Seawater carbonate chemistry and survival of mollusks: Mercenaria mercenaria, Argopecten irradians, and Crassostrea virginica during experiments, 2009

• Main Authors: Talmage, Stephanie C, Gobler, Christopher J
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2009
• Subjects: Alkalinity; total; standard deviation; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Argopecten irradians; Bicarbonate ion; Bottles or small containers/Aquaria (<20 L); Calcite saturation state; Calculated using CO2SYS; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon; inorganic; dissolved; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; partial pressure; Crassostrea virginica; Development; EGM-4 Environmental Gas Analyzer (PP Systems) using a Liqui-CelH Membrane (Membr; EPOCA; EUR-OCEANS; European network of excellence for Ocean Ecosystems Analysis; European Project on Ocean Acidification; Experimental treatment; Experiment day; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Laboratory experiment; Mercenaria mercenaria; Metamorphosed; larvae; Mollusca; Mortality; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.756661; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.756661

We present experiments that examined the metamorphosis, growth, and survivorship of larvae from three species of commercially and ecologically valuable shellfish (Mercenaria mercenaria, Argopecten irradians, and Crassostrea virginica) at the levels of CO2 projected to occur during the 21st century and beyond. Under CO2 concentrations estimated to occur later this century (~66 Pa, 650 ppm), M. mercenaria and A. irradians larvae exhibited dramatic declines (>50%) in survivorship as well as significantly delayed metamorphosis and significantly smaller sizes. Although C. virginica larvae also experienced lowered growth and delayed metamorphosis at ~66 Pa CO2, their survival was only diminished at ~152 Pa CO2. The extreme sensitivity of larval stages of shellfish to enhanced levels of CO2 indicates that current and future increases in pelagic CO2 concentrations may deplete or alter the composition of shellfish populations in coastal ecosystems.