A mesocosm experiment was designed to study the effects of acidification on the phytal nematofauna of a coral reef. We hypothesized that phytal nematodes are responsive to different seawater acidification levels and that their assemblage structure and functional indicators (combination of maturity index and trophic diversity index) are useful to evaluate the effects of acidification. Artificial substrate units (ASU) were first colonized in a coral reef zone (Recife de Fora Municipal Marine Park, Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil) to obtain standardized assemblage samples. ASUs were transferred to laboratory and exposed to control and three levels of seawater acidification (pH reduced by 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 units below field levels) and collected after 15 and 30 d. Contrary to our expectations that acidification may change the taxonomic structure of nematodes, while the functional structure may deviate from the expected under high levels of acidification, we found that univariate functional indicators of the community (index of trophic diversity and maturity index) did not show significant differences between the control and experimental treatments throughout the exposure period. It is probably because the frequent exposure of shallow-water nematodes to rather large environmental variations leads the faunal response to acidification to be complex and subtle. On the other hand, the density of the life-history strategy groups 3 and 4 and the structure of nematode assemblages were significantly affected by different pH levels throughout the exposure period. Both history strategy groups include all kinds of feeding groups. These results suggest that the impact of pH changes predicted by the years 2100 and 2300 may be strong enough to provide different traits or life-history strategies of nematodes to take advantage under changing conditions.
Continue reading ‘Effects of the ocean acidification on the functional structure of coral reef nematodes’Posts Tagged 'nematodes'
Effects of the ocean acidification on the functional structure of coral reef nematodes
Published 15 September 2022 Science ClosedTags: biological response, BRcommunity, chemistry, community composition, corals, field, laboratory, mesocosms, nematodes, otherprocess, physiology, South Atlantic
Does pH variation influence the toxicity of organic contaminants in estuarine sediments? Effects of Irgarol on nematode assemblages
Published 2 February 2022 Science ClosedTags: biological response, community composition, laboratory, multiple factors, nematodes, otherprocess, physiology, sediment, South Atlantic, toxicants
Highlights
- Effects of acidification on the Irgarol toxicity to a benthic community was assessed.
- Lower nematode diversity was observed at the highest Irgarol concentration.
- Estuarine nematode assemblage was impacted by continuous exposure to low pHs.
- Toxicity of Irgarol was independent of pH variation.
Abstract
Natural pH values in coastal waters vary largely among locations, ecosystems, and time periods; still, there is an ongoing acidification trend. In this scenario, more acidic pH values can alter bioavailability of organic contaminants, to organisms. Despite this, interactive effects between pH and chemical substances are not usually considered in Ecological Risk Assessment protocols. This study investigated the effects of pH on the toxicity of a hydrophobic organic compound on a benthic community using a microcosm experiment setup to assess the response of nematode assemblages exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of Irgarol at two natural pH conditions. Estuarine nematode assemblages were exposed to two concentrations of Irgarol at pH 7.0 and 8.0 for periods of 7 and 35 days. Lower diversity of nematode genera was observed at the highest tested Irgarol concentration (1281 ± 65 ng.g−1). The results showed that the effects of Irgarol contamination were independent of pH variation, indicating no influence of acidification within this range on the toxicity of Irgarol to benthic meiofauna. However, the results showed that estuarine nematode assemblages are impacted by long-term exposure to low (but naturally occurring) pHs. This indicates that estuarine organisms may be under naturally high physiological pressure and that permanent changes in the ecosystem’s environmental factors, such as future coastal ocean acidification, may drive organisms closer to the edges of their tolerance windows.
