Posts Tagged 'oxygen'

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Invited review – the effects of anthropogenic abiotic stressors on the sensory systems of fishes

Published 25 January 2023 Science Closed
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Graphical abstract.

Highlights

  • Conditions in abiotic factors of oceans and freshwater habitats are changing quickly due to anthropogenic activity.
  • Low pH impairs olfaction and vision, alters otolith growth, and affects CNS functioning.
  • High temperatures increase the signalling speed of nerves, alters sensory processing, and increases ROS in the CNS.
  • Low oxygen impairs energy production, nerve conduction speed, negatively affects vision and causes apoptosis in the brain.

Abstract

Climate change is a growing global issue with many countries and institutions declaring a climate state of emergency. Excess CO2 from anthropogenic sources and changes in land use practices are contributing to many detrimental changes, including increased global temperatures, ocean acidification and hypoxic zones along coastal habitats. All senses are important for aquatic animals, as it is how they can perceive and respond to their environment. Some of these environmental challenges have been shown to impair their sensory systems, including the olfactory, visual, and auditory systems. While most of the research is focused on how ocean acidification affects olfaction, there is also evidence that it negatively affects vision and hearing. The effects that temperature and hypoxia have on the senses have also been investigated, but to a much lesser extent in comparison to ocean acidification. This review assembles the known information on how these anthropogenic challenges affect the sensory systems of fishes, but also highlights what gaps in knowledge remain with suggestions for immediate action.

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Evaluation of the current understanding of the impact of climate change on coral physiology after three decades of experimental research

Published 24 January 2023 Science Closed
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After three decades of coral research on the impacts of climate change, there is a wide consensus on the adverse effects of heat-stress, but the impacts of ocean acidification (OA) are not well established. Using a review of published studies and an experimental analysis, we confirm the large species-specific component of the OA response, which predicts moderate impacts on coral physiology and pigmentation by 2100 (scenario-B1 or SSP2-4.5), in contrast with the severe disturbances induced by only +2 °C of thermal anomaly. Accordingly, global warming represents a greater threat for coral calcification than OA. The incomplete understanding of the moderate OA response relies on insufficient attention to key regulatory processes of these symbioses, particularly the metabolic dependence of coral calcification on algal photosynthesis and host respiration. Our capacity to predict the future of coral reefs depends on a correct identification of the main targets and/or processes impacted by climate change stressors.

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Multistressor global change drivers reduce hatch and viability of Lingcod embryos, a benthic egg layer in the California Current System

Published 10 January 2023 Science Closed
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Early life history stages of marine fishes are often more susceptible to environmental stressors than adult stages. This vulnerability is likely exacerbated for species that lay benthic egg masses bound to substrate because the embryos cannot evade locally unfavorable environmental conditions. Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), a benthic egg layer, is an ecologically and economically significant predator in the highly-productive California Current System (CCS). We ran a flow-through mesocosm experiment that exposed Lingcod eggs collected from Monterey Bay, CA to conditions we expect to see in the central CCS by the year 2050 and 2100. Exposure to temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen concentrations projected by the year 2050 halved the successful hatch of Lingcod embryos and significantly reduced the size of day-1 larvae. In the year 2100 treatment, viable hatch plummeted (3% of normal), larvae were undersized (83% of normal), yolk reserves were exhausted (38% of normal), and deformities were widespread (94% of individuals). This experiment is the first to expose marine benthic eggs to future temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen conditions in concert. Lingcod are a potential indicator species for other benthic egg layers for which global change conditions may significantly diminish recruitment rates.

