Lake Baikal amphipods under climate change: thermal constraints and ecological consequences

The effects of ocean warming and elevated CO2 on the feeding behavior and physiology of two sympatric mesograzers

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased significantly since pre-industrial times, leading to ocean warming and acidification. These environmental changes affect the physiology of marine organisms as they modify metabolic processes. Despite the critical role of temperature and pH in marine biology, studies of their combined effects are limited. This study investigated the interactive effects of ocean warming and acidification on the feeding behavior and physiology of two sympatric amphipods, Hyale niger and Cymadusa filosa. Using an orthogonal experimental design with two temperatures (27 °C and 30 °C) and two pH levels (7.8 and 7.5), we assessed feeding rates, respiration rates, ammonia excretion, and O/N ratios. Results indicated that C. filosa was less tolerant to these stressors than H. niger. While H. niger showed no significant changes between treatments, C. filosa showed reduced feeding rates and altered physiological responses to elevated temperature and decreased pH. Reducing the feeding rate of C. filosa may favor macroalgal biomass and strengthen bottom-up control in phytal communities. In addition, increased ammonia excretion in C. filosa suggests increased protein catabolism to meet energy demands at higher temperatures, despite reduced oxygen consumption. This indicates a compromised metabolism and a reduction in circulating oxygen capacity for C. filosa. The study shows heterogeneous responses to climate change, highlighting the need to assess combined environmental stressors in different species to accurately understand the impacts of climate change.

Warming alters plankton body-size distributions in a large field experiment

The threat of climate change has renewed interest in the responses of communities and ecosystems to warming, with changes in size spectra expected to signify fundamental shifts in the structure and dynamics of these multispecies systems. While substantial empirical evidence has accumulated in recent years on such changes, we still lack general insights due to a limited coverage of warming scenarios that span spatial and temporal scales of relevance to natural systems. We addressed this gap by conducting an extensive freshwater mesocosm experiment across 36 large field mesocosms exposed to intergenerational warming treatments of up to +8 °C above ambient levels. We found a nonlinear decrease in the overall mean body size of zooplankton with warming, with a 57% reduction at +8 °C. This pattern was broadly consistent over two tested seasons and major taxonomic groups. We also detected some breakpoints in the community-level size-temperature relationship, indicating that the system's response shifts noticeably above a certain level of warming. These results underscore the need to capture intergenerational responses to large gradients in warming at appropriate scales in time and space in order to better understand the effects of warming on natural communities and ecosystems.

Leeches Baicalobdella torquata feed on hemolymph but have a low effect on the cellular immune response of amphipod Eulimnogammarus verrucosus from Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is one of the largest and oldest freshwater reservoirs on the planet with a huge endemic diversity of amphipods (Amphipoda, Crustacea). These crustaceans have various symbiotic relationships, including the rarely described phenomenon of leech parasitism on amphipods. It is known that leeches feeding on hemolymph of crustacean hosts can influence their physiology, especially under stressful conditions. Here we show that leeches Baicalobdella torquata (Grube, 1871) found on gills of Eulimnogammarus verrucosus (Gerstfeldt, 1858), one of the most abundant amphipods in the Baikal littoral zone, indeed feed on the hemolymph of their host. However, the leech infection had no effect on immune parameters such as hemocyte concentration or phenoloxidase activity and also did not affect glycogen content. The intensity of hemocyte reaction to foreign bodies in a primary culture was identical between leech-free and leech-infected animals. Artificial infection with leeches also had only a subtle effect on the course of a model microbial infection in terms of hemocyte concentration and composition. Despite we cannot fully exclude deleterious effects of the parasites, our study indicates a low influence of a few leeches on E. verrucosus and shows that leech-infected amphipods can be used at least for some types of ecophysiological experiments.

Cold-adapted amphipod species upon heat stress: Proteomic responses and their correlation with transcriptomic responses

The cellular heat shock response (HSR) comprises transcriptomic and proteomic reactions to thermal stress. It was here addressed, how the proteomic, together with the transcriptomic HSR, relate to the thermal sensitivities of three cold-adapted but differently thermo-sensitive freshwater amphipod species. The proteomes of thermosensitive Eulimnogammarus verrucosus and thermotolerant Eulimnogammarus cyaneus, both endemic to Lake Baikal, and of thermotolerant Holarctic Gammarus lacustris were investigated upon 24 h exposure to the species-specific 10 % lethal temperatures (LT10). Furthermore, correlations of heat stress induced changes in proteomes (this study) and transcriptomes (previous study with identical experimental design) were examined. Proteomes indicated that the HSR activated processes encompassed (i) proteostasis maintenance, (ii) maintenance of cell adhesion, (iii) oxygen transport, (iv) antioxidant response, and (v) regulation of protein synthesis. Thermo-sensitive E. verrucosus showed the most pronounced proteomic HSR and the lowest correlation of transcriptomic and proteomic HSRs. For proteins related to translation (ribosomal proteins, elongation factors), transcriptomic and proteomic changes were inconsistent: transcripts were downregulated in many cases, with levels of corresponding proteins remaining unchanged. In the Eulimnogammarus species, levels of hemocyanin protein but not transcript were increased upon heat stress, suggesting a HSR also directed to enhance oxygen transport. Thermosensitive E. verrucosus showed the most pronounced relocation of transcription/translation activity to proteostasis maintenance, which may indicate that the general species-specific stability of protein structure could be a fundamental determinant of thermotolerance. By combining transcriptomic and proteomic response data, this study provides a comprehensive picture of the cellular HSR components in the studied amphipods.