Continue reading ‘Does pH variation influence the toxicity of organic contaminants in estuarine sediments? Effects of Irgarol on nematode assemblages’Seawater acidification affects beta-diversity of benthic communities at a shallow hydrothermal vent in a Mediterranean marine protected area (underwater archaeological park of Baia, Naples, Italy)
Published 10 December 2020 Science ClosedTags: abundance, annelids, biological response, BRcommunity, chemistry, community composition, crustaceans, field, Mediterranean, nematodes, otherprocess, vents
One of the most important pieces of climate change evidence is ocean acidification. Acidification effects on marine organisms are widely studied, while very little is known regarding its effects on assemblages’ β-diversity. In this framework, shallow hydrothermal vents within a Marine Protected Area (MPA) represent natural ecosystems acting as laboratory set-ups where the continuous carbon dioxide emissions affect assemblages with consequences that can be reasonably comparable to the effects of global water acidification. The aim of the present study is to test the impact of seawater acidification on the β-diversity of soft-bottom assemblages in a shallow vent field located in the Underwater Archeological Park of Baia MPA (Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea). We investigated macro- and meiofauna communities of the ‘Secca delle fumose’ vent system in sites characterized by sulfurous (G) and carbon dioxide emissions (H) that are compared with control/inactive sites (CN and CS). Statistical analyses were performed on the most represented macrobenthic (Mollusca, Polychaeta, and Crustacea), and meiobenthic (Nematoda) taxa. Results show that the lowest synecological values are detected at H and, to a lesser extent, at G. Multivariate analyses show significant differences between hydrothermal vents (G, H) and control/inactive sites; the highest small-scale heterogeneities (measure of β-diversity) are detected at sites H and G and are mainly affected by pH, TOC (Total Organic Carbon), and cations concentrations. Such findings are probably related to acidification effects, since MPA excludes anthropic impacts. In particular, acidification markedly affects β-diversity and an increase in heterogeneity among sample replicates coupled to a decrease in number of taxa is an indicator of redundancy loss and, thus, of resilience capacity. The survival is assured to either tolerant species or those opportunistic taxa that can find good environmental conditions among gravels of sand.
Continue reading ‘Seawater acidification affects beta-diversity of benthic communities at a shallow hydrothermal vent in a Mediterranean marine protected area (underwater archaeological park of Baia, Naples, Italy)’Current and future trophic interactions in tropical shallow-reef lagoon habitats
Published 29 October 2020 Science ClosedTags: annelids, biological response, BRcommunity, chemistry, community composition, crustaceans, echinoderms, field, laboratory, multiple factors, nematodes, otherprocess, performance, South Pacific, zooplankton
Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) sediments are the dominant form of CaCO3 on coral reefs accumulating in lagoon and inter-reefal areas. Owing to their mineralogy and a range of physical parameters, tropical CaCO3 sediments are predicted to be more sensitive to dissolution driven by ocean acidification than the skeleton of living reef organisms. How this scales up to impact infaunal organisms, which are an important food source for higher trophic levels, and thereby ecosystem functioning, is not well explored. We combined seasonal field surveys in a shallow-reef lagoon ecosystem on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, with stable isotope analyses and a tank-based experiment to examine the potential top-down influence of the deposit-feeding sea cucumber, Stichopus herrmanni, on this infaunal community under current and future ocean pH. Densities of surface-sediment meiofauna were lowest in winter and spring, with harpacticoid copepods (38%) and nematodes (27%) the dominant taxa. Stable isotope analyses showed that S. herrmanni had a top-down influence on meiofauna and microphytes with a distinct δ13C and δ15N trophic position that was homogenous across seasons and locations. Tanks that mimicked sandy shallow-reef lagoon habitats were used to examine the effects of ocean acidification (elevated pCO2) on this trophic interaction. We used outdoor control (sediment only) and experimental (sediment plus S. herrmanni) tanks maintained at present-day and near-future pCO2 (+ 570 µatm) for 24 days, which fluctuated with the diel pCO2 cycle. In sediment-only tanks, copepods were > twofold more abundant at elevated pCO2, with no negative effects documented for any meiofauna group. When included in the community, top-down control by S. herrmanni counteracted the positive effects of low pH on meiofaunal abundance. We highlight a novel perspective in coral reef trophodynamics between surface-sediment meiofauna and deposit-feeding sea cucumbers, and posit that community shifts may occur in shallow-reef lagoon habitats in a future ocean with implications for the functioning of coral reefs from the bottom up.