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Observed and projected impacts of coastal warming, acidification, and deoxygenation on Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) farming: a case study in the Hinase Area, Okayama Prefecture and Shizugawa Bay, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan

Published 20 December 2022 Science Closed
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Coastal warming, acidification, and deoxygenation are progressing, primarily due to the increase in anthropogenic CO2. Coastal acidification has been reported to have effects that are expected to become more severe as acidification progresses, including inhibiting formation of the shells of calcifying organisms such as shellfish. However, compared to water temperature, an indicator of coastal warming, spatiotemporal variations in acidification and deoxygenation indicators such as pH, aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), and dissolved oxygen in coastal areas of Japan have not been observed and projected. Moreover, many species of shellfish are important fisheries resources, including Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas). Therefore, there is concern regarding the future combined impacts of coastal warming, acidification, and deoxygenation on Pacific oyster farming, necessitating evaluation of current and future impacts to facilitate mitigation measures. We deployed continuous monitoring systems for coastal warming, acidification, and deoxygenation in the Hinase area of Okayama Prefecture and Shizugawa Bay in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. In Hinase, the Ωarag value was often lower than the critical level of acidification for Pacific oyster larvae, although no impact of acidification on larvae was identified by microscopy examination. Oyster larvae are anticipated to be affected more seriously by the combined impacts of coastal warming and acidification, with lower pH and Ωarag values and a prolonged spawning period, which may shorten the oyster shipping period and lower the quality of oysters. No significant future impact of surface-water deoxygenation on Pacific oysters was identified. To minimize the impacts of coastal warming and acidification on Pacific oyster and related local industries, cutting CO2 emissions is mandatory, but adaptation measures such as regulation of freshwater and organic matter inflow from rivers and changes in the form of oyster farming practiced locally might also be required.

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Size matters: physiological sensitivity of the scallop Argopecten purpuratus to seasonal cooling and deoxygenation upwelling-driven events

Published 20 December 2022 Science Closed
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Environment imposes physiological constraints which are life-stage specific as growth-maintenance and/or growth-reproduction energetic requirements are size and volume-dependent. The scallop Argopecten purpuratus, one of the most important bivalve species subjected to fishery and aquaculture along the Humboldt Current System, inhabits spaces affected by continuous changes in temperature, pH, oxygen, and food availability driven by remote and local oceanographic processes. Specifically, in Chile, this species is mainly cultured in central-north Chile where is permanently affected by upwelling events of dissimilar intensity and duration which generate local conditions of acidification, deoxygenation, and cooling with different magnitudes. However, to date, it remains unknown how this economic valuable resource is physiologically affected throughout its life cycle by the continuous environmental changes driven by upwelling events of different intensities and duration along the year. Here, for the first time, A. purpuratus life-stage physiological sensitivity was assessed at a seasonal scale through a year-field experiment where growth, calcification, and survivorship were evaluated. Our study shows how seasonal differences in the upwelling phenology (here measured as changes in temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and primary productivity, but also as the number, duration, and intensity of cooling and de-oxygenation events) notably impacted the A. purpuratus physiological performance from juvenile to adult life-stages. This was especially noticeable during the spring season which showed the most intense cooling and deoxygenation events driven by stronger favorable-upwelling winds and the lowest growth and gross calcification rates (the highest decalcification rates) where adult stages showed the lowest performance. On the other hand, A. purpuratus survivorship was not significantly affected by upwelling intensity which would be providing evidence of the high physiological flexibility and well-locally adapted is this species to fluctuating and occasional stressful environmental conditions. Our results are significantly relevant in the climate change context as some upwelling systems are at risk to change shortly (i.e., an upwelling intensification in frequency and intensity) as a consequence of changes in the atmospheric pressures that modulate favourable-upwelling winds. These changes may certainly increase the climate related-risks of the entire socio-ecological systems related to the fishery and aquaculture of A. purpuratus along the Humboldt Current System.

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O2 and CO2 responses of the synaptic period to under-ice phytoplankton bloom in the eutrophic Razdolnaya River estuary of Amur Bay, the Sea of Japan