Organic matter processing in a [simulated] offshore wind farm ecosystem in current and future climate and aquaculture scenarios

The rapid development of blue economy and human use of offshore space triggered the concept of co-location of marine activities and is causing diverse local pressures on the environment. These pressures add to, and interact with, global challenges such as ocean acidification and warming. This study investigates the combined pressures of climate change and the planned co-location of offshore wind farm (OWF) and aquaculture zones on the carbon flow through epifaunal communities inhabiting wind turbines in the North Sea. A ¹³C-labelled phytoplankton pulse-chase experiment was performed in mesocosms (4 m³) holding undisturbed hard-substrate (HS) communities, natural sediment with infauna, and mobile invertebrate predators. Carbon assimilation was quantified under current and predicted future-climate conditions (+3 °C and -0.3 pH units), as well as a future-climate co-use scenario with blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) aquaculture. Climate change induced an increase in macrofaunal carbon assimilation as well as an organic enrichment of underlying sediments. Dynamic (non-)trophic links between M. edulis and other HS epifauna resulted in shifts among the species contributing most to the phytoplankton-derived carbon flow across climate scenarios. Increased inter- and intraspecific resource competition in the presence of M. edulis aquaculture prevented a large increase in the total assimilation of phytoplankton by HS fauna. Lower individual carbon assimilation rates by both mussels and other epifauna suggest that if filter capacity by HS epifauna would approach renewal by advection/mixing, M. edulis individuals would likely grow to a smaller-than-desired commercial size. In the same scenario, benthic organic carbon mineralisation was significantly boosted due to increased organic matter deposition by the aquaculture set-up. Combining these results with in situ OWF abundance data confirmed M. edulis as the most impactful OWF AHS species in terms of (total) carbon assimilation as well as the described stress responses due to climate change and the addition of bivalve aquaculture.

Different ways to play it cool: Transcriptomic analysis sheds light on different activity patterns of three amphipod species under long-term cold exposure

Species of littoral freshwater environments in regions with continental climate experience pronounced seasonal temperature changes. Coping with long cold winters and hot summers requires specific physiological and behavioural adaptations. Endemic amphipods of Lake Baikal, Eulimnogammarus verrucosus and Eulimnogammarus cyaneus, show high metabolic activity throughout the year; E. verrucosus even reproduces in winter. In contrast, the widespread Holarctic amphipod Gammarus lacustris overwinters in torpor. This study investigated the transcriptomic hallmarks of E. verrucosus, E. cyaneus and G. lacustris exposed to low water temperatures. Amphipods were exposed to 1.5°C and 12°C (corresponding to the mean winter and summer water temperatures, respectively, in the Baikal littoral) for one month. At 1.5°C, G. lacustris showed upregulation of ribosome biogenesis and mRNA processing genes, as well as downregulation of genes related to growth, reproduction and locomotor activity, indicating enhanced energy allocation to somatic maintenance. Our results suggest that the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathway is involved in the preparation for hibernation; downregulation of the actin cytoskeleton pathway genes could relate to the observed low locomotor activity of G. lacustris at 1.5°C. The differences between the transcriptomes of E. verrucosus and E. cyaneus from the 1.5°C and 12°C exposures were considerably smaller than for G. lacustris. In E. verrucosus, cold-exposure triggered reproductive activity was indicated by upregulation of respective genes, whereas in E. cyaneus, genes related to mitochondria functioning were upregulated, indicating cold compensation in this species. Our data elucidate the molecular characteristics behind the different adaptations of amphipod species from the Lake Baikal area to winter conditions.

Cellular Immune Response of an Endemic Lake Baikal Amphipod to Indigenous Pseudomonas sp

Studies of invertebrates have shown that the internal environment of crustaceans is not always sterile in normal conditions, and in many species, it can be populated by microorganisms even in the absence of any visible pathological processes in the body. This observation raises the question of whether genetically modified indigenous hemolymph microorganisms can be used for biotechnological purposes inside the crustacean either as local producers of some compounds or as sensors to physiological parameters. In this study, we tested the ability of the bacteria isolated from the hemolymph of the amphipod Eulimnogammarus verrucosus to hide from the cellular immune response of the host as the most important feature for their potential long-term application in vivo. 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing revealed five common bacterial genera in all analyzed samples of the amphipod hemolymph, among which Pseudomonas is most easily subjected to genome modification and, thus, the most prospective for biotechnological application. Cultivation of Pseudomonas gave us a number of strains undoubtedly derived from the amphipod hemolymph, and one of them (belonging to the Pseudomonas fluorescens group) was chosen for further tests. The primary culture of amphipod hemocytes was used to analyze the immunogenicity of the strain and showed a pronounced reaction of the immune cells to a high amount of the bacteria within six hours. This result indicates that modulation of cellular immune response to metabolically active bacterial cells is not mandatory for the survival and wide distribution of these microorganisms in the hemolymph of numerous amphipod individuals.

