Ervilia castanea (Mollusca, Bivalvia) populations adversely affected at CO₂ seeps in the North Atlantic

Sites with naturally high CO₂ conditions provide unique opportunities to forecast the vulnerability of coastal ecosystems to ocean acidification, by studying the biological responses and potential adaptations to this increased environmental variability. In this study, we investigated the bivalve Erv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science of The Total Environment
Main Authors: Martins, Marta, Silva, Marina Carreiro, Martins, Gustavo M., Ramos, Joana B., Viveiros, Fátima, Couto, Ruben P., Parra, Hugo, Monteiro, João, Gallo, Francesca, Silva, Catarina, Teodósio, Alexandra, Guilini, Katja, Hall-Spencer, Jason M., Leitão, Francisco, Chícharo, Luís, Range, Pedro
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021
Subjects:
Global Change
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry
Coastal Variability
Submarine Volcanic Vents
Population Structure
Semelidae
Sultan
North Atlantic
Ocean acidification
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/14714
http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/5799
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142044
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Summary:Sites with naturally high CO₂ conditions provide unique opportunities to forecast the vulnerability of coastal ecosystems to ocean acidification, by studying the biological responses and potential adaptations to this increased environmental variability. In this study, we investigated the bivalve Ervilia castanea in coastal sandy sediments at reference sites and at volcanic CO₂ seeps off the Azores, where the pH of bottom waters ranged from average oceanic levels of 8.2, along gradients, down to 6.81, in carbonated seawater at the seeps. The bivalve population structure changed markedly at the seeps. Large individuals became less abundant as seawater CO₂ levels rose and were completely absent from the most acidified sites. In contrast, small bivalves were most abundant at the CO₂ seeps. We propose that larvae can settle and initially live in high abundances under elevated CO₂ levels, but that high rates of post-settlement dispersal and/or mortality occur. Ervilia castanea were susceptible to elevated CO₂ levels and these effects were consistently associated with lower food supplies. This raises concerns about the effects of ocean acidification on the brood stock of this species and other bivalve molluscs with similar life history traits. Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [FCT, grant numbers: EXPL/MAR-EST/0604/2013, SFRH/BDP/63040/2009, SFRH/BPD/69959/2010, SFRH/BPD/100032/2014, DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0008 and UIDB/04326/2020]; Direção Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia [DRCT, grant numbers: M2.1.2/I/021/2011, M3.1.7/F/003/2010, M3.1.7/F/006/2011 and M3.1.2/F/025/2011]; Agencia Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação, Tecnologia e Inovação [ARDITI, grant number: M1420-09-5369-FSE-000001]; Khaled Bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation; and the Flemish Fund for Scientific Research [FWO, grant number: 1242114 N]. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

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