Continue reading ‘Current and future trophic interactions in tropical shallow-reef lagoon habitats’Effects of reduced seawater pH on nematode community composition and diversity in sandy sediments
Published 20 August 2019 Science ClosedTags: biological response, community composition, laboratory, nematodes, North Pacific, otherprocess
Highlights
• Reduced pH changed nematode community composition in medium sand sediment.
• Reduced pH increased nematode diversity in medium sand sediments.
• Proportion of nematodes with higher tolerance to lowered pH increased in medium sand.
• Nematode communities in finer sediments appeared less sensitive to reduced pH.
Abstract
The present study investigated the potential effects of seawater acidification on the taxonomic structure and diversity of nematode communities using a microcosm experiment. Nematode samples for the microcosm experiment were collected from the low tidal zone of two sandy beaches with different sediment compositions (medium sand vs. very fine sand) in Qingdao (China). In the microcosm, nematode communities were exposed to nine experimental treatments comprising two pH levels for 56 days: 8.0 (ambient control) and 7.3. Communities were exposed for 0, 7, 14, 28, or 56 days. Results showed that the most distinguishable differences in nematode community structure and diversity indices were caused by sediment type. Reduced pH changed the taxonomic structure of nematode communities in medium sand sediments. An increase in species with higher tolerance to lowered pH occurred as a response and resulted in increased diversity in medium sand sediments. Nematode communities in finer sediments appeared less sensitive to reduced pH.
Future ocean climate homogenizes communities across habitats through diversity loss and rise of generalist species
Published 16 July 2019 Science ClosedTags: abundance, algae, annelids, biological response, BRcommunity, chordata, community composition, field, mesocosms, multiple factors, nematodes, otherprocess, porifera, South Pacific, temperature, zooplankton
Predictions of the effects of global change on ecological communities are largely based on single habitats. Yet in nature, habitats are interconnected through the exchange of energy and organisms, and the responses of local communities may not extend to emerging community networks (i.e. metacommunities). Using large mesocosms and meiofauna communities as a model system, we investigated the interactive effects of ocean warming and acidification on the structure of marine metacommunities from three shallow‐water habitats: sandy soft‐bottoms, marine vegetation and rocky reef substrates. Primary producers and detritus – key food sources for meiofauna – increased in biomass under the combined effect of temperature and acidification. The enhanced bottom‐up forcing boosted nematode densities but impoverished the functional and trophic diversity of nematode metacommunities. The combined climate stressors further homogenized meiofauna communities across habitats. Under present‐day conditions metacommunities were structured by habitat type, but under future conditions they showed an unstructured random pattern with fast‐growing generalist species dominating the communities of all habitats. Homogenization was likely driven by local species extinctions, reducing interspecific competition that otherwise could have prevented single species from dominating multiple niches. Our findings reveal that climate change may simplify metacommunity structure and prompt biodiversity loss, which may affect the biological organization and resilience of marine communities.
