Resistance among wild invertebrate populations to recurrent estuarine acidification

Amaral, Valter; Cabral, Henrique N.; Bishop, Melanie J.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2011.05.024

Cited by 32 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…These species may also gain advantage over oysters and gastropods with weakened shells by exposure to estuarine acidification. Such increased susceptibility of weakened oysters and gastropods to predation by a multitude of generalist predators may account for the reduced abundance and skewed sizefrequency distributions we have found for these species at acidified sites (Amaral et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Eshky et al 1995, Skov & Hartnoll 2001. Previously, we found no difference in the abundances or size-structures of crabs between acidified and reference sites (Amaral et al 2011) and Russell & Helmke (2002) reported that acidic waters from ASS runoff did not negatively affect the survival of mud crabs Scylla serrata in the wild.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Oysters, 25 to 30 mm in shell height (~12 mo old) and sourced from the acidified and reference sites within the Port Stephens Estuary, were offered to individual Morula marginalba that were 20 to 22 mm in length and collected from Long Reef (33.738°S, 151.310°E) NSW, Australia, a coastal site that is not exposed to ASS runoff. We used 25 to 30 mm oysters in our experiments because this size class is: (1) numerically dominant at many of our study sites (Amaral et al 2011) and (2) may be particularly susceptible to enhanced predatory mortality following shell-weakening because it is towards the upper size limit of Saccostrea spp. that Morula spp.…”

Section: Predation Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of estuarine acidification on predator–prey interactions

Amaral¹,

Cabral²,

Bishop³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Short-term experiments exposing calcifying organisms to acidification have revealed altered growth and strength of their exoskeletons. We tested the hypothesis that multi-generational exposure to sustained estuarine acidification from runoff from acid sulphate soils (ASS) would: (1) reduce the shell strength of sessile or relatively immobile wild benthic invertebrates and (2) as a consequence render these invertebrates that rely on armour for anti-predator defence more susceptible to generalist benthic predators. First, we compared the force required to break the exoskeletons of Saccostrea glomerata, Bembicium auratum, and Heloecius cordiformis between replicate south-east Australian mangrove forests close to (acidified) and away from (reference) major ASS outflow drains. Second, we assessed differences in the susceptibility of oysters from acidified and reference forests to predation by the generalist muricid gastropod Morula marginalba. Mollusc shells were significantly weaker at ASS-affected than at reference sites, but the strength of crab carapaces was not influenced by acidification. Oysters from acidified sites were consumed by M. marginalba at a faster rate than oysters from reference sites in choice and nochoice experiments because M. marginalba required less time to drill through weaker shells. Many other predators such as crabs are generalist feeders that consume prey at rates inversely proportional to their shell strength. Hence, in the absence of effects of acidification on the ability of these predators to consume prey, molluscs at acidified sites may also be more susceptible to other such predators. This study highlights how human stressors can rapidly alter predator-prey interactions that have evolved over many years.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Predation Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of estuarine acidification on predator–prey interactions

Amaral¹,

Cabral²,

Bishop³

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Following rainfall events, the pH of estuarine waters in the vicinity of these point sources may drop to as low as 2-6 ( Dent and Pons 1995;Sammut et al 1996;NSW DPI 2007). During intervening drier periods, the pH in the vicinity of drains is typically higher (6.5-7.0), although still depressed relative to sites away from drains (7.7-7.9; Amaral et al 2011a). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moderate acidification affects growth but not survival of 6-month-old oysters

