Effects of elevated CO2 on fish behaviour undiminished by transgenerational acclimation

Welch, Megan J.; Watson, Sue‐Ann; Welsh, J. Q.; McCormick, Mark I.; Munday, Philip L.

doi:10.1038/nclimate2400

Cited by 131 publications

(157 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Future studies should investigate combined effects of ocean acidification and warming on the thermal tolerance of the threespine stickleback, as the optimal thermal window may decrease in lowered pH (Pörtner, 2008). It is also important to study behavioral disturbances (Nilsson et al, 2012), as the potential to acclimate to CO 2 is minimal in some fish (Welch et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Development of the Threespine Stickleback in Relation to Water pH

et al. 2017

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Ocean acidification is a growing environmental problem, and there is a need to investigate how the decreasing pH will affect marine organisms. Here we studied the effects of lowered pH on the growth and development of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) eggs. Adult fish, collected from the natural environment, were allowed to mate in aquaria and the newly produced eggs were incubated in an experiment. Eggs and larvae from ambient conditions (produced in the laboratory) were reared at three different pH concentrations (control: pH 7.8; and reduced pH treatments: pH 7.5 and 7.0) for 21 days in the laboratory. Dissolved oxygen concentration (8.1 ± 0.1 mg l −1 ) and temperature (18.6 ± 0.02 • C) were monitored regularly. Then, egg diameter, larval length, weight and survival were measured. There was no relationship between egg diameter and pH or oxygen, but a negative relationship was found with temperature. Survival of larvae was not affected by pH or temperature, whereas dissolved oxygen concentration had a positive effect on number of survivors. The pH did not have a significant effect on the final larval length on day 21, but interacted significantly with dissolved oxygen. Higher temperatures were found to have a positive effect on the final larval length and weight. Larval weight, on the other hand, was not related to pH nor oxygen. Coastal zones are characterized by pH levels that fluctuate due to natural processes, such as upwelling and river runoff. Our results suggest that the threespine stickleback larvae are well adapted to the different pHs tested, and egg development will likely not be affected by decreasing pH, but even slight temperature and oxygen changes can have a great impact on the threespine stickleback development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Development of the Threespine Stickleback in Relation to Water pH

et al. 2017

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“…Some report improved growth and survival in offspring (Miller et al, 2012;Murray et al, 2014), while others report no or limited capacity for transgenerational acclimation of olfactory responses or predator escape (Allan et al, 2014;Welch et al, 2014). This led to speculation that metabolic traits may have greater potential than behavioural traits for transgenerational acclimation to elevated CO 2 (Welch et al, 2014).…”

Section: Implications: Will the "Bio" In "Biophysical Larval Dispersamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two used wild settlement-stage Neopomacentrus azysron larvae from light traps held 4 days in laboratory tanks (Domenici et al, 2011;Nilsson et al, 2012), and the third used month-old juveniles of A. polyacanthus (Welch et al, 2014). The first two studies report a loss of lateralization, and the third a decrease in lateralization.…”

Section: Swimmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paradigm Lost: Ocean Acidification Will Overturn the Concept of Larval-Fish Biophysical Dispersal