Composition and spatial distribution of the meiofauna in the Wagner and Consag basins, Gulf of California, Mexico
Published 6 June 2018 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, chemistry, crustaceans, field, kinorhyncha, nematodes, North Pacific, otherprocess, polychaetes, vents, zooplankton
In this study, we analyse the horizontal and vertical distribution of the meiofauna in the Wagner and Consag basins. Samples were collected at soft bottom sites on board of the R/V “El Puma” (WAGNER-02 Expedition) during July- August 2010 with a Smith McIntyre grab and 10 cm cores. At each station physical and chemical variables were measured including depth, salinity, pore water temperature and pH. Twelve higher taxa of meiofauna were recorded in both basins. Meiofauna was dominated by Nematoda (73.1%) followed by Copepoda Harpacticoida (11.28%), Polychaeta (8.41%) and Kinorhyncha (4.71%). Density of meiofauna in these two basins ranked from 19.12 to 742.20 ind.10 cm-2 and were mainly concentrated in the first four centimeters of the sediment (78.6%) and decreased with sediment depth; PERMANOVA analysis show significant differences among sediment depth layers. However, PERMANOVA analysis did not show significant differences of the abundances of meiofauna between basins. Multivariate Correspondence Canonica l Analysis (MCCA) was performed but the assemblages identified had no spatial gradient. This only confirms the patchy distribution already reported for the meiofauna. This analysis reported two faunal groups: Nematoda -Polychaeta and Copepoda – Kinorhyncha. In the present study, we report for the first time the horizontal and vertical distribution of the meiofauna in a natural CO2 venting area in the Gulf of California. There is still so much that we do not know about meiofauna processes, more studies are needed specially down to species level in order to have a clearer view of how environmental factors affect each species spatial distribution.
Impact of ocean acidification on the biogeochemistry and meiofaunal assemblage of carbonate-rich sediments: results from core incubations (Bay of Villefranche, NW Mediterranean Sea)
Published 18 May 2018 Science ClosedTags: abundance, annelids, biogeochemistry, biological response, BRcommunity, chemistry, community composition, crustaceans, kinorhyncha, laboratory, Mediterranean, nematodes, otherprocess, physiology, platyhelminthes, prokaryotes, sediment, zooplankton
Highlights
• A sediment incubation experiment to assess the effect of ocean acidification
• Porewater concentration gradients and sediment-water fluxes (DIC, TA, pH, Ca2+, O2)
• Ocean acidification impacts early diagenesis in carbonate-rich sediments.
• CaCO3 dissolution and the TA release may increase the buffering capacity of bottom water.
Abstract
Marine sediments are an important carbonate reservoir whose partial dissolution could buffer seawater pH decreases in the water column as a consequence of anthropogenic CO2 uptake by the ocean. This study investigates the impact of ocean acidification on the carbonate chemistry at the sediment-water interface (SWI) of shallow-water carbonate sediments. Twelve sediment cores were sampled at one station in the Bay of Villefranche (NW Mediterranean Sea). Four sediment cores were immediately analyzed in order to determine the initial distribution (T0) of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA), pH and dissolved oxygen (O2) in the porewaters and to quantify sediment-water fluxes. Four other cores were kept submerged in the laboratory for 25 days with ambient seawater (pHT = 8.12) and the remaining four cores were incubated with acidified seawater (average pH offset of −0.68). This acidification experiment was carried out in an open-flow system, in the dark and at in-situ temperature (15 °C). Every three days, sediment-water fluxes (DIC, TA, pH, O2 and nutrients) were determined using a whole core 12-h incubation technique. Additionally, vertical O2 and pH microprofiles were regularly recorded in the first 2 cm of the sediment during the entire experiment. At the end of the experiment, TA, DIC and Ca2+ concentrations were analyzed in the porewaters and the abundance and taxonomic composition of meiofaunal organisms were assessed. The saturation states of the porewaters with respect to calcite and aragonite were over-saturated but under-saturated with respect to 12 mol% Mg-calcite, in both acidified and non-acidified treatments. The sediment-water fluxes of TA and DIC increased in the acidified treatment, likely as a consequence of enhanced carbonate dissolution. In contrast, the acidification of the overlying water did not significantly affect the O2 and nutrients fluxes at the SWI. Meiofaunal abundance decreased in both treatments over the duration of the experiment, but the organisms seemed unaffected by the acidification. Our results demonstrate that carbonate dissolution increased under acidified conditions but other parameters, such as microbial redox processes, were apparently not affected by the pH decrease, at least during the duration of our experiment. The dissolution of sedimentary carbonates and the associated release of TA may potentially buffer bottom water, depending on the intensity of the TA flux, the TA/DIC ratio, vertical mixing and, therefore, the residence time of bottom water. Under certain conditions, this process may mitigate the effect of ocean acidification on benthic ecosystems.
