterised to describe the life history characteristics of crustaceans. At an individual level the model was able to accurately describe and predict observed responses to environmental drivers, both in isolation and in multiple stressor scenarios. Experimental results suggested that L. depurator was broadly tolerant of those climate drivers tested in the short term. Over the longer term however, model scenarios suggested that OA and the combined stressors may have an adverse effect on growth. When the multi-stressor model was forced with environmental projections from a coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model (NEMO-ERSEM), it could be used to make predictions regarding ultimate carbon mass, age-at-maturity and cumulative allocation to reproduction, which were used to infer possible population level effects such as species distributions and population viability. Model scenarios suggested that, in the future, the optimum settlement time for juvenile L. depurator would shift forward across the north-west European shelf, and that this crustacean species may be able to expand its range further into the northern North Sea. The DEB model presented here can provide a mechanistic underpinning of observed species responses to climate drivers, and more broadly, the thesis demonstrates how multi-stressor models can be built from data collected in single stressor experiments, thereby providing a way of synthesising single stressor data into a modelling environment. This approach allows us to simulate more complex, ecologically relevant conditions. At a broader scale, the coupled DEB-ERSEM model showed that it can provide insight into why changes in species’ distributions are predicted, as these distributions are an emergent property of the processes being modelled.
Symbiont community diversity is more variable in corals that respond poorly to stress
Published 18 February 2020 Science ClosedTags: biological response, community composition, communityMF, corals, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, mortality, multiple factors, North Pacific, otherprocess, phytoplankton, prokaryotes, protists, temperature
Coral reefs are declining globally as climate change and local water quality press environmental conditions beyond the physiological tolerances of holobionts—the collective of the host and its microbial symbionts. To assess the relationship between symbiont composition and holobiont stress tolerance, community diversity metrics were quantified for dinoflagellate endosymbionts (Family: Symbiodiniaceae) from eight Acropora millepora genets that thrived under or responded poorly to various stressors. These eight selected genets represent the upper and lower tails of the response distribution of 40 coral genets that were exposed to four stress treatments (and control conditions) in a 10‐day experiment. Specifically, four ‘best performer’ coral genets were analyzed at the end of the experiment because they survived high temperature, high pCO2, bacterial exposure, or combined stressors, whereas four ‘worst performer’ genets were characterized because they experienced substantial mortality under these stressors. At the end of the experiment, seven of eight coral genets mainly hosted Cladocopium symbionts, whereas the eighth genet was dominated by both Cladocopium and Durusdinium symbionts. Symbiodiniaceae alpha and beta diversity were higher in worst performing genets than in best performing genets. Symbiont communities in worst performers also differed more after stress exposure relative to their controls (based on normalized proportional differences in beta diversity), than did best performers. A generalized joint attribute model estimated the influence of host genet and treatment on Symbiodiniaceae community composition and identified strong associations among particular symbionts and host genet performance, as well as weaker associations with treatment. Although dominant symbiont physiology and function contribute to host performance, these findings emphasize the importance of symbiont community diversity and stochasticity as components of host performance. Our findings also suggest that symbiont community diversity metrics may function as indicators of resilience and have potential applications in diverse disciplines from climate change adaptation to agriculture and medicine.
Blue mussel (Genus Mytilus) transcriptome response to simulated climate change in the Gulf of Maine
Published 17 January 2020 Science ClosedTags: biological response, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, molecular biology, mollusks, multiple factors, North Atlantic, nutrients, physiology, temperature
The biogeochemistry of the Gulf of Maine (GOM) is rapidly changing in response to the changing climate, including rising temperatures, acidification, and declining primary productivity. These impacts are projected to worsen over the next 100 y and will apply selective pressure on populations of marine calcifiers. This study investigates the transcriptome expression response to these changes in ecologically and economically important marine calcifiers, blue mussels. Wild mussels (Mytilus edulis and Mytilus trossulus) were sampled from sites spanning the GOM and exposed to two different biogeochemical water conditions: (1) present-day conditions in the GOM and (2) simulated future conditions, which included elevated temperature, increased acidity, and decreased food supply. Patterns of gene expression were measured using RNA sequencing from 24 mussel samples and contrasted between ambient and future conditions. The net calcification rate, a trait predicted to be under climate-induced stress, was measured for each individual over a 2-wk exposure period and used as a covariate along with gene expression patterns. Generalized linear models, with and without the calcification rate, were used to identify differentially expressed transcripts between ambient and future conditions. The comparison revealed transcripts that likely comprise a core stress response characterized by the induction of molecular chaperones, genes involved in aerobic metabolism, and indicators of cellular stress. Furthermore, the model contrasts revealed transcripts that may be associated with individual variation in calcification rate and suggest possible biological processes that may have downstream effects on calcification phenotypes, such as zinc-ion binding and protein degradation. Overall, these findings contribute to the understanding of blue mussel adaptive responses to imminent climate change and suggest metabolic pathways are resilient in variable environments.