Published 30 November 2022 Science Closed
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Hydrological conditions are an important factor for aquatic ecosystems. Their contribution to stimulating phytoplankton bloom in eutrophic estuaries is not quite clear. We present the results of an outbreak of a phytoplankton bloom event observed in the eutrophic Razdolnaya R. estuary in 2022 from January 22 to February 23, when the estuary was covered by ice. The bloom spreads over 21 km from the river mouth bar to upstream in the near-bottom layer below the halocline. The Chl-a concentration in the bloom area increased from 15 to 100 μg/L, and the dissolved oxygen concentration from 350 to 567 μmol/kg at a rate of 11 μmol/(kg day) over the study period, while the CO2 partial pressure was reduced to 108 µatm in the most oxygen-supersaturated waters. The Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii Cleve sea diatom was the dominant phytoplankton species in the bloom area. The opposite trend was observed near the boundary of the saline water wedge penetration over 29 km from the river mouth bar to upstream where the dissolved oxygen concentration decreased from 140 to 53 μmol/kg over a month, and partial pressure of CO2 reached 4454 μatm. We also present the results obtained in February 2016 before and after a snowfall, when the ability of PAR to penetrate through the ice was impeded by a layer of snow. After the snowfall, photosynthesis in the under-ice water stopped and the oxygen concentration decreased to almost zero due to the microbiological destruction of the phytoplankton biomass. As such, the main effect of phytoplankton bloom is the formation of superoxia/hypoxia (depending on the light conditions), during the period of maximum ice thickness and minimum river discharge. Thus, this study demonstrates that the eutrophication in the future could lead to unstable ecosystems and large synoptic variations of dissolved oxygen and CO2 partial pressure of the estuaries.

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Transcriptomic analysis of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) during early development under hypoxia and acidification stress

Published 23 November 2022 Science Closed
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Simple Summary

The large yellow croaker is one of the most economically important fish in China. In recent years, the deterioration of the water environment and unregulated aquaculture have caused great economic losses to the large yellow croaker breeding industry. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of hypoxia and acidification stress on large yellow croaker. This study revealed that hypoxia and acidification stress suppressed the growth of the large yellow croaker. Transcriptome analysis revealed that genes of the collagen family play an important role in the response of large yellow croaker to hypoxia and acidification stress. The study elucidates the mechanism underlying the response of large yellow croaker to hypoxia–acidification stress during early development and provides a basic understanding of the potential combined effects of reduced pH and dissolved oxygen on Sciaenidae fishes.

Abstract

Fishes live in aquatic environments and several aquatic environmental factors have undergone recent alterations. The molecular mechanisms underlying fish responses to hypoxia and acidification stress have become a serious concern in recent years. This study revealed that hypoxia and acidification stress suppressed the growth of body length and height of the large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea). Subsequent transcriptome analyses of L. crocea juveniles under hypoxia, acidification, and hypoxia–acidification stress led to the identification of 5897 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the five groups. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses revealed that several DEGs were enriched in the ‘protein digestion and absorption’ pathway. Enrichment analysis revealed that this pathway was closely related to hypoxia and acidification stress in the five groups, and we found that genes of the collagen family may play a key role in this pathway. The zf-C2H2 transcription factor may play an important role in the hypoxia and acidification stress response, and novel genes were additionally identified. The results provide new clues for further research on the molecular mechanisms underlying hypoxia–acidification tolerance in L. crocea and provides a basic understanding of the potential combined effects of reduced pH and dissolved oxygen on Sciaenidae fishes.

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Effects of ocean acidification and hypoxia on stress and growth hormone responses in juvenile blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus)