Combined, short-term exposure to reduced seawater pH and elevated temperature induces community shifts in an intertidal meiobenthic assemblage
Published 7 November 2017 Science ClosedTags: arthropoda, biogeochemistry, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, laboratory, mortality, multiple factors, nematodes, North Atlantic, otherprocess, platyhelminthes, temperature
In future global change scenarios the surface ocean will experience continuous acidification and rising temperatures. While effects of both stressors on marine, benthic communities are fairly well studied, consequences of the interaction of both factors remain largely unknown. We performed a short-term microcosm experiment exposing a soft-bottom community from an intertidal flat in the Westerscheldt estuary to two levels of seawater pH (ambient pHT = 7.9, reduced pHT = 7.5) and temperature (10 °C ambient and 13 °C elevated temperature) in a crossed design. After 8 weeks, meiobenthic community structure and nematode staining ratios, as a proxy for mortality, were compared between treatments and structural changes were related to the prevailing abiotic conditions in the respective treatments (pore water pHT, sediment grain size, total organic matter content, total organic carbon and nitrogen content, phytopigment concentrations and carbonate concentration). Pore water pHT profiles were significantly altered by pH and temperature manipulations and the combination of elevated temperature and reduced pH intensified the already more acidic porewater below the oxic zone. Meiofauna community composition was significantly affected by the combination of reduced pH and elevated temperature resulting in increased densities of predatory Platyhelminthes, reduced densities of Copepoda and Nauplii and complete absence of Gastrotricha compared to the experimental control. Furthermore, nematode staining ratio was elevated when seawater pH was reduced pointing towards reduced degradation rates of dead nematode bodies. The observed synergistic interactions of pH and temperature on meiobenthic communities and abiotic sediment characteristics underline the importance of multistressor experiments when addressing impacts of global change on the marine environment.
The combined effects of ocean warming and acidification on shallow-water meiofaunal assemblages
Published 12 September 2017 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, multiple factors, nematodes, otherprocess, temperature
- Higher seawater temperature did not effect meiofaunal abundance.
- Lower seawater pH did reduce meiofaunal abundance and species richness.
- Nematode assemblages showed increased dominance under a future OW/OA scenario.
Climate change due to increased anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere is causing an increase in seawater temperatures referred to as ocean warming and a decrease in seawater pH, referred to as ocean acidification. The meiofauna play an important role in the ecology of marine ecosystems and the functions they provide. Using microcosms, meiofaunal assemblages were exposed to two temperatures (15 and 19 °C) and two pHs (pCO2 of 400 and 1000 ppm), both individually and in combination, for a period of 90 days. The hypothesis that increased temperature will increase meiofaunal abundance was not supported. The hypothesis that a reduced pH will reduce meiofaunal abundance and species richness was supported. The combination of future conditions of temperature and pH (19 °C and pCO2 of 1000 ppm) did not affect overall abundance but the structure of the nematode assemblage changed becoming dominated by a few opportunistic species.