Ocean acidification does not impair the behaviour of coral reef fishes
Published 9 January 2020 Science ClosedTags: biological response, fish, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, performance, South Pacific
The partial pressure of CO2 in the oceans has increased rapidly over the past century, driving ocean acidification and raising concern for the stability of marine ecosystems1,2,3. Coral reef fishes are predicted to be especially susceptible to end-of-century ocean acidification on the basis of several high-profile papers4,5 that have reported profound behavioural and sensory impairments—for example, complete attraction to the chemical cues of predators under conditions of ocean acidification. Here, we comprehensively and transparently show that—in contrast to previous studies—end-of-century ocean acidification levels have negligible effects on important behaviours of coral reef fishes, such as the avoidance of chemical cues from predators, fish activity levels and behavioural lateralization (left–right turning preference). Using data simulations, we additionally show that the large effect sizes and small within-group variances that have been reported in several previous studies are highly improbable. Together, our findings indicate that the reported effects of ocean acidification on the behaviour of coral reef fishes are not reproducible, suggesting that behavioural perturbations will not be a major consequence for coral reef fishes in high CO2 oceans.
Continue reading ‘Ocean acidification does not impair the behaviour of coral reef fishes’
Coccolithophore growth and calcification in an acidified ocean: insights from community earth system model simulations
Published 15 August 2019 Science ClosedTags: biological response, individualmodeling, modeling, phytoplankton
Anthropogenic CO2 emissions are inundating the upper ocean, acidifying the water, and altering the habitat for marine phytoplankton. These changes are thought to be particularly influential for calcifying phytoplankton, namely, coccolithophores. Coccolithophores are widespread and account for a substantial portion of open ocean calcification; changes in their abundance, distribution, or level of calcification could have far‐reaching ecological and biogeochemical impacts. Here, we isolate the effects of increasing CO2 on coccolithophores using an explicit coccolithophore phytoplankton functional type parameterization in the Community Earth System Model. Coccolithophore growth and calcification are sensitive to changing aqueous CO2. While holding circulation constant, we demonstrate that increasing CO2 concentrations cause coccolithophores in most areas to decrease calcium carbonate production relative to growth. However, several oceanic regions show large increases in calcification, such the North Atlantic, Western Pacific, and parts of the Southern Ocean, due to an alleviation of carbon limitation for coccolithophore growth. Global annual calcification is 6% higher under present‐day CO2 levels relative to preindustrial CO2 (1.5 compared to 1.4 Pg C/year). However, under 900 μatm CO2, global annual calcification is 11% lower than under preindustrial CO2 levels (1.2 Pg C/year). Large portions of the ocean show greatly decreased coccolithophore calcification relative to growth, resulting in significant regional carbon export and air‐sea CO2 exchange feedbacks. Our study implies that coccolithophores become more abundant but less calcified as CO2 increases with a tipping point in global calcification (changing from increasing to decreasing calcification relative to preindustrial) at approximately ∼600 μatm CO2.
Reduced nitrogenase efficiency dominates response of the globally important nitrogen fixer Trichodesmium to ocean acidification
Published 4 April 2019 Media coverage ClosedTags: biological response, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, molecular biology, physiology, prokaryotes
The response of the prominent marine dinitrogen (N2)-fixing cyanobacteria Trichodesmium to ocean acidification (OA) is critical to understanding future oceanic biogeochemical cycles. Recent studies have reported conflicting findings on the effect of OA on growth and N2fixation of Trichodesmium. Here, we quantitatively analyzed experimental data on how Trichodesmium reallocated intracellular iron and energy among key cellular processes in response to OA, and integrated the findings to construct an optimality-based cellular model. The model results indicate that Trichodesmium growth rate decreases under OA primarily due to reduced nitrogenase efficiency. The downregulation of the carbon dioxide (CO2)-concentrating mechanism under OA has little impact on Trichodesmium, and the energy demand of anti-stress responses to OA has a moderate negative effect. We predict that if anthropogenic CO2 emissions continue to rise, OA could reduce global N2 fixation potential of Trichodesmium by 27% in this century, with the largest decrease in iron-limiting regions.
