Mixed effects of elevated pCO2 on fertilisation, larval and juvenile development and adult responses in the mobile subtidal scallop Mimachlamys asperrima (Lamarck, 1819)

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 14;9(4):e93649. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093649. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Ocean acidification is predicted to have severe consequences for calcifying marine organisms especially molluscs. Recent studies, however, have found that molluscs in marine environments with naturally elevated or fluctuating CO2 or with an active, high metabolic rate lifestyle may have a capacity to acclimate and be resilient to exposures of elevated environmental pCO2. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of near future concentrations of elevated pCO2 on the larval and adult stages of the mobile doughboy scallop, Mimachlamys asperrima from a subtidal and stable physio-chemical environment. It was found that fertilisation and the shell length of early larval stages of M. asperrima decreased as pCO2 increased, however, there were less pronounced effects of elevated pCO2 on the shell length of later larval stages, with high pCO2 enhancing growth in some instances. Byssal attachment and condition index of adult M. asperrima decreased with elevated pCO2, while in contrast there was no effect on standard metabolic rate or pHe. The responses of larval and adult M. asperrima to elevated pCO2 measured in this study were more moderate than responses previously reported for intertidal oysters and mussels. Even this more moderate set of responses are still likely to reduce the abundance of M. asperrima and potentially other scallop species in the world's oceans at predicted future pCO2 levels.

MeSH terms

  • Adhesiveness
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Basal Metabolism / drug effects
  • Carbon Dioxide / pharmacology*
  • Fertilization / drug effects*
  • Germ Cells / drug effects
  • Germ Cells / growth & development
  • Hemolymph / drug effects
  • Hemolymph / metabolism
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Larva / drug effects
  • Larva / growth & development
  • Movement*
  • Partial Pressure
  • Pectinidae / drug effects*
  • Pectinidae / growth & development*
  • Salinity
  • Temperature
  • Water Movements*

Substances

  • Carbon Dioxide

Grants and funding

This work was funded via a grant from the Australian National Climate Change Adaption Research Facility (www.nccarf.edu.au) Marine Adaption Network for Marine Biodiversity and Resources. This work would not have been possible without their generous support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.