Short-term CO2 exposure and temperature rise effects on metazoan meiofauna and free-living nematodes in sandy and muddy sediments: Results from a flume experiment
Published 11 August 2017 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, laboratory, multiple factors, nematodes, North Atlantic, otherprocess, sediment, temperature
Global concern over increasing CO2 emissions, and the resultant CO2 driven temperature rises and changes in seawater chemistry, necessitates the advancement of understanding into how these changes will affect marine life now and in the future. Here we report on an experimental investigation into the effects of increased CO2concentration and elevated temperature on sedimentary meiofaunal communities. Cohesive (muddy) and non-cohesive (sandy) sediments were collected from the Eden Estuary in St. Andrews, Scotland, UK, placed within a flume setup and exposed to 2 levels of CO2 concentration (380 and 750 ppmv, current at the time of the experiment, and predicted CO2 concentration by 2100, respectively) and 2 temperature levels (12 °C and 16 °C, current in-situ and predicted temperature by 2100, respectively). We investigated the metazoan meiofauna and nematode communities before and after 28 days of exposure under these experimental conditions. The most determinative factor for abundance, diversity and community structure of meiofauna and nematodes was sediment type: on all levels, communities were significantly different between sand and mud sediments which agrees with what is generally known about the influence of sediment structure on meiofaunal organisms. Few CO2 and temperature effects were observed, suggesting that meiofauna and nematodes are generally much less responsive than, for instance, microbial communities and macrofauna to these environmental changes in estuarine environments, where organisms are naturally exposed to a fluctuating environment. This was corroborated by the observed effects related to the different seasons in which the samples were taken from the field to run the experiment. After 28 days, meiofauna and nematode communities in muddy sediments showed a greater response to increased CO2 concentration and temperature rise than in sandy sediments. However, further study is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms and meiofauna species-specific resilience and responses to ocean acidification and warming, and their interactions with other biota, to understand what such changes may mean for meiofauna communities and the ecosystem processes and functions they contribute to.
Impact of predicted climate change scenarios on a coral reef meiofauna community
Published 16 January 2017 Science ClosedTags: abundance, annelids, biological response, BRcommunity, corals, crustaceans, laboratory, nematodes, otherprocess, South Atlantic, zooplankton
Changes in marine communities in response to elevated CO2 have been reported but information on how representatives of the benthic lower trophic levels will be impacted remains scarce. A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of different climate change scenarios on a coral reef meiofauna community. Samples of the meiofauna community were collected from the coral reef subtidal zone of Serrambi beach (Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil), using artificial substrate units. The units were exposed to control treatments and to three climate change scenarios, and collected after 15 and 29 d. Important changes in the meiofauna community structure were observed after 15 d of exposure. The major meiofauna groups exhibited divergent responses to the various scenarios. Although polychaetes were negatively affected after 29 d in the most severe scenario (Scenario III), harpacticoid copepods were negatively affected in Scenarios II and III after 15 and 29 d. Harpacticoid nauplii were strongly and negatively affected in all scenarios. In contrast, Nematoda exhibited higher densities in all scenarios. To the best of our knowledge, this community-based study was the first to observe how meiofauna organisms from a coral reef environment react to the synergetic effects of reductions in seawater pH and increased temperature.
Continue reading ‘Impact of predicted climate change scenarios on a coral reef meiofauna community’
Simulated leakage of high pCO2 water negatively impacts bivalve dominated infaunal communities from the Western Baltic Sea
Published 23 August 2016 Science ClosedTags: abundance, Baltic, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, dissolution, laboratory, mesocosms, mitigation, mollusks, mortality, nematodes, otherprocess, prokaryotes, sediment
Carbon capture and storage is promoted as a mitigation method counteracting the increase of atmospheric CO2 levels. However, at this stage, environmental consequences of potential CO2 leakage from sub-seabed storage sites are still largely unknown. In a 3-month-long mesocosm experiment, this study assessed the impact of elevated pCO2 levels (1,500 to 24,400 μatm) on Cerastoderma edule dominated benthic communities from the Baltic Sea. Mortality of C. edule was significantly increased in the highest treatment (24,400 μatm) and exceeded 50%. Furthermore, mortality of small size classes (0–1 cm) was significantly increased in treatment levels ≥6,600 μatm. First signs of external shell dissolution became visible at ≥1,500 μatm, holes were observed at >6,600 μatm. C. edule body condition decreased significantly at all treatment levels (1,500–24,400 μatm). Dominant meiofauna taxa remained unaffected in abundance. Densities of calcifying meiofauna taxa (i.e. Gastropoda and Ostracoda) decreased in high CO2 treatments (>6,600 μatm), while the non – calcifying Gastrotricha significantly increased in abundance at 24,400 μatm. In addition, microbial community composition was altered at the highest pCO2 level. We conclude that strong CO2 leakage can alter benthic infauna community composition at multiple trophic levels, likely due to high mortality of the dominant macrofauna species C. edule.
Effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on an intertidal meiobenthic community
Published 2 June 2015 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, crustaceans, laboratory, mesocosms, multiple factors, nematodes, North Atlantic, otherprocess, temperature, zooplankton
In the near future, the marine environment is likely to be subjected to simultaneous increases in temperature and decreased pH. The potential effects of these changes on intertidal, meiofaunal assemblages were investigated using a mesocosm experiment. Artificial Substrate Units containing meiofauna from the extreme low intertidal zone were exposed for 60 days to eight experimental treatments (four replicates for each treatment) comprising four pH levels: 8.0 (ambient control), 7.7 & 7.3 (predicted changes associated with ocean acidification), and 6.7 (CO2 point-source leakage from geological storage), crossed with two temperatures: 12 °C (ambient control) and 16 °C (predicted). Community structure, measured using major meiofauna taxa was significantly affected by pH and temperature. Copepods and copepodites showed the greatest decline in abundance in response to low pH and elevated temperature. Nematodes increased in abundance in response to low pH and temperature rise, possibly caused by decreased predation and competition for food owing to the declining macrofauna density. Nematode species composition changed significantly between the different treatments, and was affected by both seawater acidification and warming. Estimated nematode species diversity, species evenness, and the maturity index, were substantially lower at 16 °C, whereas trophic diversity was slightly higher at 16 °C except at pH 6.7. This study has demonstrated that the combination of elevated levels of CO2 and ocean warming may have substantial effects on structural and functional characteristics of meiofaunal and nematode communities, and that single stressor experiments are unlikely to encompass the complexity of abiotic and biotic interactions. At the same time, ecological interactions may lead to complex community responses to pH and temperature changes in the interstitial environment.
Continue reading ‘Effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on an intertidal meiobenthic community’
Effects of seawater acidification on a coral reef meiofauna community
Published 27 April 2015 Science ClosedTags: abundance, annelids, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, corals, crustaceans, laboratory, mesocosms, nematodes, otherprocess, platyhelminthes, South Atlantic, zooplankton
Despite the increasing risk that ocean acidification will modify benthic communities, great uncertainty remains about how this impact will affect the lower trophic levels, such as members of the meiofauna. A mesocosm experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of water acidification on a phytal meiofauna community from a coral reef. Community samples collected from the coral reef subtidal zone (Recife de Fora Municipal Marine Park, Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil), using artificial substrate units, were exposed to a control pH (ambient seawater) and to three levels of seawater acidification (pH reductions of 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 units below ambient) and collected after 15 and 30 d. After 30 d of exposure, major changes in the structure of the meiofauna community were observed in response to reduced pH. The major meiofauna groups showed divergent responses to acidification. Harpacticoida and Polychaeta densities did not show significant differences due to pH. Nematoda, Ostracoda, Turbellaria, and Tardigrada exhibited their highest densities in low-pH treatments (especially at the pH reduction of 0.6 units, pH 7.5), while harpacticoid nauplii were strongly negatively affected by low pH. This community-based mesocosm study supports previous suggestions that ocean acidification induces important changes in the structure of marine benthic communities. Considering the importance of meiofauna in the food web of coral reef ecosystems, the results presented here demonstrate that the trophic functioning of coral reefs is seriously threatened by ocean acidification.
