Marine Ecology Progress Series
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14939
copiedEffects of multiple stressors on embryos and emerging larvae of the American lobster
ABSTRACT:
Environmental changes in the ocean can impose significant physiological costs and morphological changes to many marine organisms, and early life stages such as eggs and larvae are predicted to be particularly vulnerable to climate change drivers including warming and acidification. Although sensitivity to ocean change stressors during development has the potential to influence the performance, and ultimately the recruitment, of postlarvae and juveniles, the nature and strength of physiological modifications during embryo development is understudied in the ecologically and economically important American lobster Homarus americanus. We investigated the long-term, interactive impacts of ocean acidification and ocean warming on the development and physiology of brooded lobster embryos. We exposed ovigerous females to a combination of 2 temperatures and 2 pH levels for 5 mo, throughout which we measured development, metabolic rate, biochemical composition, and enzyme activity in their brooded embryos. The physiology of American lobster embryos appears to be robust to ocean acidification conditions but sensitive to warming, particularly for metabolic traits. We also found that warming induced a reduction in the size of freshly hatched larvae. Understanding how environmental change influences these early life stages of lobsters can improve predictions for how this species will fare in a changing ocean environment.
KEYWORDS
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B. Jellison (Corresponding Author)
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
A. Sisti (Co-author)
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
J. Shields (Co-author)
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
B. Thomas (Co-author)
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
B. Sweezey (Co-author)
- Texas A&M University, Galveston, TX 77554, USA
E. Rivest (Co-author)
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
Handling Editor:
James McClintock, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Reviewers:
L. Leiva and 2 anonymous referees
Acknowledgements:
This research was funded by an award from NOAA National Sea Grant’s American Lobster Initiative to E.B.R. and J.D.S. (NA19OAR4170393). A.R.S. was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Graduate Student Association Spring 2022 Research Grant. We thank Kathleen Reardon with the Maine Department of Marine Resources and Dr. Tracy Pugh, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, for assistance in obtaining lobsters for this study. Arien Widrick, Amelia Slater, and Gabe Thompson helped with optimization and running of assays, system maintenance, and lobster care over the course of the experiment.