scholarly journals CO2-induced low pH in an eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) hatchery positively affects reproductive development and larval survival but negatively affects larval shape and size, with no intergenerational linkages

Author(s):  
Jeff C Clements ◽  
Claire E Carver ◽  
Martin A Mallet ◽  
Luc A Comeau ◽  
André L Mallet

Abstract In North America, studies regarding effects of CO2-induced low pH in bivalve aquaculture are largely restricted to the US Pacific coast. Studies on species from the northwest Atlantic are lacking. Furthermore, information on the roles of intergenerational exposure and biological sex in bivalve responses to low pH, particularly in an aquaculture-specific context, is scant. We tested if short-term (1 month) exposure to CO2-induced reductions in pHNBS affected the reproductive development of male and female eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) during hatchery-specific reproductive conditioning and whether maternal and/or paternal exposure influenced larval responses. Reduced pH (7.5–7.7) increased the rate of reproductive development in both males and females. There was no indication of intergenerational effects; adult pH conditions did not affect early larval development. In contrast, low pH conditions experienced by gametes during spawning, fertilization, and embryo incubation (48 h) resulted in higher larval survival (+6–8% from control), reduced shell height (−2 to 3 µm), and increased deformities (abnormal shell shape; +3–5%). We suggest that local adaptation to acidic land runoff may account for the positive effects of low pH observed in this study. Bioeconomic assessments are now needed to understand the implications of reduced pH on aquaculture operations in these regions of Atlantic Canada.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Tomasetti ◽  
Jeffrey R. Kraemer ◽  
Christopher J. Gobler

Many shallow coastal systems experience diel fluctuations in dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH that can intensify throughout the summer season and expose estuarine organisms to repeated episodes of coastal hypoxia and acidification. In temperate regions, larval release of the economically important blue crab Callinectes sapidus occurs in the summer, and while the earliest stage (zoea I) larvae are susceptible to persistent low DO and low pH conditions, their sensitivity to diel fluctuations is unknown. Here, a series of short-term (≤96 h) experiments were conducted to investigate the survival of C. sapidus zoea I larvae exposed to a range of diel cycling hypoxic and acidified conditions and durations. Two experiments comparing a diel cycling DO/pH treatment (fluctuating from ∼30% air saturation to ∼103% averaging ∼66%/and from pH ∼7.26 to ∼7.80 averaging ∼7.53) to a static low DO/pH treatment (∼43%/∼7.35), a static moderate DO/pH treatment (∼68%/∼7.59), and a static control treatment (∼106%/∼7.94) indicated that survival in the diel cycling treatment was significantly lower than the moderate treatment (p < 0.05) by 75 and 48% over 96 and 48 h, respectively, despite comparable mean experimental DO/pH values. Three other experiments aimed at identifying the effective minimum duration of low DO/low pH to significantly depress larval survival under diel cycling conditions revealed that 8 h of low DO/low pH (∼28%/∼7.43) over a 24-h diel cycle consistently decreased survival (p < 0.05) relative to control conditions by at least 55% regardless of experimental duration (72-, 48-, and 24-h experiments). An increase in DO beyond saturation to supersaturation (160%) and pH beyond normocapnic to highly basified (8.34) conditions during the day phase of the diel cycle did not improve survival of larvae exposed to nocturnal hypoxia and acidification. Collectively, these experiments demonstrate that diel cycling does not provide newly hatched C. sapidus larvae a temporal refuge capable of ameliorating low DO/pH stress, but rather is more lethal than chronic exposure to comparable average DO/pH conditions. Given that larvae exposed to a single nocturnal episode of moderate hypoxia and acidification experience significantly reduced survival, such occurrences may depress larval recruitment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 623 ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
KS Meyer-Kaiser ◽  
EP Houlihan ◽  
JD Wheeler ◽  
DC McCorkle ◽  
LS Mullineaux

2020 ◽  
Vol 640 ◽  
pp. 79-105
Author(s):  
ET Porter ◽  
E Robins ◽  
S Davis ◽  
R Lacouture ◽  
JC Cornwell

Anthropogenic disturbances in the Chesapeake Bay (USA) have depleted eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica abundance and altered the estuary’s environment and water quality. Efforts to rehabilitate oyster populations are underway; however, the effect of oyster biodeposits on water quality and plankton community structure are not clear. In July 2017, we used 6 shear turbulence resuspension mesocosms (STURMs) to determine differences in plankton composition with and without the daily addition of oyster biodeposits to a muddy sediment bottom. STURM systems had a volume-weighted root mean square turbulent velocity of 1.08 cm s-1, energy dissipation rate of ~0.08 cm2 s-3, and bottom shear stress of ~0.36-0.51 Pa during mixing-on periods during 4 wk of tidal resuspension. Phytoplankton increased their chlorophyll a content in their cells in response to low light in tanks with biodeposits. The diatom Skeletonema costatum bloomed and had significantly longer chains in tanks without biodeposits. These tanks also had significantly lower concentrations of total suspended solids, zooplankton carbon, and nitrite +nitrate, and higher phytoplankton carbon concentrations. Results suggest that the absence of biodeposit resuspension initiates nitrogen uptake for diatom reproduction, increasing the cell densities of S. costatum. The low abundance of the zooplankton population in non-biodeposit tanks suggests an inability of zooplankton to graze on S. costatum and negative effects of S. costatum on zooplankton. A high abundance of the copepod Acartia tonsa in biodeposit tanks may have reduced S. costatum chain length. Oyster biodeposit addition and resuspension efficiently transferred phytoplankton carbon to zooplankton carbon, thus supporting the food web in the estuary.


Author(s):  
Kevin M. Johnson ◽  
Hollis R. Jones ◽  
Sandra M. Casas ◽  
Jerome F. La Peyre ◽  
Morgan W. Kelly

Aquaculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 529 ◽  
pp. 735649
Author(s):  
Alexandra J. McCarty ◽  
K. McFarland ◽  
J. Small ◽  
S.K. Allen ◽  
L.V. Plough

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yousuf Ali ◽  
Ana Pavasovic ◽  
Peter B. Mather ◽  
Peter J. Prentis

Carbonic anhydrase (CA), Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) and Vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (HAT) play vital roles in osmoregulation and pH balance in decapod crustaceans. As variable pH levels have a significant impact on the physiology of crustaceans, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms by which an animal maintains its internal pH. We examined expression patterns of cytoplasmic (CAc) and membrane-associated form (CAg) of CA, NKA α subunit and HAT subunit a in gills of freshwater crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, at three pH levels – 6.2, 7.2 (control) and 8.2 – over 24 h. Expression levels of CAc were significantly increased at low pH and decreased at high pH conditions 24 h after transfer. Expression increased at low pH after 12 h, and reached its maximum level by 24 h. CAg showed a significant increase in expression at 6 h after transfer at low pH. Expression of NKA significantly increased at 6 h after transfer to pH 6.2 and remained elevated for up to 24 h. Expression for HAT and NKA showed similar patterns, where expression significantly increased 6 h after transfer to low pH and remained significantly elevated throughout the experiment. Overall, CAc, CAg, NKA and HAT gene expression is induced at low pH conditions in freshwater crayfish.


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