Adult exposure influences offspring response to ocean acidification in oysters

Abstract

It is essential to predict the impact of elevated Pco 2 on marine organisms and habitats to anticipate the severity and consequences of future ocean chemistry change. Despite the importance of carry-over effects in the evolutionary history of marine organisms, few studies have considered links between life-history stages when determining how marine organisms will respond to elevated Pco 2 , and none have considered the link between adults and their offspring. Herein, we exposed adults of wild and selectively bred Sydney rock oysters, Saccostrea glomerata to elevated Pco 2 during reproductive conditioning and measured the development, growth and survival response of their larvae. We found that elevated Pco 2 had a negative impact on larvae of S. glomerata causing a reduction in growth, rate of development and survival. Exposing adults to elevated Pco 2 during reproductive conditioning, however, had positive carry-over effects on larvae. Larvae spawned from adults exposed to elevated Pco 2 were larger and developed faster, but displayed similar survival compared with larvae spawned from adults exposed to ambient Pco 2 . Furthermore, selectively bred larvae of S. glomerata were more resilient to elevated Pco 2 than wild larvae. Measurement of the standard metabolic rate (SMR) of adult S. glomerata showed that at ambient Pco 2 , SMR is increased in selectively bred compared with wild oysters and is further increased during exposure to elevated Pco 2 . This study suggests that sensitive marine organisms may have the capacity to acclimate or adapt to elevated Pco 2 over the next century and a change in energy turnover indicated by SMR may be a key process involved.

The Impact of Ocean Acidification on Reproduction, Early Development and Settlement of Marine Organisms

“…Studies such as Byrne et al [47,48] and more recent findings [42] support the hypothesis that the robustness of fertilisation to ocean acidification may be because the natural process of fertilisation is characterised by low pH conditions, with any inhibitory effect on sperm motility as described by Havenhand et al [56] overridden by jelly peptides on eggs and respiratory effects [47]. Chronic multigenerational tests are yet to be done, however, to test hypotheses related to acclimation and pre adaptive capacity suggested in Parker et al [43,59].…”

Ocean acidification and temperature rise: effects on calcification during early development of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis

“…The effect of raised pCO 2 should be investigated on the animal entire life cycle considering possible carry-over effects (e.g. Parker et al 2012, Dupont et al 2012 and not only from the calcification point of view. Linked to buoyancy abilities, further studies on feeding behavior under projected scenarios of future environmental change would be required in order to assess CO 2 impacts on population dynamics of the cuttlefish S. officinalis.…”

“…Additionally, very few studies have considered the impacts of global change on several successive life-stages (e.g. Parker et al 2012, Dupont et al 2012, while the transition from one stage to another (e.g. metamorphosis, hatching) can be radical.…”

Effects of ocean acidification on immune responses of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas

“…Over the past 10 years, accumulating evidence suggests that OA could result in delayed embryonic development [8,9], decreased larval growth [10,11] and increased mortality [12] of many marine mollusks. Moreover, OA stress has also been found to affect many physiological processes, such as calcification [13], energy metabolism [14] and behavior [15,16] of calcifying organisms.…”