Data from: Can larvae of a marine fish adapt to ocean acidification? Evaluating the evolutionary potential of California Grunion (Leuresthes tenuis) ...

• Main Authors: Tasoff, Alexander J., Johnson, Darren W.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2018
• Subjects: maternal effects; Leuresthes tenuis; animal model; Contemporary Evolution; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kf0h22h; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.kf0h22h

Ocean acidification can reduce the growth and survival of marine species during their larval stages. However, if populations have the genetic capacity to adapt and increase their tolerance of low pH and high pCO2 levels, this may offset the harmful effects of ocean acidification. By combining controlled breeding experiments with laboratory manipulations of seawater chemistry, we evaluated genetic variation in tolerance of ocean acidification conditions for a nearshore marine fish, the California Grunion (Leuresthes tenuis). Our results indicated that acidification conditions increased overall mortality rates of grunion larvae, but did not have a significant effect on growth. Groups of larvae varied widely with respect to mortality and growth rates in both ambient and acidified conditions. We demonstrate that the potential to evolve in response to ocean acidification is best described by considering additive genetic variation in fitness-related traits under both ambient and acidified conditions, and by ... : grunion_OA_exptMeasurements of mortality rates and average sizes of larvae under two treatments: ambient pCO2 and pH, and low pH/high pCO2 ...