Studentized bootstrap model-averaged tail area intervals
Published 26 March 2019 Science ClosedTags: biological response, individualmodeling, methods, modeling, phanerogams
In many scientific studies, the underlying data-generating process is unknown and multiple statistical models are considered to describe it. For example, in a factorial experiment we might consider models involving just main effects, as well as those that include interactions. Model-averaging is a commonly-used statistical technique to allow for model uncertainty in parameter estimation. In the frequentist setting, the model-averaged estimate of a parameter is a weighted mean of the estimates from the individual models, with the weights typically being based on an information criterion, cross-validation, or bootstrapping. One approach to building a model-averaged confidence interval is to use a Wald interval, based on the model-averaged estimate and its standard error. This has been the default method in many application areas, particularly those in the life sciences. The MA-Wald interval, however, assumes that the studentized model-averaged estimate has a normal distribution, which can be far from true in practice due to the random, data-driven model weights. Recently, the model-averaged tail area Wald interval (MATA-Wald) has been proposed as an alternative to the MA-Wald interval, which only assumes that the studentized estimate from each model has a N(0, 1) or t-distribution, when that model is true. This alternative to the MA-Wald interval has been shown to have better coverage in simulation studies. However, when we have a response variable that is skewed, even these relaxed assumptions may not be valid, and use of these intervals might therefore result in poor coverage. We propose a new interval (MATA-SBoot) which uses a parametric bootstrap approach to estimate the distribution of the studentized estimate for each model, when that model is true. This method only requires that the studentized estimate from each model is approximately pivotal, an assumption that will often be true in practice, even for skewed data. We illustrate use of this new interval in the analysis of a three-factor marine global change experiment in which the response variable is assumed to have a lognormal distribution. We also perform a simulation study, based on the example, to compare the lower and upper error rates of this interval with those for existing methods. The results suggest that the MATA-SBoot interval can provide better error rates than existing intervals when we have skewed data, particularly for the upper error rate when the sample size is small.
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Linking social preferences and ocean acidification impacts in mussel aquaculture
Published 19 March 2019 Science ClosedTags: biological response, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, mollusks, physiology, South Pacific
Ocean Acidification (OA) has become one of the most studied global stressors in marine science during the last fifteen years. Despite the variety of studies on the biological effects of OA with marine commercial species, estimations of these impacts over consumers’ preferences have not been studied in detail, compromising our ability to undertake an assessment of market and economic impacts resulting from OA at local scales. Here, we use a novel and interdisciplinary approach to fill this gap. We experimentally test the impact of OA on commercially relevant physical and nutritional attributes of mussels, and then we use economic discrete choice models to assess the marginal effects of these impacts over consumers’ preferences and wellbeing. Results showed that attributes, which were significantly affected by OA, are also those preferred by consumers. Consumers are willing to pay on average 52% less for mussels with evidences of OA and are willing to increase the price they pay to avoid negative changes in attributes due to OA. The interdisciplinary approach developed here, complements research conducted on OA by effectively informing how OA economic impacts can be analyzed under the lens of marginal changes in market price and consumer’ welfare. Thereby, linking global phenomena to consumers’ wellbeing, and shifting the focus of OA impacts to assess the effects of local vulnerabilities in a wider context of people and businesses.
Continue reading ‘Linking social preferences and ocean acidification impacts in mussel aquaculture’
Particulate inorganic to organic carbon production as a predictor for coccolithophorid sensitivity to ongoing ocean acidification
Published 18 March 2019 Science ClosedTags: biological response, calcification, growth, individualmodeling, modeling, morphology, photosynthesis, phytoplankton, review
Ocean acidification (OA) can induce shifts in plankton community composition, with coccolithophores being mostly negatively impacted. This is likely to change particulate inorganic and organic carbon (PIC and POC, respectively) production, with impacts on the biological carbon pump. Hence, assessing and, most importantly, understanding species‐specific sensitivities of coccolithophores is paramount. In a multispecies comparison, spanning more than two orders of magnitude in terms of POC and PIC production rates, among Calcidiscus leptoporus, Coccolithus pelagicus subsp. braarudii, Emiliania huxleyi, Gephyrocapsa oceanica, and Scyphosphaera apsteinii, we found that cellular PIC : POC was a good predictor for a species’ OA sensitivity. This is likely related to the need for cellular pH homeostasis, which is challenged by the process of calcification producing protons internally, especially when seawater pH decreases in an OA scenario. With higher PIC : POC, species and strains being more sensitive to OA coccolithophores may shift toward less calcified varieties in the future.
