MEPS

Marine Ecology Progress Series

MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.

Online: ISSN 1616-1599

Print: ISSN 0171-8630

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps

Volume contents
Mar Ecol Prog Ser 558:1-14 (2016)

Diurnal fluctuations in CO2 and dissolved oxygen concentrations do not provide a refuge from hypoxia and acidification for early-life-stage bivalves

ABSTRACT: This study assessed the effects of constant and diurnally fluctuating acidification and hypoxia on the survival, growth, and development of larval stages of 3 bivalves indigenous to the east coast of North America: bay scallops Argopecten irradians, hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria, and eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica. Bivalves were exposed to ideal (pH = ~7.9, dissolved oxygen [DO] = ~7 mg l-1), acidified (pH = ~7.2, DO = ~7 mg l-1), hypoxic (pH = ~7.9, DO = ~2 mg l-1), and acidified and hypoxic (pH = ~7.2, DO = ~2 mg l-1) conditions, as well as treatments that fluctuated between ideal conditions by day and acidified, hypoxic, or acidified and hypoxic conditions by night. Continuously acidified conditions reduced survival of larvae of all 3 species, slowed growth of larval bay scallops and eastern oysters, and delayed the development of bay scallop larvae. Continuously hypoxic conditions reduced the survival, growth, and development of larval bay scallops and slowed the development of larval hard clams. Simultaneous exposure to continuously low pH and DO yielded more negative effects than each factor independently. Diurnal exposure to low pH and/or low DO rarely altered, and never fully mitigated, the negative effects of hypoxia and/or acidification despite significantly higher mean pH and DO levels. This suggests that pH and DO fluctuations were too intense, and/or the durations of normoxic and normcapnic conditions were not long enough for bivalve larvae to overcome the physiological stress of hypoxia and acidification. Therefore, the diurnal fluctuations of pH and DO in this study did not provide a temporal refuge from hypoxia and acidification for North Atlantic bivalve larvae, suggesting that such fluctuations in an ecosystem setting can be a significant threat to these larvae.

KEYWORDS

Low dissolved oxygen (DO) and/or low pH conditions occur in productive estuaries both seasonally and diurnally between day and night. Clark & Gobler assessed the effects of constant and diurnally fluctuating acidification and hypoxia on the survival, growth, and development of larval stages of 3 bivalves indigenous to North America. Simultaneous exposure to continuously low pH and DO yielded more negative effects than each factor individually. Diurnal exposure to low pH and/or low DO did not mitigate the negative effects despite significantly higher mean pH and DO levels in these treatments. Hence, diurnal fluctuations of pH and DO did not provide a temporal refuge from hypoxia and acidification for bivalve larvae suggesting that, in an ecosystem setting, such fluctuations can represent a significant environmental threat.

Hannah R. Clark (Co-author)

Christopher J. Gobler (Corresponding Author)
christopher.gobler@stonybrook.edu