J.M

2018

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Most marine ecologists have in the past 25 years changed from supporting a passive-dispersal paradigm for larval marine fishes to supporting a biophysical-dispersal paradigm wherein the behaviour of larvae plays a central role. Research shows larvae of demersal perciform fishes have considerable swimming and orientation abilities over a major portion of their pelagic larval duration. These abilities depend on sensory function, and some recent research has indicated anthropogenic acidification of the oceans will by the end of the century result in sensory dysfunction. This could strongly alter the ability of fish larvae to orientate in the pelagic environment, to locate suitable settlement habitat, to bet-hedge, and to colonize new locations. This paper evaluates the available publications on the effects of acidification on senses and behaviours relevant to dispersal of fish early life-history stages. A large majority of studies tested CO 2 values predicted for the middle to end of the century. Larvae of fourteen families-all but two perciform-were studied. However, half of studies used Damselfishes (Pomacentridae), and except for swimming, most studies used settlement-stage larvae or later stages. In spite of these taxonomic and ontogenetic restrictions, all but two studies on sensory function (chemosensation, hearing, vision, detection of estuarine cues) found deleterious effects from acidification. The four studies on lateralization and settlement timing all found deleterious effects from acidification. No clear effect of acidification on swimming ability was found. If fish larvae cannot orientate due to sensory dysfunction, their dispersal will, in effect, conform to the passive dispersal paradigm. Modelling incorporating larval behaviour derived from empirical studies indicates that relative to active larvae, passive larvae will have less self-recruitment, higher median and mean dispersal distances, and lower settlement rates: further, bet hedging and colonization of new locations will decrease. The biophysical dispersal paradigm will be lost in theory and in fact, which is predicted to result in lower recruitment and less bet hedging for demersal, perciform fishes. More research is required to determine if the larvae of other Orders will be effected in the same way, or if warm-and cold-water fish faunas will be similarly effected.

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“…Shifts in acid-base regulation alter the gradients of anions (Cl − and HCO 3 − ) in neuronal membranes, resulting in a reversed current flow through GABA receptors (Hamilton et al, 2014;Nilsson et al, 2012). The impacts of reduced pH on fish olfaction can persist across generations (Welch et al, 2014), suggesting limited phenotypic plasticity in physiological systems involving olfaction. Olfactory neuron architecture is probably similar across fish.…”

Section: Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, future studies that compare the acid-base regulatory physiology and GABA receptor responses in fish showing different behavioral responses to pH could illuminate an important example of biochemical adaptation to ocean acidification. Such studies could compare across individuals with different behaviors in response to changes in environmental pH (Welch et al, 2014) or among fish adapted to different pH environments.…”

Section: Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochemical adaptation to ocean acidification

Stillman

Paganini

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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The change in oceanic carbonate chemistry due to increased atmospheric P CO2 has caused pH to decline in marine surface waters, a phenomenon known as ocean acidification (OA). The effects of OA on organisms have been shown to be widespread among diverse taxa from a wide range of habitats. The majority of studies of organismal response to OA are in short-term exposures to future levels of P CO2 . From such studies, much information has been gathered on plastic responses organisms may make in the future that are beneficial or harmful to fitness. Relatively few studies have examined whether organisms can adapt to negative-fitness consequences of plastic responses to OA. We outline major approaches that have been used to study the adaptive potential for organisms to OA, which include comparative studies and experimental evolution. Organisms that inhabit a range of pH environments (e.g. pH gradients at volcanic CO 2 seeps or in upwelling zones) have great potential for studies that identify adaptive shifts that have occurred through evolution. Comparative studies have advanced our understanding of adaptation to OA by linking whole-organism responses with cellular mechanisms. Such optimization of function provides a link between genetic variation and adaptive evolution in tuning optimal function of rate-limiting cellular processes in different pH conditions. For example, in experimental evolution studies of organisms with short generation times (e.g. phytoplankton), hundreds of generations of growth under future conditions has resulted in fixed differences in gene expression related to acid-base regulation. However, biochemical mechanisms for adaptive responses to OA have yet to be fully characterized, and are likely to be more complex than simply changes in gene expression or protein modification. Finally, we present a hypothesis regarding an unexplored area for biochemical adaptation to ocean acidification. In this hypothesis, proteins and membranes exposed to the external environment, such as epithelial tissues, may be susceptible to changes in external pH. Such biochemical systems could be adapted to a reduced pH environment by adjustment of weak bonds in an analogous fashion to biochemical adaptation to temperature. Whether such biochemical adaptation to OA exists remains to be discovered.

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Effects of elevated CO2 on fish behaviour undiminished by transgenerational acclimation

Cited by 131 publications

References 32 publications

Early Development of the Threespine Stickleback in Relation to Water pH

Early Development of the Threespine Stickleback in Relation to Water pH

Paradigm Lost: Ocean Acidification Will Overturn the Concept of Larval-Fish Biophysical Dispersal

Biochemical adaptation to ocean acidification

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