Metabolic responses of the squat lobster (Pleuroncodes monodon) larvae to low oxygen concentration

The squat lobster Pleuroncodes monodon tolerates anoxic “dead zone” conditions off Peru

“…An increase in respiratory capacity with increasing body size was reported for the squat lobster Munida quadrispina (Burd 1985). Yannicelli et al (2013) described an increase in oxyregulatory capacity and anaerobic/aerobic potential during the early development of P. monodon. Zoea V larvae were characterized as oxyconformer, but megalopae as oxyregulator with a critical pO 2 of about 6.8 kPa oxygen (88 µmol kg −1 ).…”

“…An increase in the ratio of malate dehydrogenase to lactate dehydrogenase during P. monodon development also indicates an increase in anaerobic/aerobic potential (Yannicelli et al 2013) and an evolutionary adaptation to exposure to hypoxic and anoxic conditions (Bishop et al 2004). The ability of P. monodon to conduct migrations to the seafloor therefore develops during ontogeny and seems well established in adult specimens.…”

“…E. mucronata migrates to the core of the OMZ at daytime (Antezana 2009), seemingly to avoid visual predation. P. monodon zoeae and megalopae can tolerate acute exposure to oxygen levels as low as 0.15-0.30 mL L −1 at 11 °C (~0.5-1.0 kPa or 6.6-13.2 µmol kg −1 ; Yannicelli et al 2013). Tolerance of short-term exposure to anoxia was not yet tested for P. monodon larvae or adults.…”

Cardiorespiratory ontogeny and response to environmental hypoxia of larval spiny lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi

“…The lack of oxyregulatory ability of larval spiny lobsters and their long planktonic larval duration likely make them more vulnerable to environmental change. Reduced aerobic capacity in warmer temperatures and hypoxia will limit individual scope for physiological performance, including capacity for growth (Ekau et al, 2010;Yannicelli et al, 2013), which could greatly effect species survival because the ability of the phyllosoma larvae to accumulate energy is a key factor affecting coastal recruitment success (Fitzgibbon et al, 2014a;Jeffs et al, 2001).…”

Vision is highly sensitive to oxygen availability in marine invertebrate larvae

“…All recently collected/hatched larvae were held for a minimum of 24 h prior to testing, and only individuals that appeared healthy upon inspection were chosen for experimentation. Only individuals of a single larval stage were used for each species ( paralarvae for D. opalescens and O. bimaculatus, Stage II for P. planipes, and megalopae for M. gracilis), as different larval stages may have distinct oxygen tolerances (Yannicelli et al, 2013) and visual capabilities and/or structures (Feller et al, 2015). Here, these stages are referred to collectively as 'larvae' when individuals of multiple species are described in the text, but only individuals of the specified life stage for each species were tested.…”