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Sea urchin larvae show resilience to ocean acidification at the time of settlement and metamorphosis.
Espinel-Velasco, Nadjejda; Agüera, Antonio; Lamare, Miles.
Afiliação
  • Espinel-Velasco N; Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand. Electronic address: nadjejda.espinel@otago.ac.nz.
  • Agüera A; Institute of Marine Research, Austevoll Research Station, Storebø, 5392, Norway.
  • Lamare M; Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Mar Environ Res ; 159: 104977, 2020 Jul.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32662430
ABSTRACT
Extensive research has shown that the early life stages of marine organisms are sensitive to ocean acidification (OA). Less is known, however, on whether larval settlement and metamorphosis may be affected, or by which mechanisms. These are key processes in the life cycle of most marine benthic organisms, since they mark the transition between the free swimming larval stage to benthic life. We investigated whether OA could affect the larval settlement success of the sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus, a key coastal species with ecological, economic and cultural importance in New Zealand. We performed four settlement experiments to test whether reduced seawater pH (ranging from 8.1 to 7.0, at an interval of ~0.2 pH units) alters larval settlement and metamorphosis success. Our results show that settlement success was not significantly reduced when the larvae were exposed to a range of reduced seawater pH treatments (8.1-7.0) at time of settlement (on direct effects). Similarly, when presented with crustose coralline algae (CCA) pre-conditioned in seawater pH of either pH 8.1 or 7.7 for 28 days, larval settlement success remained unaltered (on indirect effects). We conclude that competent larvae in this species are resilient to OA at time of settlement. Further research on a range of taxa that vary in settlement selectivity and behaviour is needed in order to fully understand the effects of OA on the life cycle of marine invertebrates and the consequences it might have for future coastal marine ecosystems.
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Texto completo: 1 Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Ouriços-do-Mar / Água do Mar / Ecossistema Limite: Animals Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2020 Tipo de documento: Article

Texto completo: 1 Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Ouriços-do-Mar / Água do Mar / Ecossistema Limite: Animals Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2020 Tipo de documento: Article