| Summary: | For coastal aquatic habitats the change in seawater pH occurring as a result of ocean acidification has the potential to alter the speciation and toxicity of the many contaminants that remain in high concentrations in coastal systems. Of particular concern are metals, such as copper, whose speciation is pH sensitive within the OA range. A meta-analysis of studies to date investigating OA-contaminant interactions using marine invertebrates reveals that 72% of the 44 studies conducted have indeed focused on metals such as copper, with only a few studies looking at polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and pharmaceuticals. No clear trends in the pH-effect size on contaminant toxicity for either species or contaminant group were present however, suggesting species specific physiological responses may influence this interaction as well as contaminant chemistry. A relatively understudied group were the polychaetes, a key functional group for many coastal sediments. Sediments act as a sink for contaminants where they can accumulate to high concentrations. Hence there is high potential for polychaetes to experience elevated metal exposures under reduced seawater pH as OA progresses. To address this knowledge gap, the responses of two common coastal polychaete, Alitta virens and Hediste diversicolor, were studied under three different experimental scenarios (both water-borne and sediment based) focusing on the physiological and toxicological responses under combined exposures to ocean acidification and copper. Water-borne exposures of Alitta virens to 0.25 μM copper under ambient seawater (pH 8.10) showed a significant increase in DNA damage, along with a rise in both SOD activity and lipid peroxidation. However, when exposed to copper under OA conditions (pH 7.70) there was no further increase in DNA damage and a significant decrease in SOD activity was observed alongside a fall in lipid peroxidation suggesting that OA looks to buffer the toxicity responses to this species. This is in contrast to previous studies using ...
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