Stenothermal polar benthic marine invertebrates are highly sensitive to environmental perturbations but little is known about potential synergistic effects of concurrent ocean warming and acidification on development of their embryos and larvae. We examined the effects of these stressors on development to the calcifying larval stage in the Antarctic sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri in embryos reared in present and future (2100+) ocean conditions from fertilization. Embryos were reared in 2 temperature (ambient: -1.0 °C, + 2 °C : 1.0 °C) and 3 pH (ambient: pH 8.0, -0.2-0.4 pH units: 7.8,7.6) levels. Principle coordinates analysis on five larval metrics showed a significant effect of temperature and pH on the pattern of growth. Within each temperature, larvae were separated by pH treatment, a pattern primarily influenced by larval arm and body length. Growth was accelerated by temperature with a 20-28% increase in postoral (PO) length at +2 °C across all pH levels. Growth was strongly depressed by reduced pH with a 8-19% decrease in PO length at pH 7.6-7.8 at both temperatures. The boost in growth caused by warming resulted in larvae that were larger than would be observed if acidification was examined in the absence of warming. However, there was no significant interaction between these stressors. The increase in left-right asymmetry and altered body allometry indicated that decreased pH disrupted developmental patterning and acted as a teratogen (agent causing developmental malformation). Decreased developmental success with just a 2 °C warming indicates that development in S. neumayeri is particularly sensitive to increased temperature. Increased temperature also altered larval allometry. Altered body shape impairs swimming and feeding in echinoplutei. In the absence of adaptation, it appears that the larval phase may be a bottleneck for survivorship of S. neumayeri in a changing ocean in a location where poleward migration to escape inhospitable conditions is not possible.
Pink salmon () in the North Pacific Ocean have flourished since the 1970s, with growth in wild populations augmented by rising hatchery production. As their abundance has grown, so too has evidence that they are having important effects on other species and on ocean ecosystems. In alternating years of high abundance, they can initiate pelagic trophic cascades in the northern North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea and depress the availability of common prey resources of other species of salmon, resident seabirds, and other pelagic species. We now propose that the geographic scale of ecosystem disservices of pink salmon is far greater due to a 15,000-kilometer transhemispheric teleconnection in a Pacific Ocean macrosystem maintained by short-tailed shearwaters (), seabirds that migrate annually between their nesting grounds in the South Pacific Ocean and wintering grounds in the North Pacific Ocean. Over this century, the frequency and magnitude of mass mortalities of shearwaters as they arrive in Australia, and their abundance and productivity, have been related to the abundance of pink salmon. This has influenced human social, economic, and cultural traditions there, and has the potential to alter the role shearwaters play in insular terrestrial ecology. We can view the unique biennial pulses of pink salmon as a large, replicated, natural experiment that offers basin-scale opportunities to better learn how these ecosystems function. By exploring trophic interaction chains driven by pink salmon, we may achieve a deeper conservation conscientiousness for these northern open oceans.
Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) mediate a wide range of ecological interactions. Investigating the effect of environment on PSM production is important for our understanding of how plants will adapt to large scale environmental change, and the extended effects on communities and ecosystems. We explored the production of PSMs under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide ([CO(2)]) in the species rich, ecologically and commercially important genus Eucalyptus. Seedlings from multiple Eucalyptus globulus and E. pauciflora populations were grown in common glasshouse gardens under elevated or ambient [CO(2)]. Variation in primary and secondary chemistry was determined as a function of genotype and treatment. There were clear population differences in PSM expression in each species. Elevated [CO(2)] did not affect concentrations of individual PSMs, total phenolics, condensed tannins or the total oil yield, and there was no population by [CO(2)] treatment interaction for any traits. Multivariate analysis revealed similar results with significant variation in concentrations of E. pauciflora oil components between populations. A [CO(2)] treatment effect was detected within populations but no interactions were found between elevated [CO(2)] and population. These eucalypt seedlings appear to be largely unresponsive to elevated [CO(2)], indicating stronger genetic than environmental (elevated [CO(2)]) control of expression of PSMs.
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