Seawater carbonate chemistry during experiments with Littorina littorea, 2007

• Main Authors: Bibby, Ruth, Cleall-Harding, Polly, Rundle, Simon, Widdicombe, Stephen, Spicer, John I
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2007
• Subjects: Alkalinity; total; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Automated CO2 analyzer (CIBA-Corning 965; UK); Behaviour; Benthic animals; Benthos; Bibby_etal_07; Bicarbonate ion; Bottles or small containers/Aquaria (<20 L); Calcite saturation state; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon; inorganic; dissolved; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Coast and continental shelf; EPOCA; EUR-OCEANS; European network of excellence for Ocean Ecosystems Analysis; European Project on Ocean Acidification; EXP; Experiment; Experimental treatment; Fugacity of carbon dioxide in seawater; Growth/Morphology; Laboratory experiment; Littorina littorea; Littorina littorea shell thickness increase; Littorina littorea stress avoidance responce; Measured; Mollusca; North Atlantic; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Oxygen consumption; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; Electrode; Respiration; Salinity; Single species; Strathkelvin 781 O2 electrode; Temperate; Temperature; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.716837; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.716837

We demonstrate that acidified seawater can have indirect biological effects by disrupting the capability of organisms to express induced defences, hence, increasing their vulnerability to predation. The intertidal gastropod Littorina littorea produced thicker shells in the presence of predation (crab) cues but this response was disrupted at low seawater pH. This response was accompanied by a marked depression in metabolic rate (hypometabolism) under the joint stress of high predation risk and reduced pH. However, snails in this treatment apparently compensated for a lack of morphological defence, by increasing their avoidance behaviour, which, in turn, could affect their interactions with other organisms. Together, these findings suggest that biological effects from ocean acidification may be complex and extend beyond simple direct effects.