Published 16 November 2022 Science Closed
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Global climate change is causing increasing ocean acidification (OA) and deoxygenation (hypoxia) of coastal oceans. Along the coast of California, where upwelling is a dominant seasonal physical process, these environmental stressors often co-occur and are intensified in nearshore ecosystems. For juvenile nearshore fishes, who spend a crucial developmental life stage in coastal kelp forests during the upwelling season, these stressors are experienced concurrently and may have large implications for fitness. Environmental stress can set off an endocrine response, which impacts physiology, energy allocation, growth, and behavior. To test the effects of climate change on juvenile blue rockfish, I measured the endocrine response to single and combined stressors of OA and hypoxia after one week of exposure. Assays of cortisol and IGF-1 hormone responses, served as proxies for stress and growth, respectively. Full organismal effects of environmental stressors were evaluated using a scototaxis (i.e., light/dark anxiety) behavior test, and measures of physiological changes in maximum metabolic rate (MMR) and body condition (i.e., Fulton’s K condition index). I found that peak (~1 hour) cortisol levels were highest in the single stressor low pH (7.3 pH), followed by the combined stressor (7.3 pH and 2.0 mg/L O2) and then the single stressor hypoxic treatment (2.0 mg/l O2). This high peak cortisol associated with low pH may indicate the role of cortisol in acid-base regulation. Only the low DO (dissolved oxygen) group did not exhibit a recovery of cortisol levels by the end of one week. There was no observable difference in IGF-1 in juvenile blue rockfish after a week of exposure to any of the pH or DO stressors. When cortisol levels were high, the same fish had low levels of IGF-1, and when cortisol levels were lower, the same fish had highly variable levels of IGF-1. At one-week of exposure, cortisol exhibited a positive relationship with MMR, such that higher stress levels were associated with greater oxygen consumption by the fish. MMR values themselves were highest in the low DO fish, which subsequently also had slightly higher cortisol levels at one-week. Juvenile blue rockfish were largely robust to any behavioral changes associated with stress across treatments. Hypoxic treatment fish had significantly lower body condition than fish from treatments with ambient DO levels after one week. Overall, the results indicated that pH levels influenced hormonal stress physiology, while DO levels contributed to observed differences in metabolism, body condition, and behavioral anxiety in juvenile blue rockfish. I was unable to tease apart and classify whether OA and hypoxia work in an additive, antagonistic, or synergistic way. Continued research should include more experimental stressor treatment levels of varying intensity of both individual and combined treatments as well as upwelling/relaxation fluctuating treatment levels. Elucidating the effects of climate change on fish endocrine response and physiology is important for fish population management and can help inform stock assessment models of blue rockfish in a rapidly changing ocean.

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Effects of hypoxia and acidification on Calanus pacificus: behavioral changes in response to stressful environments

Published 9 November 2022 Science Closed
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Copepods, which play major roles in marine food webs and biogeochemical cycling, frequently undergo diel vertical migration (DVM), swimming downwards during the day to avoid visual predation and upwards at night to feed. Natural water columns that are stratified with chemical stressors at depth, such as hypoxia and acidification, are increasing with climate change. Understanding behavioral responses of copepods to these stresses—in particular, whether copepods alter their natural migration—is important to anticipating impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems. We conducted laboratory experiments using stratified water columns to measure the effects of bottom water hypoxia and pH on mortality, distribution, and swimming behaviors of the calanoid copepod Calanus pacificus. When exposed to hypoxic (0.65 mg O2 l-1) bottom waters, the height of C. pacificus from the bottom increased 20% within hypoxic columns, and swimming speed decreased 46% at the bottom of hypoxic columns and increased 12% above hypoxic waters. When exposed to low pH (7.48) bottom waters, swimming speeds decreased by 8 and 9% at the base of the tanks and above acidic waters, respectively. Additionally, we found a 118% increase in ‘moribund’ (immobile on the bottom) copepods when exposed to hypoxic, but not acidic, bottom waters. Some swimming statistics differed between copepods collected from sites with versus without historical hypoxia and acidity. Observed responses suggest potential mechanisms underlying in situ changes in copepod population distributions when exposed to chemical stressors at depth.

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Crustacean ecology in a changing climate

Published 4 November 2022 Science Closed
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Whilst crustaceans occupy a diversity of ecological niches and have adapted to many environmental challenges, relatively little is known on how the predicted changes associated with climate change will impact individuals, communities, species and ecosystems globally. Direct oceanic change to seawater temperature, pH, alkalinity, oxygen level and salinity and indirect impacts on weather, seasonality, food availability and changes in ecological networks will put pressure upon crustaceans to acclimate. There is now emerging evidence that behaviour, physiology, fitness and ultimately reproduction and survival of coastal crustaceans is altered under experimental climate change conditions, with most studies showing negative impacts. Nevertheless measurable endpoints, multigenerational and ecosystem studies are to date extremely rare and the full impact of climate change stress upon crustaceans is nowhere near fully understood.