2011

Self Cite

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Oyster populations periodically exposed to runoff from acid sulfate soils (ASS) are of depressed abundance and have fewer smaller individuals than unaffected populations, despite having similar recruitment levels to unaffected sites during dry periods. We examined how the timing and duration of exposure to ASS runoff influences the growth and survival of successfully settled oysters. We predicted that among 6-month-old oysters, growth and survival would be (1) lower among individuals continuously exposed to ASS-acidified waters than those that are episodically exposed, and (2) most negatively affected during rainfall events, which enhance transport of ASS runoff to estuaries. Six-month-old Sydney rock oysters, Saccostrea glomerata, were deployed at ASS-affected and unaffected sites within each of two south-east Australian estuaries. After 10 weeks, oysters were transplanted within and across sites in an estuary and maintained in situ for another 10 weeks. Oysters that remained for 20 weeks at ASS-affected sites grew at just over half the rate of oysters at reference sites. Oysters transplanted from acidified to reference sites grew more than oysters transplanted from reference to acidified sites or oysters that remained at reference sites. Unexpectedly, overall oyster mortality was low. Greater rainfall, and hence a lower pH, is likely to have accounted for the greater impact of acidification on growth during the second 10 weeks. Where oysters recruit to a 6-month age cohort, they may be able to tolerate subsequent, moderate, acidification events. Reduced growth during acidification periods may be offset by positive growth during intervening dry periods.

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“…Estuarine and coastal habitats, the ocean's hotspots for biological diversity and productivity, may be especially vulnerable to ocean acidification. They often receive acidic inputs from freshwater and land run-off, upwelling of the CO 2 -enriched acidified waters as well as from biological CO 2 production, leading to large fluctuations in pH and carbonate chemistry (Mook and Koene, 1975;Cai and Wang, 1998; Thomsen et al, 2010;Amaral et al, 2011). Moreover, the buffering capacity of estuarine waters is considerably lower than that of the open ocean (Mook and Koene, 1975;Cai and Wang, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental salinity modulates the effects of elevated CO2 levels on juvenile hard shell clams, Mercenaria mercenaria

Dickinson

Matoo

Tourek

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYOcean acidification due to increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations results in a decrease in seawater pH and shifts in the carbonate chemistry that can negatively affect marine organisms. Marine bivalves such as the hard-shell clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, serve as ecosystem engineers in estuaries and coastal zones of the western Atlantic and, as for many marine calcifiers, are sensitive to the impacts of ocean acidification. In estuaries, the effects of ocean acidification can be exacerbated by low buffering capacity of brackish waters, acidic inputs from freshwaters and land, and/or the negative effects of salinity on the physiology of organisms. We determined the interactive effects of 21weeks of exposure to different levels of CO 2 (~395, 800 and 1500μatm corresponding to pH of 8.2, 8.1 and 7.7, respectively) and salinity (32 versus 16) on biomineralization, shell properties and energy metabolism of juvenile hard-shell clams. Low salinity had profound effects on survival, energy metabolism and biomineralization of hard-shell clams and modulated their responses to elevated P CO2 . Negative effects of low salinity in juvenile clams were mostly due to the strongly elevated basal energy demand, indicating energy deficiency, that led to reduced growth, elevated mortality and impaired shell maintenance (evidenced by the extensive damage to the periostracum). The effects of elevated P CO2 on physiology and biomineralization of hard-shell clams were more complex. Elevated P CO2 (~800-1500μatm) had no significant effects on standard metabolic rates (indicative of the basal energy demand), but affected growth and shell mechanical properties in juvenile clams. Moderate hypercapnia (~800μatm P CO2 ) increased shell and tissue growth and reduced mortality of juvenile clams in high salinity exposures; however, these effects were abolished under the low salinity conditions or at high P CO2 (~1500μatm). Mechanical properties of the shell (measured as microhardness and fracture toughness of the shells) were negatively affected by elevated CO 2 alone or in combination with low salinity, which may have important implications for protection against predators or environmental stressors. Our data indicate that environmental salinity can strongly modulate responses to ocean acidification in hard-shell clams and thus should be taken into account when predicting the effects of ocean acidification on estuarine bivalves. Supplementary material available online at

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Resistance among wild invertebrate populations to recurrent estuarine acidification

Cited by 32 publications

References 44 publications

Effects of estuarine acidification on predator–prey interactions

Effects of estuarine acidification on predator–prey interactions

Moderate acidification affects growth but not survival of 6-month-old oysters

Environmental salinity modulates the effects of elevated CO2 levels on juvenile hard shell clams, Mercenaria mercenaria

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