Experiment: Adaptation of a globally important coccolithophore to ocean warming and acidification

Although oceanwarming and acidification are recognized as two major anthropogenic perturbations of today's oceanswe know very little about how marine phytoplankton may respond via evolutionary change.We tested for adaptation to ocean warming in combination with ocean acidification in the globally important phytoplankton species Emiliania huxleyi. Temperature adaptation occurred independently of ocean acidifcation levels. Exponential growth rates were were up to 16% higher in populations adapted for one year to warming when assayed at their upper thermal tolerance limit. Particulate inorganic (PIC) and organic (POC) carbon production was restored to values under present-day ocean conditions, owing to adaptive evolution, and were 101% and 55% higher under combined warming and acidification, respectively, than in non-adapted controls. Cells also evolved to a smaller size while they recovered their initial PIC:POC ratio even under elevated CO2. The observed changes in coccolithophore growth, calcite and biomass production, cell size and elemental composition demonstrate the importance of evolutionary processes for phytoplankton performance in a future ocean. At the end of a 1-yr temperature selection phase, we conducted a reciprocal assay experiment in which temperature-adapted asexual populations were compared to the respective non-adapted control populations under high temperature, and vice versa (1. Assay Data, Dataset #835336). Mean exponential growth rates ? in treatments subjected to high temperature increased rapidly under all high temperature-CO2 treatment combinations during the temperature selection phase (2. time series, Dataset #835339).

Sea urchins in a high CO2 world: partitioned effects of body-size, ocean warming and acidification on metabolic rate

Body-size and temperature are the major factors explaining metabolic rate, and the additional factor of pH is a major driver at the biochemical level. These three factors have frequently been found to interact, complicating the formulation of broad models predicting metabolic rates and hence ecological functioning. In this first study of the effects of warming and ocean acidification, and their potential interaction, on metabolic rate across a broad body-size range (two-to-three orders of magnitude difference in body mass) we addressed the impact of climate change on the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma in context with climate projections for east Australia, an ocean warming hotspot. Urchins were gradually introduced to two temperatures (18 and 23 °C) and two pH (7.5 and 8.0), and maintained for two months. That a new physiological steady-state had been reached, otherwise know as acclimation, was validated through identical experimental trials separated by several weeks. The relationship between body-size, temperature and acidification on the metabolic rate of H. erythrogramma was strikingly stable. Both stressors caused increases in metabolic rate; 20% for temperature and 19% for pH. Combined effects were additive; a 44% increase in metabolism. Body-size had a highly stable relationship with metabolic rate regardless of temperature or pH. None of these diverse drivers of metabolism interacted or modulated the effects of the others, highlighting the partitioned nature of how each influences metabolic rate, and the importance of achieving a full acclimation state. Despite these increases in energetic demand there was very limited capacity for compensatory modulating of feeding rate; food consumption increased only in the very smallest specimens, and only in response to temperature, and not pH. Our data show that warming, acidification and body-size all substantially affect metabolism and are highly consistent and partitioned in their effects, and for H. erythrogramma near-future climate change will incur a substantial energetic cost.

Nighttime dissolution in a temperate coastal ocean ecosystem increases under acidification

Anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing ocean acidification, lowering seawater aragonite (CaCO3) saturation state (Omega arag), with potentially substantial impacts on marine ecosystems over the 21st Century. Calcifying organisms have exhibited reduced calcification under lower saturation state conditions in aquaria. However, the in situ sensitivity of calcifying ecosystems to future ocean acidification remains unknown. Here we assess the community level sensitivity of calcification to local CO2-induced acidification caused by natural respiration in an unperturbed, biodiverse, temperate intertidal ecosystem. We find that on hourly timescales nighttime community calcification is strongly influenced by Omega arag, with greater net calcium carbonate dissolution under more acidic conditions. Daytime calcification however, is not detectably affected by Omega arag. If the short-term sensitivity of community calcification to Omega arag is representative of the long-term sensitivity to ocean acidification, nighttime dissolution in these intertidal ecosystems could more than double by 2050, with significant ecological and economic consequences.

Effect of ocean warming and acidification on the early life stages of subtropical Acropora spicifera