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Impacts of global environmental change on fish and fisheries of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean

Published 2 November 2022 Science Closed
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Marine fishes’ intolerance to global change conditions can affect the abundance and distribution of ecologically and economically important species, reshape the structure of trophic webs, and profoundly impact the human communities that rely on fished species for their livelihood and culture. Only by understanding the vulnerability of fished species and fishing communities to global change can we take effective adaptive action and implement climate-ready fisheries management. In this dissertation, I investigate the vulnerability of eight commercially important fished species and one fishing community to global change in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. In chapter one, I expose Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), a benthic egg layer, to temperature, oxygen, and pH conditions we expect to see in the Central California Current System (CCS) by the year 2050 and 2100. I examine both the lethal and sublethal effects of these two multistressor climate change scenarios by measuring differences in metabolic rate, hatching success, and larval quality between treatments. In chapter two, I use a species distribution modeling approach to evaluate how historical (1982-2019) and projected (2030 through end-of-century) warming in the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS), Alaska, affects predator-prey interactions for some of the most commercially valuable fisheries in the U.S. These species include: 1) Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus), 2) Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), 3) Arrowtooth Flounder, 4) Walleye Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus), 5) Tanner Crab (Chionoecetes bairdi), 6) Snow Crab (Chionoecetes opilio), and 7) Alaskan Pink Shrimp (Pandalus eous). In chapter three, I use social network analyses to depict the resilience and adaptability of the California Market Squid fishery (Doryteuthis opalescens), the most valuable in the state, to climate perturbations and project changes in habitat suitability by the year 2100 in the CCS. By using all of these vulnerability assessment tools, we can begin to prepare U.S. west coast fisheries for global environmental change.

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Coral reef fishes in a multi-stressor world

Published 1 November 2022 Science Closed
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Coral reef fishes and the ecosystems they support represent some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on the planet yet are under threat as they face dramatic increases in multiple, interacting stressors that are largely intensified by anthropogenic influences, such as climate change. Coral reef fishes have been the topic of 875 studies between 1979 and 2020 examining physiological responses to various abiotic and biotic stressors. Here, we highlight the current state of knowledge regarding coral reef fishes’ responses to eight key abiotic stressors (i.e., pollutants, temperature, hypoxia and ocean deoxygenation, pH/CO2, noise, salinity, pressure/depth, and turbidity) and four key biotic stressors (i.e., prey abundance, predator threats, parasites, and disease) and discuss stressors that have been examined in combination. We conclude with a horizon scan to discuss acclimation and adaptation, technological advances, knowledge gaps, and the future of physiological research on coral reef fishes. As we proceed through this new epoch, the Anthropocene, it is critical that the scientific and general communities work to recognize the issues that various habitats and ecosystems, such as coral reefs and the fishes that depend on and support them, are facing so that mitigation strategies can be implemented to protect biodiversity and ecosystem health.

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How does climate change affect a fishable resource? The case of the royal sea cucumber (Parastichopus regalis) in the central Mediterranean Sea

Published 10 October 2022 Science Closed
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Holothurians or sea cucumbers are key organisms in marine ecosystems that, by ingesting large quantities of sediments, provide important ecosystem services. Among them, Parastichopus regalis (Cuvier, 1817) is one of the living sea cucumbers in the Mediterranean actively fished for human consumption mainly in Spain, where it is considered a gastronomic delicacy. In the Strait of Sicily (central Mediterranean Sea), this species is not exploited for commercial use even if it is used as bait by longline fishery. P. regalis is frequently caught by bottom trawling and discarded at sea by fishers after catch, and because of its capacity to resist air exposition (at least in cold months), it is reasonable to consider that it is not affected by fishing mortality. Having observed a significant decrease in abundance since 2018, the possible effects of some ecological factors related to current climate change (i.e., temperature and pH) were sought. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were applied to investigate the relationship among the abundance of P. regalis and environmental variables and fishing effort. Long time series of P. regalis densities (2008–2021) were extracted from the MEDITS bottom trawling survey and modeled as function of environmental parameters (i.e., salinity, dissolved oxygen, ammonium, pH, and chlorophyll α) and fishing effort (i.e., total number of fishing days per gross tonnage). Our results showed that this species prefers the soft bottoms (50–200 m) of the Adventure Bank and Malta Plateau, and its distribution changed over time with a slight deepening and a rarefaction of spatial distribution starting from 2011 and 2017, respectively. In addition, a positive relationship with pH concentration in surface waters during the larval dispersal phase (3-year lag before the survey) and nutrient concentration at sea bottom (1-year lag) has been found, suggesting that this species is sensitive to climate change and food availability. This study adds new knowledge about the population dynamics of an unexploited stock of P. regalis under fishing impact and environmental under climate change in fisheries management.

