Transgenerational Effects of pCO2-Driven Ocean Acidification on Adult Mussels Mytilus chilensis Modulate Physiological Response to Multiple Stressors in Larvae

Abstract

The effect of CO2-driven ocean acidification (OA) on marine biota has been extensively studied mostly on a single stage of the life cycle. However, the cumulative and population-level response to this global stressor may be biased due to transgenerational effects and their impacts on physiological plasticity. In this study, we exposed adult mussels Mytilus chilensis undergoing gametogenesis to two pCO2 levels (550 and 1200 μatm) for 16 weeks, aiming to understand if prolonged exposure of reproductive individuals to OA can affect the performance of their offspring, which, in turn, were reared under multiple stressors (pCO2, temperature, and dissolved cadmium). Our results indicate dependence between the level of pCO2 of the broodstock (i.e., parental effect) and the performance of larval stages in terms of growth and physiological rates, as a single effect of temperature. While main effects of pCO2 and cadmium were observed for larval growth and ingestion rates, respectively, the combined exposure to stressors had antagonistic effects. Moreover, we found a suppression of feeding activity in post-spawning broodstock upon high pCO2 conditions. Nevertheless, this observation was not reflected in the final weight of the broodstock and oocyte diameter. Due to the ecological and socioeconomic importance of mussels’ species around the globe, the potential implications of maternal effects for the physiology, survival, and recruitment of larvae under combined global-change stressors warrant further investigation.

Carryover effects of temperature and pCO2 across multiple Olympia oyster populations

“…Intergenerational carryover effects are increasingly documented in larvae across other bivalve species, and are beneficial in the mussels Mytilus chilensis (Diaz et al. ) and Mytilus edulis (but not juveniles; Thomsen et al. , Kong et al.…”

“…In the presence of secondary stressors, however, parental high pCO 2 exposure rendered larvae more sensitive (Parker et al 2017). Intergenerational carryover effects are increasingly documented in larvae across other bivalve species, and are beneficial in the mussels Mytilus chilensis (Diaz et al 2018) and Mytilus edulis (but not juveniles; Thomsen et al 2017, Kong et al 2019, and detrimental in the clam Mercenaria mercenaria, the scallop Argopecten irradians (Griffith and Gobler 2017), and the oyster Crassostrea gigas .…”

Metabolic Recovery and Compensatory Shell Growth of Juvenile Pacific Geoduck Panopea Generosa Following Short-Term Exposure to Acidified Seawater

“…Although this study was primarily focused on production enhancement in a hatchery setting, effects on shell growth and metabolic activity have important applications to natural systems. Seawater carbonate chemistry targeted for stress treatments was more severe than levels commonly used in experimental research (Gazeau et al , 2010; Navarro et al , 2013; Diaz et al , 2018), but relevant to summer subsurface conditions within the natural range of P. generosa (pH 7.41; Ω aragonite 0.42 in Hood Canal, WA; Feely et al , 2010). Thus, survival, metabolic recovery, and compensatory growth in P. generosa in this study demonstrates a resilience to short-term acidification in the water column.…”

Repeat Exposure to Hypercapnic Seawater Modifies Performance and Oxidative Status in a Tolerant Burrowing Clam

“…Beneficial responses to OA are also possible, especially in longer term and carryover-effect studies (Parker et al, 2015). For example, elevated pCO2 during gametogenesis in the Chilean mussel Mytilus chilensis and Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata increases the size of larval stages in progeny (Parker et al, 2012;Diaz et al, 2018).…”