Ocean acidification (OA) is likely to exert selective pressure on natural populations. Our ability to predict which marine species will adapt to OA and what underlies this adaptive potential is of high conservation and resource management priority. Using a naturally low‐pH vent site in the Mediterranean Sea (Castello Aragonese, Ischia) mirroring projected future OA conditions, we carried out a reciprocal transplant experiment to investigate the relative importance of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation in two populations of the sessile, calcifying polychaete Simplaria sp. (Annelida, Serpulidae, Spirorbinae): one residing in low pH and the other from a nearby ambient (i.e. high) pH site. We measured a suite of fitness‐related traits (i.e. survival, reproductive output, maturation, population growth) and tube growth rates in laboratory‐bred F2 generation individuals from both populations reciprocally transplanted back into both ambient and low‐pH in situ habitats. Both populations showed lower expression in all traits, but increased tube growth rates, when exposed to low‐pH compared with high‐pH conditions, regardless of their site of origin suggesting that local adaptation to low‐pH conditions has not occurred. We also found comparable levels of plasticity in the two populations investigated, suggesting no influence of long‐term exposure to low pH on the ability of populations to adjust their phenotype. Despite high variation in trait values among sites and the relatively extreme conditions at the low pH site (pH < 7.36), response trends were consistent across traits. Hence, our data suggest that, for Simplaria and possibly other calcifiers, neither local adaptations nor sufficient phenotypic plasticity levels appear to suffice in order to compensate for the negative impacts of OA on long‐term survival. Our work also emphasizes the utility of field experiments in natural environments subjected to high level of pCO 2 for elucidating the potential for adaptation to future scenarios of OA.
Low pH vent systems are ideal natural laboratories to study the consequences of 20 long-term low pH exposure on marine species, and thus identify life-history traits associated with low pH tolerance. This knowledge can help to inform predictions on which types of species may be less vulnerable in future ocean acidification (OA) scenarios. Accordingly, we investigated how traits of calcifying polychaete species (Serpulidae, Spirorbinae) varied with pH using a functional trait analysis at two natural pH gradients around Castello Islet in Ischia, Italy. We first observed the distribution and abundance patterns of all calcifying polychaete epiphytes in the canopy of Posidonia oceanica seagrass across these gradients. We then used laboratory trials to compare fecundity, settlement success, and juvenile survival in the dominant species from a control (Pileolaria militaris Claparède, 1870) and a low pH site (Simplaria sp., (Serpulidae, Spirorbinae). We found significantly higher reproductive output, juvenile settlement rates, and juvenile survival in Simplaria sp. individuals from the low pH site, compared to P. militaris individuals from control pH sites, when observed in their respective in situ pH conditions. Our results suggest that tolerance to low pH may result, in part, from traits associated with successful reproduction and rapid settlement under low pH conditions. This finding implies that other species with similar life history traits may cope better in future OA scenarios, and should be targeted for future OA tolerance research.
Geniculate coralline algae are oases of biodiversity, providing nursery areas and shelter for the species that live amongst their fronds. The key to their success in the inter‐tidal is the ability to withstand hydrodynamic forces. Under culturing conditions most of the physical and ecological stressors such as intense hydrodynamic forces and grazing are extremely reduced, thus affecting species mechanical properties and their response to external threats. The aim of the present study was to investigate tensile mechanical properties of clusters of fronds of Ellisolandia elongata from natural (sheltered and exposed reef) and culturing conditions (after 1 month of culturing). The tensile test showed that the first failure stress (σI) was not significantly different between the natural and culturing conditions, indicating that the two reefs (sheltered and exposed) were characterized by the same distribution of pre‐existing, inherent structural flaws. Interestingly, the σmax (maximum stress before rupture) was significantly different between the two conditions, with the culturing condition being more resistant to average load compared to the natural conditions. The maximum stress before rupture (σmax) showed the influence of the environment in reducing the strength and elasticity of the fronds.
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