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Immune defense in hypoxic waters: impacts of CO2 acidification

Published 4 October 2022 Science Closed
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Periodic episodes of low oxygen (hypoxia) and elevated CO2 (hypercapnia) accompanied by low pH occur naturally in estuarine environments. Under the influence of climate change, the geographic range and intensity of hypoxia and hypercapnic hypoxia are predicted to increase, potentially jeopardizing the survival of economically and ecologically important organisms that use estuaries as habitat and nursery grounds. In this review we synthesize data from published studies that evaluate the impact of hypoxia and hypercapnic hypoxia on the ability of crustaceans and bivalve molluscs to defend themselves against potential microbial pathogens. Available data indicate that hypoxia generally has suppressive effects on host immunity against bacterial pathogens as measured by in vitro and in vivo assays. Few studies have documented the effects of hypercapnic hypoxia on crustaceans or bivalve immune defense, with a range of outcomes suggesting that added CO2 might have additive, negative, or no interactions with the effects of hypoxia alone. This synthesis points to the need for more partial pressure of O2 × low pH factorial design experiments and recommends the development of new host∶pathogen challenge models incorporating natural transmission of a wide range of viruses, bacteria, and parasites, along with novel in vivo tracking systems that better quantify how pathogens interact with their hosts in real time under laboratory and field conditions.

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Impact of intermittent convection in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea on oxygen content, nutrients and the carbonate system

Published 2 September 2022 Science Closed
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Abstract

Using Argo profiling floats, cruises and mooring data, we reconstructed the dissolved oxygen (O2) dynamics in the Gulf of Lion and the Ligurian Sea, with a focus on the intermediate waters. By applying the CANYON-MED neural network-based method on the large network of O2-equipped Argo floats we derived nutrients and carbonate system variables in the Gulf of Lion and the Ligurian Sea at different depths in the water column and derived trends over the 2012-2020 period. In these waters, the O2 minimum is strongly affected by the intermittent convection process, and the two areas show dissimilar responses to the mixing events. In the absence of deep convection events, the O2-depleted layer tends to spread vertically and intensify even more so in the Ligurian than in the Gulf of Lion. In both areas, over the 2012-2020 period, nutrients increase overall in deep layers, with a concomitant impact on nutrient molar ratios tending towards an increase in P-limitation. Acidification estimates derived in different layers of the water column show an overall increase in dissolved inorganic carbon and a concurrent pH decrease. These trends were strongly affected by convection events slowing down the overall acidification trend.

Key Points

  • In the absence of deep convection events, the O2-depleted layer spreads vertically and intensifies more in the Ligurian than Gulf of Lion.
  • Nutrients increase in deep and to a lesser extent in intermediate waters with a decoupling between nitrate and phosphate trends.
  • Dissolved inorganic carbon increases in intermediate and deep waters with a concurrent pH decrease over the period of study, 2012-2020.
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Offshore extinctions: ocean acidification impacting interstitial fauna

Published 18 August 2022 Science Closed
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As problematic as global warming, ocean acidification is a widespread problem, but the consequences of the interstitial fauna are still underrated. The biodiversity within sandy beaches is out of measurement, and its loss will be significantly felt. Estimations of the number of species are still vague. Acting as a key role in the trophic net, the interstitial organisms are threatened by pH value changes. Changing the pH values is already linked with less species richness and weakness of the sea community. The sediments may not be a sufficient buffer. Beyond this, there is another environmental problem aggravating the scenario. The decreasing complexity in the sand structure generated by the destruction of biological-generated sediments will impact the local biodiversity. Other environmental situations such as lack of sufficient O2 levels may be an aggravating combination. Here, I propose a protocol to observe if occur offshore extinctions, the veiled extinctions of interstitial fauna.