This study investigated the impacts of acidified seawater (pCO2 900 µatm) and elevated water temperature (+3 °C) on the early life history stages of Acropora spicifera from the subtropical Houtman Abrolhos Islands (28°S) in Western Australia. Settlement rates were unaffected by high temperature (27 °C, 250 µatm), high pCO2 (24 °C, 900 µatm), or a combination of both high temperature and high pCO2 treatments (27 °C, 900 µatm). There were also no significant differences in rates of post-settlement survival after 4 weeks of exposure between any of the treatments, with survival ranging from 60 to 70 % regardless of treatment. Similarly, calcification, as determined by the skeletal weight of recruits, was unaffected by an increase in water temperature under both ambient and high pCO2 conditions. In contrast, high pCO2 significantly reduced early skeletal development, with mean skeletal weight in the high pCO2 and combined treatments reduced by 60 and 48 %, respectively, compared to control weights. Elevated temperature appeared to have a partially mitigative effect on calcification under high pCO2; however, this effect was not significant. Our results show that rates of settlement, post-settlement survival, and calcification in subtropical corals are relatively resilient to increases in temperature. This is in marked contrast to the sensitivity to temperature reported for the majority of tropical larvae and recruits in the literature. The subtropical corals in this study appear able to withstand an increase in temperature of 3 °C above ambient, indicating that they may have a wider thermal tolerance range and may not be adversely affected by initial increases in water temperature from subtropical 24 to 27 °C. However, the reduction in skeletal weight with high pCO2 indicates that early skeletal formation will be highly vulnerable to the changes in ocean pCO2 expected to occur over the twenty-first century, with implications for their longer-term growth and resilience.

The effects of trans-generational exposure to ocean warming and acidification on life history and physiological traits in a marine polychaete

Human-assisted, trans-generational exposure to ocean warming and acidification has been proposed as a conservation and/or restoration tool to produce resilient offspring. To improve our understanding of the need for and the efficacy of this approach, we characterised life history and physiological responses in offspring of the marine polychaete Ophryotrocha labronica exposed to predicted ocean warming (OW: + 3 °C), ocean acidification (OA: pH -0.5) and their combination (OWA: + 3 °C, pH -0.5), following the exposure of their parents to either control conditions (within-generational exposure) or the same conditions (trans-generational exposure). Trans-generational exposure to OW fully alleviated the negative effects of within-generational exposure to OW on fecundity and egg volume and was accompanied by increased metabolic activity. While within-generational exposure to OA reduced juvenile growth rates and egg volume, trans-generational exposure alleviated the former but could not restore the latter. Surprisingly, exposure to OWA had no negative impacts within- or trans-generationally. Our results highlight the potential for trans-generational laboratory experiments in producing offspring that are resilient to OW and OA. However, trans-generational exposure does not always appear to improve traits, and therefore may not be a universally useful tool for all species in the face of global change.

Adaptation of a globally important coccolithophore to ocean warming and acidification

Regulating intracellular pH (pHi) is critical for optimising the metabolic activity of corals, yet mechanisms involved in pH regulation and the buffering capacity within coral cells are not well understood. Our study investigated how the presence of symbiotic dinoflagellates affects the response of pHi to pCO2-driven seawater acidification in cells isolated from Pocillopora damicornis. Using the fluorescent dye BCECF-AM, in conjunction with confocal microscopy, we simultaneously characterised the response of pHi in host coral cells and their dinoflagellate symbionts, in symbiotic and non-symbiotic states under saturating light, with and without the photosynthetic inhibitor DCMU. Each treatment was run under control (pH 7.8) and CO2 acidified seawater conditions (decreasing pH from 7.8 - 6.8). After two hours of CO2 addition, by which time the external pH (pHe) had declined to 6.8, the dinoflagellate symbionts had increased their pHi by 0.5 pH units above control levels. In contrast, in both symbiotic and non-symbiotic host coral cells, 15 min of CO2 addition (0.2 pH unit drop in pHe) led to cytoplasmic acidosis equivalent to 0.4 pH units. Despite further seawater acidification over the duration of the experiment, the pHi of non-symbiotic coral cells did not change, though in host cells containing a symbiont cell the pHi recovered to control levels. This recovery was negated when cells were incubated with DCMU. Our results reveal that photosynthetic activity of the endosymbiont is tightly coupled with the ability of the host cell to recover from cellular acidosis after exposure to high CO2 / low pH.

First Biennial Ocean Climate Summit: Finding Solutions for San Francisco Bay Area’s Coast and Ocean. Proceedings of the Summit: April 29, 2008, Golden Gate Club, The Presidio San Francisco, California

