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Elevated pCO2 causes developmental delay in early larval Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas

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Abstract

Increasing atmospheric CO2 equilibrates with surface seawater, elevating the concentration of aqueous hydrogen ions. This process, ocean acidification, is a future and contemporary concern for aquatic organisms, causing failures in Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) aquaculture. This experiment determines the effect of elevated pCO2 on the early development of C. gigas larvae from a wild Pacific Northwest population. Adults were collected from Friday Harbor, Washington, USA (48°31.7′N, 12°1.1′W) and spawned in July 2011. Larvae were exposed to Ambient (400 μatm CO2), MidCO2 (700 μatm), or HighCO2 (1,000 μatm). After 24 h, a greater proportion of larvae in the HighCO2 treatment were calcified as compared to Ambient. This unexpected observation is attributed to increased metabolic rate coupled with sufficient energy resources. Oyster larvae raised at HighCO2 showed evidence of a developmental delay by 3 days post-fertilization, which resulted in smaller larvae that were less calcified.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Drs. Ken Sebens and Emily Carrington for use of lab space and facilities at Friday Harbor Labs. Support from National Science Foundation grant EF1041213 to Dr. Carrington funded the construction of the ocean acidification system and analytical equipment used in this study. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Saltonstall-Kennedy Program grant # NA09NMF4270093 to Dr. Steven Roberts and Dr. Carolyn Friedman also supported this research project. Matt George, Laura Newcomb, and Michelle Herko provided help with maintenance of the ocean acidification system, larval care, and water chemistry analysis, respectively. Thank you to Dr. Richard Strathmann for his advice on larval care and to Dr. Billie Swalla for advice on fixation and for use of her lab space. Dr. Brent Vadopalas and Dr. Loveday Conquest were incredibly helpful with advice on statistical analysis. Lisa Crosson, Mackenzie Gavery, Caroline Storer, and Sam White provided valuable, critical feedback during the writing process. We are very appreciative of the thorough and helpful comments from two anonymous reviewers and from the editor of this issue, Dr. Sam Dupont.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Box 355020, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Emma Timmins-Schiffman, Carolyn S. Friedman & Steven B. Roberts

  2. Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, 620 University Rd., Friday Harbor, WA, 98250, USA

    Michael J. O’Donnell

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  1. Emma Timmins-Schiffman
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Correspondence to Emma Timmins-Schiffman.

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Communicated by S. Dupont.

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Timmins-Schiffman, E., O’Donnell, M.J., Friedman, C.S. et al. Elevated pCO2 causes developmental delay in early larval Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas . Mar Biol 160, 1973–1982 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2055-x

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