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Physical-chemical factors influencing the vertical distribution of phototrophic pico-nanoplankton in the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) off Northern Chile: the relative influence of low pH/low O2 conditions

Published 11 August 2022 Science Closed
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Highlights

  • Pico-nano eukaryotes and phototrophic nanoflagellates showed high abundances in the upper layer decreasing in abundance down to the upper oxycline.
  • Temperature, oxygen, and carbonate chemistry parameters (pH and dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC) influenced significantly the vertical distribution of phototrophic pico-nanoplankton.
  • The phototrophic nanoflagellate Imantonia sp. upon an experimental treatment mimicking OMZ conditions, declined dramatically, suggesting this nanoflagellate did not survive upon such conditions.

Abstract

The vertical distribution of phytoplankton is of fundamental importance in the structure, dynamic, and biogeochemical pathways in marine ecosystems. Nevertheless, what are the main factors determining this distribution remains as an open question. Here, we evaluated the relative influence of environmental factors that might control the coexistence and vertical distribution of pico-nanoplankton associated with the OMZ off northern Chile. Our results showed that in the upper layer Synechococcus-like cells were numerically important at all sampling stations. Pico-nano eukaryotes and phototrophic nanoflagellates (PNF) also showed high abundances in the upper layer decreasing in abundance down to the upper oxycline, while only Prochlorococcus showed high abundances under oxycline and within the oxygen-depleted layer. Statistical analyses evidenced that temperature, oxygen, and carbonate chemistry parameters (pH and dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC) influenced significantly the vertical distribution of phototrophic pico-nanoplankton. Additionally, we experimentally-evaluated the combined effect of low pH/low O2 conditions on a nanophytoplankton species, the haptophyte Imantonia sp. Under control conditions (pH = 8.1; O2 = 287.5 μM, light = 169.6 μEm−2s−1), Imantonia sp. in vivo fluorescence increased over fifty times, inducing supersaturated O2 conditions (900 μM) and an increasing pH (8.5), whereas upon an experimental treatment mimicking OMZ conditions (pH = 7.5; O2 = 55.6 μM; light = 169.6 μEm−2s−1), in vivo fluorescence declined dramatically, suggesting that Imantonia sp. did not survive. Although preliminary, our study provides evidence about the role of low pH/low O2 conditions on the vertical distribution of nanophytoplankton, which deserve future attention through both fieldwork and more extended experimental experiences.

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The impacts of climate change on blackeye goby, Rhinogobiops nicholsii, stress responses, reproduction, and offspring fitness

Published 8 August 2022 Science Closed
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Along with warming and sea level rise, the increasing intensity of ocean acidification (OA) and hypoxia events in coastal environments is of large concern as climate change progresses. Weakened immune function, altered reproductive output, reduced aerobic scope, and hyperventilation are just some of the ways OA and hypoxia negatively affect fish. Under stress, such as OA or hypoxia, fish will produce the hormone cortisol to maintain homeostasis, so cortisol concentration can be used to determine the relative stress an animal is experiencing. This study evaluated the stress response of adult female blackeye gobies under both acute and chronic exposure to environmental stressors by measuring muscular cortisol concentrations at specific time points from fish placed in one of four different treatments: control (8.1 pH; ~9 mg/L O2), low DO (8.1 pH; 2.0 mg/L O2), low pH (7.3 pH; ~9 mg/L O2), and a combination of low DO and low pH (7.3 pH; 2.0 mg/L O2). Additionally, some larval fish rely entirely on maternally derived hormones supplied by the yolk sac immediately after hatching. An increase in cortisol in the yolk supply may cause developmental disadvantages, but there is also evidence that it can better equip offspring to face the stressors experienced by their mothers. Therefore, the relationship between maternal muscular and whole egg cortisol concentrations was investigated with females laying clutches under each of the four treatments. After spawning, clutches were split to be incubated under the same conditions their mothers experienced or the control treatment. At 1 day post hatch, offspring physiological fitness was evaluated based on morphometric characteristics and standard metabolic rate. This study observed that adult female blackeye gobies experiencing acute stress tend to have higher cortisol concentrations than those under chronic stress. While under acute stress, blackeye gobies had the strongest stress response under the low pH treatment, followed by the combined stressors, with the response to the low DO treatment being the weakest. While under chronic stress, blackeye gobies had the highest sustained cortisol values while under the combined treatment, then the low pH treatment, with the lowest values under the low DO treatment. Low DO and low pH were also found to act antagonistically on the blackeye goby stress response. When evaluating how stress is translated generationally, a positive relationship between maternal and egg cortisol concentrations was found across the four treatments. However, blackeye gobies were not able to successfully fertilize eggs under the low pH or combined treatment. In addition, clutches with higher initial cortisol concentrations showed trends of increased time to hatching and standard metabolic rate and decreased length and weight at 1 day post hatch. The results of this study suggest decreased pH and dissolved oxygen are harmful to both adult and larval blackeye gobies. Due to the disruption of successful reproduction under low pH and the developmental and physiological disadvantages under low DO, future populations of blackeye gobies could suffer greatly as anthropogenic climate change progresses.