Ecological-economic sustainability of the Baltic cod fisheries under ocean warming and acidification
Published 11 March 2019 Science ClosedTags: Baltic, biological response, fish, individualmodeling, modeling, multiple factors, regionalmodeling, socio-economy, temperature
Highlights
• Ocean warming and acidification (OAW) will drastically decrease cod fishing opportunities in the Baltic.
• Ecological-economic modeling shows high losses in catch, and profits due to OAW.
• There is a high risk of cod stock collapse under mid-term climate change.
• Improved management could temporarily counteract OAW stressors.
• Adaptation includes a reduction in fishing mortality, and increased mesh size.
Abstract
Human-induced climate change such as ocean warming and acidification, threatens marine ecosystems and associated fisheries. In the Western Baltic cod stock socio-ecological links are particularly important, with many relying on cod for their livelihoods. A series of recent experiments revealed that cod populations are negatively affected by climate change, but an ecological-economic assessment of the combined effects, and advice on optimal adaptive management are still missing. For Western Baltic cod, the increase in larval mortality due to ocean acidification has experimentally been quantified. Time-series analysis allows calculating the temperature effect on recruitment. Here, we include both processes in a stock-recruitment relationship, which is part of an ecological-economic optimization model. The goal was to quantify the effects of climate change on the triple bottom line (ecological, economic, social) of the Western Baltic cod fishery. Ocean warming has an overall negative effect on cod recruitment in the Baltic. Optimal management would react by lowering fishing mortality with increasing temperature, to create a buffer against climate change impacts. The negative effects cannot be fully compensated, but even at 3 °C warming above the 2014 level, a reduced but viable fishery would be possible. However, when accounting for combined effects of ocean warming and acidification, even optimal fisheries management cannot adapt to changes beyond a warming of +1.5° above the current level. Our results highlight the need for multi-factorial climate change research, in order to provide the best available, most realistic, and precautionary advice for conservation of exploited species as well as their connected socio-economic systems.
Saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin bioavailability increases in future oceans
Published 5 March 2019 Science ClosedTags: biogeochemistry, globalmodeling, individualmodeling, modeling, mollusks, physiology
Increasing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are largely absorbed by the world’s oceans, decreasing surface water pH. In combination with increasing ocean temperatures, these changes have been identified as a major sustainability threat to future marine life. Interactions between marine organisms are known to depend on biomolecules, but the influence of oceanic pH on their bioavailability and functionality remains unexplored. Here we show that global change significantly impacts two ecological keystone molecules in the ocean, the paralytic toxins saxitoxin (STX) and tetrodotoxin (TTX). Increasing temperatures and declining pH increase the abundance of the toxic forms of these two neurotoxins in the water. Our geospatial global model highlights where this increased toxicity could intensify the devastating impact of harmful algal blooms on ecosystems in the future, for example through an increased incidence of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). We also use these results to calculate future saxitoxin toxicity levels in Alaskan clams, Saxidomus gigantea, showing critical exceedance of limits save for consumption. Our findings for TTX and STX exemplarily highlight potential consequences of changing pH and temperature on chemicals dissolved in the sea. This reveals major implications not only for ecotoxicology, but also for chemical signals mediating species interactions such as foraging, reproduction, or predation in the ocean with unexplored consequences for ecosystem stability and ecosystem services.