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The response of abyssal organisms to low pH conditions during a series of CO2-release experiments simulating deep-sea carbon sequestration
Published 21 March 2013 Science ClosedTags: abundance, annelids, biological response, community composition, crustaceans, echinoderms, field, fish, mitigation, mollusks, nematodes, North Pacific, prokaryotes, survival
The effects of low-pH, high-pCO2 conditions on deep-sea organisms were examined during four deep-sea CO2 release experiments simulating deep-ocean C sequestration by the direct injection of CO2 into the deep sea. We examined the survival of common deep-sea, benthic organisms (microbes; macrofauna, dominated by Polychaeta, Nematoda, Crustacea, Mollusca; megafauna, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Pisces) exposed to low-pH waters emanating as a dissolution plume from pools of liquid carbon dioxide released on the seabed during four abyssal CO2-release experiments. Microbial abundance in deep-sea sediments was unchanged in one experiment, but increased under environmental hypercapnia during another, where the microbial assemblage may have benefited indirectly from the negative impact of low-pH conditions on other taxa. Lower abyssal metazoans exhibited low survival rates near CO2 pools. No urchins or holothurians survived during 30–42 days of exposure to episodic, but severe environmental hypercapnia during one experiment (E1; pH reduced by as much as ca. 1.4 units). These large pH reductions also caused 75% mortality for the deep-sea amphipod, Haploops lodo, near CO2 pools. Survival under smaller pH reductions (ΔpH<0.4 units) in other experiments (E2, E3, E5) was higher for all taxa, including echinoderms. Cephalopods, gastropods, and fish were more tolerant than most other taxa. The gastropod Mohnia vernalis and octopus Benthoctopus sp. survived exposure to pH reductions that episodically reached −0.3 pH units. Ninety percent of abyssal zoarcids (Pachycara bulbiceps) survived exposure to pH changes reaching ca. −0.3 pH units during 30–42 day-long experiments.
Effects of ocean acidification on invertebrate settlement at volcanic CO2 vents
Published 2 August 2010 Science ClosedTags: annelids, biological response, crustaceans, field, Mediterranean, mollusks, nematodes, protists
We present the first study of the effects of ocean acidification on settlement of benthic invertebrates and microfauna. Artificial collectors were placed for 1 month along pH gradients at CO2 vents off Ischia (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Seventy-nine taxa were identified from six main taxonomic groups (foraminiferans, nematodes, polychaetes, molluscs, crustaceans and chaetognaths). Calcareous foraminiferans, serpulid polychaetes, gastropods and bivalves showed highly significant reductions in recruitment to the collectors as pCO2 rose from normal (336–341 ppm, pH 8.09–8.15) to high levels (886–5,148 ppm) causing acidified conditions near the vents (pH 7.08–7.79). Only the syllid polychaete Syllis prolifera had higher abundances at the most acidified station, although a wide range of polychaetes and small crustaceans was able to settle and survive under these conditions. A few taxa (Amphiglena mediterranea, Leptochelia dubia, Caprella acanthifera) were particularly abundant at stations acidified by intermediate amounts of CO2 (pH 7.41–7.99). These results show that increased levels of CO2 can profoundly affect the settlement of a wide range of benthic organisms.
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Impacts of ocean acidification and burrowing urchins on within-sediment pH profiles and subtidal nematode communities
Published 9 September 2008 Science ClosedTags: biological response, echinoderms, nematodes
Rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will affect the ocean carbonate system, resulting in a predicted future decrease in the pH of seawater by 0.3-0.5 units. To investigate whether the presence of a burrowing urchin, Echinocardium cordatum, might influence the impact of ocean acidification on subtidal sediment pH profiles and nematode community structure an experiment was conducted using subtidal sediment, with urchins present or absent and seawater at either pH 8.0 (ambient) or 7.5. The presence of urchins, and a reduction in pH, both had significant effects on within-sediment pH profiles. Where urchins were present sediment profiles were more consistent and sediment pH was lower than that of the overlying seawater. There were significant differences in nematode abundance between treatments. The primary effect was a higher abundance of nematodes in replicates with urchins in natural seawater. All treatments had similar nematode community structure and diversity. Ocean acidification could therefore lead to changes in nematode communities in subtidal sediments affected by burrowing urchins.
Continue reading ‘Impacts of ocean acidification and burrowing urchins on within-sediment pH profiles and subtidal nematode communities’
