Within- and trans-generational responses to combined global changes are highly divergent in two congeneric species of marine annelids

Abstract

Trans-generational plasticity (TGP) represents a primary mechanism for guaranteeing species persistence under rapid global changes. To date, no study on TGP responses of marine organisms to global change scenarios in the ocean has been conducted on phylogenetically closely-related species, and we thus lack a true appreciation for TGP inter-species variation. Consequently, we examined the tolerance and TGP of life-history and physiological traits in two annelid species within the genus Ophryotrocha: one rare (O. robusta) and one common (O. japonica). Both species were exposed over two generations to ocean acidification (OA) and warming (OW) in isolation and in combination (OAW). Warming scenarios led to a decrease in energy production together with an increase in energy requirements, which was lethal for O. robusta before viable offspring could be produced by the first generation. Under OA conditions, O. robusta was able to reach the second generation, despite showing lower survival and reproductive performance when compared to control conditions. This was accompanied by a marked increase in fecundity and egg volume in F2 females, suggesting high capacity for TGP under OA. In contrast, O. japonica thrived under all scenarios across both generations, maintaining its fitness levels via adjusting its metabolomic profile. Overall, the two species investigated show a great deal of difference in their ability to tolerate and respond via TGP to future global changes. We emphasize the potential implications this can have for the determination of extinction risk, and consequently, the conservation of phylogenetically closely-related species.

Tolerant Larvae and Sensitive Juveniles: Integrating Metabolomics and Whole-Organism Responses to Define Life-Stage Specific Sensitivity to Ocean Acidification in the American Lobster

“…Metabolite quantification: The extraction of key targeted metabolites was carried out on previously frozen entire larvae and juvenile’s abdomen (same individuals used for respiration measurements, n = 20 and 6, respectively), following the method described by Lu et al [ 96 ] and the adapted protocol detailed in [ 97 ]. Briefly, a fast “cold quenching salt-eliminating” extraction was first prepared, using an ammonium carbonate extraction solution.…”

Trophic provisioning and parental trade-offs lead to successful reproductive performance in corals after a bleaching event

“…Understanding variation in resource allocation is important for identifying traits that enhance organismal survival during stressful environmental conditions 1 and for predicting population responses to global climate change 2 . How parents manage exposure to environmental stressors can have a significant impact on the ability of their offspring to cope with similar stressors in the future 3 – 7 . Since reef-building corals live close to their thermal tolerance limits, they are especially sensitive to anthropogenic stressors, including ocean warming due to climate change 8 .…”

Ocean acidification causes fundamental changes in the cellular metabolism of the Arctic copepod Calanus glacialis as detected by metabolomic analysis

“…A total of 63 key molecules involved in the metabolism of hydrocarbons, proteins and lipids namely glucose, amino acids, free fatty acids, and intermediates of the tricarboxylic (TCA) cycle were analysed. The characterisation of metabolomic profiles was carried out using the liquid chromatographyhigh resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) method by Lu et al 27 modified to small marine organisms as described by Thibault et al 28 and Noisette et al 29 . Briefly, we used a fast "cold quenching, salt-eliminating" extraction using ammonium carbonate as an extraction solution in order to prevent the formation of salt adducts when injecting marine organism samples, which could have compromised the detection of ions.…”

“…All samples were sonicated in an ultrasound bath for 3 s (model Symphony, VWR, West Chester, PA, USA) and centrifuged at 11,000 rpm for 3 min at 4 °C (5430R, Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany). For each sample, 225 μL of the supernatant was transferred to an amber HPLC vial with insert (Wheaton, New Jersey, USA) and injected into a liquid chromatography system (Accela, Thermo Electron Corporation, San Jose, CA, USA) equipped with a 150 mm × 2 mm Luna C5 guard column for Phenomenex (Torrance, CA, USA), with condition of injection similar to those used by Thibault et al 28 . For further details see Thibault et al 28 .…”