Energetic plasticity underlies a variable response to ocean acidification in the pteropod, Limacina helicina antarctica.
Ocean acidification, caused by elevated seawater carbon dioxide levels, may have a deleterious impact on energetic processes in animals. Here we show that high PCO(2) can suppress metabolism, measured as oxygen consumption, in the pteropod, L. helicina forma antarctica, by ∼20%. The rates measured a...
| Published in: | PLoS ONE |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030464 https://doaj.org/article/5bda6670566b4de997581f56384bd2cf |
| Summary: | Ocean acidification, caused by elevated seawater carbon dioxide levels, may have a deleterious impact on energetic processes in animals. Here we show that high PCO(2) can suppress metabolism, measured as oxygen consumption, in the pteropod, L. helicina forma antarctica, by ∼20%. The rates measured at 180-380 µatm (MO(2) = 1.25 M(-0.25), p = 0.007) were significantly higher (ANCOVA, p = 0.004) than those measured at elevated target CO(2) levels in 2007 (789-1000 µatm, = 0.78 M(-0.32), p = 0.0008; Fig. 1). However, we further demonstrate metabolic plasticity in response to regional phytoplankton concentration and that the response to CO(2) is dependent on the baseline level of metabolism. We hypothesize that reduced regional Chl a levels in 2008 suppressed metabolism and masked the effect of ocean acidification. This effect of food limitation was not, we postulate, merely a result of gut clearance and specific dynamic action, but rather represents a sustained metabolic response to regional conditions. Thus, pteropod populations may be compromised by climate change, both directly via CO(2)-induced metabolic suppression, and indirectly via quantitative and qualitative changes to the phytoplankton community. Without the context provided by long-term observations (four seasons) and a multi-faceted laboratory analysis of the parameters affecting energetics, the complex response of polar pteropods to ocean acidification may be masked or misinterpreted. |
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