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Seawater temperature and buffering capacity modulate coral calcifying pH
Published 6 February 2019 Science ClosedTags: biogeochemistry, calcification, corals, individualmodeling, modeling, multiple factors, regionalmodeling, South Pacific, temperature
Scleractinian corals promote the precipitation of their carbonate skeleton by elevating the pH and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration of their calcifying fluid above that of seawater. The fact corals actively regulate their calcifying fluid chemistry implies the potential for acclimation to ocean acidification. However, the extent to which corals can adjust their regulation mechanism in the face of decreasing ocean pH has not been rigorously tested. Here I present a numerical model simulating pH and DIC up-regulation by corals, and use it to determine the relative importance of physiological regulation versus seawater conditions in controlling coral calcifying fluid chemistry. I show that external seawater temperature and buffering capacity exert the first-order control on the extent of pH elevation in the calcifying fluid and explain most of the observed inter- and intra-species variability. Conversely, physiological regulation, represented by the interplay between enzymatic proton pumping, carbon influx and the exchange of calcifying fluid with external seawater, contributes to some variability but remain relatively constant as seawater conditions change. The model quantitatively reproduces variations of calcifying fluid pH in natural Porites colonies, and predicts an average 0.16 unit decrease in Porites calcifying fluid pH, i.e., ~43% increase in H+ concentration, by the end of this century as a combined result of projected ocean warming and acidification, highlighting the susceptibility of coral calcification to future changes in ocean conditions. In addition, my findings support the development of coral-based seawater pH proxies, but suggest the influences of physicochemical and biological factors other than seawater pH must be considered.
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Low and variable pH decreases recruitment efficiency in populations of a temperate coral naturally present at a CO2 vent
Published 14 December 2018 Science ClosedTags: abundance, corals, field, growth, individualmodeling, Mediterranean, modeling, morphology, otherprocess, reproduction, vents
Atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment alters seawater carbonate chemistry, thus threatening calcifying organisms such as corals. Coral populations at carbon dioxide vents are natural acidification experiments that mimic organism responses to seawater pH values projected for 2100. Even if demographic traits are paramount information to assess ecological relationships and habitat suitability, population dynamics studies on corals thriving under acidified conditions are lacking. Here, we investigate the demography and reproduction of populations of the solitary, symbiotic, temperate coral Balanophyllia europaea naturally living along a pH gradient at a Mediterranean CO2 vent. Gametogenesis and larval production were unaffected while recruitment efficiency collapsed at low and variable pH, contributing to coral abundance decline and suggesting that life stages between larval release and early polyp growth are hindered by acidification. Exploring these processes is crucial to assess coral fate in the forthcoming acidified oceans, to preserve coral ecosystems and the socioeconomic services they provide.
Can larvae of a marine fish adapt to ocean acidification? Evaluating the evolutionary potential of California Grunion (Leuresthes tenuis)
Published 30 November 2018 Science ClosedTags: biological response, fish, growth, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, mortality, North Pacific, physiology, reproduction
Ocean acidification can reduce the growth and survival of marine species during their larval stages. However, if populations have the genetic capacity to adapt and increase their tolerance of low pH and high pCO2 levels, this may offset the harmful effects of ocean acidification. By combining controlled breeding experiments with laboratory manipulations of seawater chemistry, we evaluated genetic variation in tolerance of ocean acidification conditions for a nearshore marine fish, the California Grunion (Leuresthes tenuis). Our results indicated that acidification conditions increased overall mortality rates of grunion larvae, but did not have a significant effect on growth. Groups of larvae varied widely with respect to mortality and growth rates in both ambient and acidified conditions. We demonstrate that the potential to evolve in response to ocean acidification is best described by considering additive genetic variation in fitness‐related traits under both ambient and acidified conditions, and by evaluating the genetic correlation between traits expressed in these environments. We used a multivariate animal model to estimate additive genetic (co)variance in larval growth and mortality rates under both ambient and acidified conditions (low pH/high pCO2). Our results suggest appreciable genetic variation in larval mortality rates (h2Ambient = 0.120; h2Acidified = 0.183; rG = 0.460), but less genetic variation in growth (h2Ambient = 0.092; h2Acidified = 0.101; rG = 0.135). Maternal effects on larval mortality rates accounted for 26‐36% of the variation in phenotypes, but maternal effects accounted for only 8% of the variation in growth. Collectively, our estimates of genetic variation and covariation suggest that populations of California Grunion have the capacity to adapt relatively quickly to long‐term changes in ocean chemistry.
