By the end of this century, anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are expected to decrease the surface ocean pH by as much as 0.3 unit. At the same time, the ocean is expected to warm with an associated expansion of the oxygen minimum layer (OML). Thus, there is a growing demand to understand the response of the marine biota to these global changes. We show that ocean acidification will substantially depress metabolic rates (31%) and activity levels (45%) in the jumbo squid, Dosidicus gigas, a top predator in the Eastern Pacific. This effect is exacerbated by high temperature. Reduced aerobic and locomotory scope in warm, high-CO2 surface waters will presumably impair predator-prey interactions with cascading consequences for growth, reproduction, and survival. Moreover, as the OML shoals, squids will have to retreat to these shallower, less hospitable, waters at night to feed and repay any oxygen debt that accumulates during their diel vertical migration into the OML. Thus, we demonstrate that, in the absence of adaptation or horizontal migration, the synergism between ocean acidification, global warming, and expanding hypoxia will compress the habitable depth range of the species. These interactions may ultimately define the long-term fate of this commercially and ecologically important predator.global warming ͉ hypoxia ͉ jumbo or Humboldt squid ͉ ocean acidification ͉ oxygen minimum layer

Marine macrophytes are the foundation of algal forests and seagrass meadows-some of the most productive and diverse coastal marine ecosystems on the planet. These ecosystems provide nursery grounds and food for fish and invertebrates, coastline protection from erosion, carbon sequestration, and nutrient fixation. For marine macrophytes, temperature is generally the most important range limiting factor, and ocean warming is considered the most severe threat among global climate change factors. Ocean warming induced losses of dominant macrophytes along their equatorial range edges, as well as range extensions into polar regions, are predicted and already documented. While adaptive evolution based on genetic change is considered too slow to keep pace with the increasing rate of anthropogenic environmental changes, rapid adaptation may come about through a set of non-genetic mechanisms involving the functional composition of the associated microbiome, as well as epigenetic modification of the genome and its regulatory effect on gene expression and the activity of transposable elements. While research in terrestrial plants demonstrates that the integration of non-genetic mechanisms provide a more holistic picture of a species' evolutionary potential, research in marine systems is lagging behind. Here, we aim to review the potential of marine macrophytes to acclimatize and adapt to major climate change effects via intraspecific variation at the genetic, epigenetic, and microbiome levels. All three levels create phenotypic variation that may either enhance fitness within individuals (plasticity) or be subject to selection and ultimately, adaptation. We

No abstract

The aims of this study were to evaluate the nutritional quality (proximate composition, amino and fatty acid profiles, cholesterol and mineral contents) of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) and determine the effect of different cooking methods (grilling, boiling and frying) on biochemical composition. Frying produced the highest water loss and fat gain (P < 0.05). Frying also affected the fatty acid composition significantly (P < 0.05), increasing oleic (18:1n-9) and linoleic (18:2n-6) acid contents. The major essential amino acids were arginine and lysine, and the limiting was the sulphur amino acid methionine. The changes in the cholesterol and mineral contents (K > P > Na > Mg > Ca > Zn > Fe > Cu > Mn) and nutrientrecommended dietary intakes are discussed and several indices (chemical score, amino acid score, essential amino acid index, biological value, nutritional index, retention values, atherogenic index, thrombogenic index and hypercholesterolaemic potential) are presented. The valorisation of these products may stimulate the development of aquaculture production and consumers' interest in Europe.

No abstract

Sharks are one of the most threatened groups of marine animals worldwide, mostly owing to overfishing and habitat degradation/loss. Although these cartilaginous fish have evolved to fill many ecological niches across a wide range of habitats, they have limited capability to rapidly adapt to human-induced changes in their environments. Contrary to global warming, ocean acidification was not considered as a direct climate-related threat to sharks. Here we show, for the first time, that an early ontogenetic acclimation process of a tropical shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum) to the projected scenarios of ocean acidification (DpH ¼ 0.5) and warming (þ48C; 308C) for 2100 elicited significant impairments on juvenile shark condition and survival. The mortality of shark embryos at the present-day thermal scenarios was 0% both at normocapnic and hypercapnic conditions. Yet routine metabolic rates (RMRs) were significantly affected by temperature, pH and embryonic stage. Immediately after hatching, the Fulton condition of juvenile bamboo sharks was significantly different in individuals that experienced future warming and hypercapnia; 30 days after hatching, survival rapidly declined in individuals experiencing both ocean warming and acidification (up to 44%). The RMR of juvenile sharks was also significantly affected by temperature and pH. The impact of low pH on ventilation rates was significant only under the higher thermal scenario. This study highlights the need of experimental-based risk assessments of sharks to climate change. In other words, it is critical to directly assess risk and vulnerability of sharks to ocean acidification and warming, and such effort can ultimately help managers and policy-makers to take proactive measures targeting most endangered species.

The proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, lipid classes and cholesterol and glycogen contents were determined in the edible part of red shrimp, Aristeus antennatus (Risso), pink shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas), and Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus), in two distinct periods of the year. The proximate composition did not vary significantly between species or between periods of sampling. Significant differences in glycogen content were obtained between winter and summer; the lowest values were attained in winter (1.2, 1.1 and 1.0% wet weight for red shrimp, pink shrimp and Norway lobster respectively). With the exception of Norway lobster, an opposite trend was obtained for cholesterol content, ie lower values in summer (60.8 and 57.8 mg per 100 g wet weight for red shrimp and pink shrimp respectively). The major essential amino acids (EAA) were arginine, lysine and leucine and the limiting amino acid was methionine in all three crustacean species. The most important non-essential amino acids (NEAA) were glutamic acid, aspartic acid, proline and glycine. In respect to lipid classes, phospholipids and free cholesterol predominated. The major fatty acids were 16:0, 18:1n-9, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3. The polyunsaturated fraction was dominant (42.1-48.4%), followed by the monounsaturated (26.3-34.6%) and saturated (22.9-27.4%) fatty acids. In conclusion, the nutritional quality of these shellfish species is similar, they are valuable protein and lipid sources for the human diet and are adequate elements of the traditional Portuguese diet.

Early life stages of many marine organisms are being challenged by rising seawater temperature and CO 2 concentrations, but their physiological responses to these environmental changes still remain unclear. In the present study, we show that future predictions of ocean warming (+4°C) and acidification (ΔpH=0.5 units) may compromise the development of early life stages of a highly commercial teleost fish, Solea senegalensis. Exposure to future conditions caused a decline in hatching success and larval survival. Growth, metabolic rates and thermal tolerance increased with temperature but decreased under acidified conditions. Hypercapnia and warming amplified the incidence of deformities by 31.5% (including severe deformities such as lordosis, scoliosis and kyphosis), while promoting the occurrence of oversized otoliths (109.3% increase). Smaller larvae with greater skeletal deformities and larger otoliths may face major ecophysiological challenges, which might potentiate substantial declines in adult fish populations, putting in jeopardy the species' fitness under a changing ocean.