2010/12/22 by Maria Byrne, Melanie A. Ho, Eunice Wong +5 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses #Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies #Marine Biology and Ecology Research
paper · doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.2404
openalex publication_date 2010/12/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
The most fragile skeletons produced by benthic marine calcifiers are those that larvae and juveniles make to support their bodies. Ocean warming, acidification, decreased carbonate saturation and their interactive effects are likely to impair skeletogenesis. Failure to produce skeleton in a changing ocean has negative implications for a diversity of marine species. We examined the interactive effects of warming and acidification on an abalone (Haliotis coccoradiata) and a sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) reared from fertilization in temperature and pH/pCO(2) treatments in a climatically and regionally relevant setting. Exposure of ectodermal (abalone) and mesodermal (echinoid) calcifying systems to warming (+2°C to 4°C) and acidification (pH 7.6-7.8) resulted in unshelled larvae and abnormal juveniles. Haliotis development was most sensitive with no interaction between stressors. For Heliocidaris, the percentage of normal juveniles decreased in response to both stressors, although a +2°C warming diminished the negative effect of low pH. The number of spines produced decreased with increasing acidification/pCO(2), and the interactive effect between stressors indicated that a +2°C warming reduced the negative effects of low pH. At +4°C, the developmental thermal tolerance was breached. Our results show that projected near-future climate change will have deleterious effects on development with differences in vulnerability in the two species.