Quantifying sensitivity and adaptive capacity of shellfish in the Northern California Current Ecosystem to increasing prevalence of ocean acidification and hypoxia
Published 31 October 2018 Science ClosedTags: biological response, crustaceans, individualmodeling, modeling, mollusks, multiple factors, North Pacific, oxygen, respiration
The severity of carbonate chemistry changes from ocean acidification is predicted to increase greatly in the coming decades, with serious consequences for marine species- especially those reliant on calcium carbonate for structure and function (Fabry et al. 2008). The Northern California Current Ecosystem off the coast of US West Coast experiences seasonal variations in upwelling and downwelling patterns creating natural episodes of hypoxia and calcite/aragonite undersaturation, exacerbating global trends of increasing ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) (Chan et al. 2008) (Gruber et al. 2012). The goal of these experiments was to identify thresholds of tolerance and attempt to quantify a point at which variance in responses to stress collapses. This study focuses on two species: Cancer magister (Dungeness crab) and Haliotis rufescens (red abalone). These species were selected for this study based on their economic and ecological value, as well as their taxonomic differences. Respirometry was used as a proxy for metabolic activity at four different scenarios mimicking preindustrial, upwelling, contemporary upwelling, and distant future conditions by manipulating dissolved oxygen and inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations. Both species showed a decrease in mean respiration rate as OAH stressors increase, including an effect in contemporary upwelling conditions. These results suggest that current exposure to ocean acidification (OA) and hypoxia do not confer resilience to these stressors for either taxa. In teasing apart the effects of OAH as multiple stressors, it was found that Dungeness crab response was more strongly driven by concentration of dissolved oxygen, while red abalone data suggested a strong interactive effect between OA and hypoxia. Not only did these two different taxa exhibit different responses to a multiple stressors, but the fact that the Dungeness crab were secondarily impacted by acidification could suggest that current management concerns may need to be focus more strongly on deoxygenation.
Bioeconomic analysis of the impact of ocean acidification associated with low recruitment of Isostichopus badionotus and implications for adaptive fishery management in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Published 23 October 2018 Science ClosedTags: echinoderms, fisheries, individualmodeling, modeling, North Pacific, regionalmodeling, socio-economy
The impact that ocean acidification (OA) could generate in the fisheries of Isostichopus badionotus at the north of the Yucatan Peninsulta, Mexico, was analysed by reducing the value of a parameter of the Beverton-Holt recruitment function, in accordance with the acidification scenarios of the Intergovermental Panel Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The behaviour of the stock and the resulting fishery were analysed in a bioeconomic model structured by age, taking into account different market prices and fishing efforts. The results were compared in decision matrices that used the MiniMax and MaxMin criteria to determine the management strategy that best reduced the impact of acidification. The largest stock reduction occurred during the first years of exploitation (B10>B15/BO) and all the variables that were considered did stabilize with time, reaching bioeconomic equilibrium. The worst scenario for not considering acidification occurred with low market prices, while the increase in price decreased the exploitation rate. The recruitment reduction determined the maximum effort that should have been applied; under such conditions it is recommended to operate an effort of 137 boats, considering the best market price.
Ocean acidification does not limit squid metabolism via blood oxygen supply
Published 11 October 2018 Science ClosedTags: biological response, individualmodeling, laboratory, modeling, mollusks, North Atlantic, physiology
Ocean acidification is hypothesized to limit the performance of squid owing to their exceptional oxygen demand and pH sensitivity of blood–oxygen binding, which may reduce oxygen supply in acidified waters. The critical oxygen partial pressure (Pcrit), the PO2 below which oxygen supply cannot match basal demand, is a commonly reported index of hypoxia tolerance. Any CO2-induced reduction in oxygen supply should be apparent as an increase in Pcrit. In this study, we assessed the effects of CO2 (46–143 Pa; 455–1410 μatm) on the metabolic rate and Pcrit of two squid species – Dosidicus gigas and Doryteuthis pealeii – through manipulative experiments. We also developed a model, with inputs for hemocyanin pH sensitivity, blood PCO2 and buffering capacity, that simulates blood oxygen supply under varying seawater CO2 partial pressures. We compare model outputs with measured Pcrit in squid. Using blood–O2 parameters from the literature for model inputs, we estimated that, in the absence of blood acid–base regulation, an increase in seawater PCO2 to 100 Pa (≈1000 μatm) would result in a maximum drop in arterial hemocyanin–O2 saturation by 1.6% at normoxia and a Pcrit increase of ≈0.5 kPa. Our live-animal experiments support this supposition, as CO2 had no effect on measured metabolic rate or Pcrit in either squid species.
Continue reading ‘Ocean acidification does not limit squid metabolism via blood oxygen supply’