Executive Summary: The marine environment plays a critical role in the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that remains within Earth’s atmosphere, but has not received as much attention as the terrestrial environment when it comes to climate change discussions, programs, and plans for action. It is now apparent that the oceans have begun to reach a state of CO2 saturation, no longer maintaining the “steady-state” carbon cycle that existed prior to the Industrial Revolution. The increasing amount of CO2 present within the oceans and the atmosphere has an effect on climate and a cascading effect on the marine environment. Potential physical effects of climate change within the marine environment, including ocean acidification, changes in wind and upwelling regimes, increasing global sea surface temperatures, and sea level rise, can lead to dramatic, fundamental changes within marine and coastal ecosystems. Altered ecosystems can result in changing coastal economies through a reduction in marine ecosystem services such as commercial fish stocks and coastal tourism. Local impacts from climate change should be a front line issue for natural resource managers, but they often feel too overwhelmed by the magnitude of this issue to begin to take action. They may not feel they have the time, funding, or staff to take on a challenge as large as climate change and continue to not act as a result. Already, natural resource managers work to balance the needs of humans and the economy with ecosystem biodiversity and resilience. Responsible decisions are made each day that consider a wide variety of stakeholders, including community members, agencies, non-profit organizations, and business/industry. The issue of climate change must be approached as a collaborative effort, one that natural resource managers can facilitate by balancing human demands with healthy ecosystem function through research and monitoring, education and outreach, and policy reform. The Scientific Expert Group on Climate Change in their 2007 report titled, “Confronting Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable and Managing the Unavoidable” charged governments around the world with developing strategies to “adapt to ongoing and future changes in climate change by integrating the implications of climate change into resource management and infrastructure development”. Resource managers must make future management decisions within an uncertain and changing climate based on both physical and biological ecosystem response to climate change and human perception of and response to the issue. Climate change is the biggest threat facing any protected area today and resource managers must lead the charge in addressing this threat. (PDF has 59 pages.)

Dramatic variability of the carbonate system at a temperate coastal ocean site (Beaufort, North Carolina, USA) is regulated by physical and biogeochemical processes on multiple timescales.

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) from anthropogenic sources is acidifying marine environments resulting in potentially dramatic consequences for the physical, chemical and biological functioning of these ecosystems. If current trends continue, mean ocean pH is expected to decrease by ~0.2 units over the next ~50 years. Yet, there is also substantial temporal variability in pH and other carbon system parameters in the ocean resulting in regions that already experience change that exceeds long-term projected trends in pH. This points to short-term dynamics as an important layer of complexity on top of long-term trends. Thus, in order to predict future climate change impacts, there is a critical need to characterize the natural range and dynamics of the marine carbonate system and the mechanisms responsible for observed variability. Here, we present pH and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) at time intervals spanning 1 hour to >1 year from a dynamic, coastal, temperate marine system (Beaufort Inlet, Beaufort NC USA) to characterize the carbonate system at multiple time scales. Daily and seasonal variation of the carbonate system is largely driven by temperature, alkalinity and the balance between primary production and respiration, but high frequency change (hours to days) is further influenced by water mass movement (e.g. tides) and stochastic events (e.g. storms). Both annual (~0.3 units) and diurnal (~0.1 units) variability in coastal ocean acidity are similar in magnitude to 50 year projections of ocean acidity associated with increasing atmospheric CO2. The environmental variables driving these changes highlight the importance of characterizing the complete carbonate system rather than just pH. Short-term dynamics of ocean carbon parameters may already exert significant pressure on some coastal marine ecosystems with implications for ecology, biogeochemistry and evolution and this shorter term variability layers additive effects and complexity, including extreme values, on top of long-term trends in ocean acidification.

Towards improved socio-economic assessments of ocean acidification’s impacts

Ocean acidification is increasingly recognized as a component of global change that could have a wide range of impacts on marine organisms, the ecosystems they live in, and the goods and services they provide humankind. Assessment of these potential socio-economic impacts requires integrated efforts between biologists, chemists, oceanographers, economists and social scientists. But because ocean acidification is a new research area, significant knowledge gaps are preventing economists from estimating its welfare impacts. For instance, economic data on the impact of ocean acidification on significant markets such as fisheries, aquaculture and tourism are very limited (if not non-existent), and non-market valuation studies on this topic are not yet available. Our paper summarizes the current understanding of future OA impacts and sets out what further information is required for economists to assess socio-economic impacts of ocean acidification. Our aim is to provide clear directions for multidisciplinary collaborative research.

Free-ocean CO2 enrichment (FOCE) systems: present status and future developments

Free-ocean CO2 enrichment (FOCE) systems are designed to assess the impact of ocean acidification on biological communities in situ for extended periods of time (weeks to months). They overcome some of the drawbacks of laboratory experiments and field observations by enabling (1) precise control of CO2 enrichment by monitoring pH as an offset of ambient pH, (2) consideration of indirect effects such as those mediated through interspecific relationships and food webs, and (3) relatively long experiments with intact communities. Bringing perturbation experiments from the laboratory to the field is, however, extremely challenging. The main goal of this paper is to provide guidelines on the general design, engineering, and sensor options required to conduct FOCE experiments. Another goal is to introduce xFOCE, a community-led initiative to promote awareness, provide resources for in situ perturbation experiments, and build a user community. Present and existing FOCE systems are briefly described and examples of data collected presented. Future developments are also addressed as it is anticipated that the next generation of FOCE systems will include, in addition to pH, options for oxygen and/or temperature control. FOCE systems should become an important experimental approach for projecting the future response of marine ecosystems to environmental change.