Maternal and cohort effects modulate offspring responses to multiple stressors

Current concerns about climate change have led to intensive research attempting to understand how climate-driven stressors affect the performance of organisms, in particular the offspring of many invertebrates and fishes. Although stressors are likely to act on several stages of the life cycle, little is known about their action across life phases, for instance how multiple stressors experienced simultaneously in the maternal environment can modulate the responses to the same stressors operating in the offspring environment. Here, we study how performance of offspring of a marine invertebrate (shore crab Carcinus maenas ) changes in response to two stressors (temperature and salinity) experienced during embryogenesis in brooding mothers from different seasons. On average, offspring responses were antagonistic: high temperature mitigated the negative effects of low salinity on survival. However, the magnitude of the response was modulated by the temperature and salinity conditions experienced by egg-carrying mothers. Performance also varied among cohorts, perhaps reflecting genetic variation, and/or maternal conditions prior to embryogenesis. This study contributes towards the understanding of how anthropogenic modification of the maternal environment drives offspring performance in brooders.

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Size-dependent physiological responses of shore crabs to single and repeated playback of ship noise

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2012.1194 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 20121194 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Matthew A. Wale ◽

Stephen D. Simpson ◽

Andrew N. Radford

Keyword(s):

Ambient Noise ◽

Noise Exposure ◽

Marine Invertebrate ◽

Carcinus Maenas ◽

Repeated Exposure ◽

Anthropogenic Noise ◽

Shore Crab ◽

Maximal Response ◽

Handling Stress ◽

Size Dependent

Anthropogenic noise has fundamentally changed the acoustics of terrestrial and aquatic environments, and there is growing empirical evidence that even a single noise exposure can affect behaviour in a variety of vertebrate organisms. Here, we use controlled experiments to investigate how the physiology of a marine invertebrate, the shore crab ( Carcinus maenas ), is affected by both single and repeated exposure to ship-noise playback. Crabs experiencing ship-noise playback consumed more oxygen, indicating a higher metabolic rate and potentially greater stress, than those exposed to ambient-noise playback. The response to single ship-noise playback was size-dependent, with heavier crabs showing a stronger response than lighter individuals. Repeated exposure to ambient-noise playback led to increased oxygen consumption (probably due to handling stress), whereas repeated exposure to ship-noise playback produced no change in physiological response; explanations include the possibility that crabs exhibited a maximal response on first exposure to ship-noise playback, or that they habituated or become tolerant to it. These results highlight that invertebrates, like vertebrates, may also be susceptible to the detrimental impacts of anthropogenic noise and demonstrate the tractability for more detailed investigations into the effects of this pervasive global pollutant.

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Low salinity enhances NI-mediated oxidative stress and sub-lethal toxicity to the green shore crab (Carcinus maenas)

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety ◽

10.1016/j.ecoenv.2015.07.019 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 122 ◽

pp. 159-170 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Tamzin A. Blewett ◽

Chris M. Wood

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Carcinus Maenas ◽

Shore Crab ◽

Low Salinity ◽

Lethal Toxicity

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Predation risk increases in estuarine bivalves stressed by low salinity

Marine Biology ◽

10.1007/s00227-021-03942-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 168 (8) ◽

Author(s):

Rula Domínguez ◽

Elsa Vázquez ◽

Isabel M. Smallegange ◽

Sarah A. Woodin ◽

David S. Wethey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Predation Risk ◽

Native Species ◽

Prey Species ◽

Carcinus Maenas ◽

Handling Time ◽

Ruditapes Philippinarum ◽

Shore Crab ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Predatory Behaviour ◽

Low Salinity

AbstractSalinity drops in estuaries after heavy rains are expected to increase in frequency and intensity over the next decades, with physiological and ecological consequences for the inhabitant organisms. It was investigated whether low salinity stress increases predation risk on three relevant commercial bivalves in Europe. In laboratory, juveniles of Venerupis corrugata, Cerastoderma edule, and the introduced Ruditapes philippinarum were subjected to low salinities (5, 10 and control 35) during two consecutive days and, afterwards, exposed to one of two common predators in the shellfish beds: the shore crab Carcinus maenas and the gastropod Bolinus brandaris, a non-indigenous species present in some Galician shellfish beds. Two types of choice experiment were done: one offering each predator one prey species previously exposed to one of the three salinities, and the other offering each predator the three prey species at the same time, previously exposed to one of the three salinities. Consumption of both predators and predatory behaviour of C. maenas (handling time, rejections, consumption rate) were measured. Predation rates and foraging behaviour differed, with B. brandaris being more generalist than C. maenas. Still, both predators consumed significantly more stressed (salinity 5 and 10) than non-stressed prey. The overall consumption of the native species C. edule and V. corrugata was greater than that of R. philippinarum, likely due to their vulnerability to low salinity and physical traits (e.g., thinner shell, valve gape). Increasing precipitations can alter salinity gradients in shellfish beds, and thus affect the population dynamics of harvested bivalves via predator–prey interactions.

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