Continue reading ‘The impacts of climate change on blackeye goby, Rhinogobiops nicholsii, stress responses, reproduction, and offspring fitness’

Ramifications of climate change induced by anthropogenic factors on global fish population scenario

Published 3 August 2022 Science Closed
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One of the important consequences of climate change is its effect on the global fish population. Though not very highly pronounced each year, the effect of climate change is of cumulative nature. Global aquaculture is being affected by temperature changes of both water and air. Fluctuations in the ocean surface temperatures, ocean current patterns, wind speeds, and wave directions, all have its impact on aquaculture. Each year we see more and more incidences of extreme weather conditions in different parts of the world, be it in the form of hurricanes, heavy floods, etc. Fishes are subjected to various stress factors which in turn take a toll on its growth and development. This can lead to lower weight gain and increased mortality due to higher susceptibility to diseases. This, coupled with direct unsustainable anthropogenic activities in the oceans and rivers may lead to collapse of the marine and freshwater ecosystem. Recent studies have identified specific regions where marine aquaculture production will be positively and negatively affected. One of the sustainable ways of developing aquaculture in the coming decades would be by developing region-wise strategies to maintain or increase fish population levels and thus meet the global seafood demands even in 2050. The current review is an attempt to assess the effects of ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation on the growth, survival, and diversity of marine lifeforms and suggest ways to stop a complete collapse of marine fish population by 2050, the year for which the complete collapse is predicted based on projections.

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Biological sensitivities to high-resolution climate change projections in the California current marine ecosystem

Published 29 July 2022 Science Closed
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The California Current Marine Ecosystem is a highly productive system that exhibits strong natural variability and vulnerability to anthropogenic climate trends. Relating projections of ocean change to biological sensitivities requires detailed synthesis of experimental results. Here, we combine measured biological sensitivities with high-resolution climate projections of key variables (temperature, oxygen, and pCO2) to identify the direction, magnitude, and spatial distribution of organism-scale vulnerabilities to multiple axes of projected ocean change. Among 12 selected species of cultural and economic importance, we find that all are sensitive to projected changes in ocean conditions through responses that affect individual performance or population processes. Response indices were largest in the northern region and inner shelf. While performance traits generally increased with projected changes, fitness traits generally decreased, indicating that concurrent stresses can lead to fitness loss. For two species, combining sensitivities to temperature and oxygen changes through the Metabolic Index shows how aerobic habitat availability could be compressed under future conditions. Our results suggest substantial and specific ecological susceptibility in the next 80 years, including potential regional loss of canopy-forming kelp, changes in nearshore food webs caused by declining rates of survival among red urchins, Dungeness crab, and razor clams, and loss of aerobic habitat for anchovy and pink shrimp. We also highlight fillable gaps in knowledge, including specific physiological responses to stressors, variation in responses across life stages, and responses to multistressor combinations. These findings strengthen the case for filling information gaps with experiments focused on fitness-related responses and those that can be used to parameterize integrative physiological models, and suggest that the CCME is susceptible to substantial changes to ecosystem structure and function within this century.

Continue reading ‘Biological sensitivities to high-resolution climate change projections in the California current marine ecosystem’

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