Low annual temperature likely prevents the Holarctic amphipod Gammarus lacustris from invading Lake Baikal

Species with effective thermal adaptation mechanisms allowing them to thrive within a wide temperature range can benefit from climatic changes as they can displace highly specialized species. Here, we studied the adaptive capabilities of the Baikal endemic amphipods Eulimnogammarus verrucosus (Gerstfeld, 1858) and Eulimnogammarus cyaneus (Dybowsky, 1874) compared to the potential Holarctic Baikal invader Gammarus lacustris Sars, 1863 at the cellular level including the energy metabolism and the antioxidant system. All species were long-term exposed to a range of temperatures (1.5 °C to mimic winter conditions and the three species-specific preferred temperatures (i.e., 6 °C for E. verrucosus, 12 °C for E. cyaneus and 15 °C for G. lacustris). At 1.5 °C, we found species-specific metabolic alterations (i.e., significantly reduced ATP content and lactate dehydrogenase activity) indicating limitations on the activity level in the Holarctic G. lacustris. Although the two Baikal endemic amphipod species largely differ in thermal tolerance, no such limitations were found at 1.5 °C. However, the cold-stenothermal Baikal endemic E. verrucosus showed changes indicating a higher involvement of anaerobic metabolism at 12 °C and 15 °C, while the metabolic responses of the more eurythermal Baikal endemic E. cyaneus may support aerobic metabolism and an active lifestyle at all exposure temperatures. Rising temperatures in summer may provide a competitive advantage for G. lacustris compared to the Baikal species but the inactive lifestyle in the cold is likely preventing G. lacustris from establishing a stable population in Lake Baikal.

Proteomics reveals sex-specific heat shock response of Baikal amphipod Eulimnogammarus cyaneus

The ancient Lake Baikal is the largest source of liquid freshwater on Earth and home to a unique fauna. Several hundred mostly cold-adapted endemic amphipod species inhabit Baikal, an ecosystem that is already being influenced by global change. In this study, we characterized the core proteome and heat stress-induced changes in a temperature-tolerant endemic amphipod, Eulimnogammarus cyaneus, using a proteogenomic approach (PRIDE dataset PXD013237) to unravel the molecular mechanisms of the observed adverse effects. As males were previously found to be much more tolerant to thermal stress, we placed special emphasis on differences between the sexes. For both sexes, we observed adaption of energy metabolism, cytoskeleton, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism upon heat stress. In contrast, significant differences were determined in the molecular chaperone response. Females from the control conditions possessed significantly higher levels of heat shock proteins (HSP70, HSPb1, Hsc70-3), which, in contrast to males, were not further increased in response to heat stress. The inability of females to further increase heat shock protein synthesis in response to temperature stress may be due to sex-specific processes, such as egg production, requiring a large proportion of the available energy. As ovigerous females synthesize generally higher amounts of protein, they also need higher levels of molecular chaperones for the folding of these new proteins. Thus, the higher sensitivity of females to heat shock may be due to the lack of molecular chaperone molecules to counteract the heat-induced protein denaturation.

Thermal reaction norms of key metabolic enzymes reflect divergent physiological and behavioral adaptations of closely related amphipod species

Lake Baikal is inhabited by more than 300 endemic amphipod species, which are narrowly adapted to certain thermal niches due to the high interspecific competition. In contrast, the surrounding freshwater fauna is commonly represented by species with large-scale distribution and high phenotypic thermal plasticity. Here, we investigated the thermal plasticity of the energy metabolism in two closely-related endemic amphipod species from Lake Baikal (Eulimnogammarus verrucosus; stenothermal and Eulimnogammarus cyaneus; eurythermal) and the ubiquitous Holarctic amphipod Gammarus lacustris (eurythermal) by exposure to a summer warming scenario (6-23.6 °C; 0.8 °C d^-1). In concert with routine metabolic rates, activities of key metabolic enzymes increased strongly with temperature up to 15 °C in E. verrucosus, whereupon they leveled off (except for lactate dehydrogenase). In contrast, exponential increases were seen in E. cyaneus and G. lacustris throughout the thermal trial (Q₁₀-values: 1.6-3.7). Cytochrome-c-oxidase, lactate dehydrogenase, and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase activities were found to be higher in G. lacustris than in E. cyaneus, especially at the highest experimental temperature (23.6 °C). Decreasing gene expression levels revealed some thermal compensation in E. cyaneus but not in G. lacustris. In all species, shifts in enzyme activities favored glycolytic energy generation in the warmth. The congruent temperature-dependencies of enzyme activities and routine metabolism in E. verrucosus indicate a strong feedback-regulation of enzymatic activities by whole organism responses. The species-specific thermal reaction norms reflect the different ecological niches, including the spatial distribution, distinct thermal behavior such as temperature-dependent migration, movement activity, and mating season.

Climate impacts on organisms, ecosystems and human societies: integrating OCLTT into a wider context

Physiological studies contribute to a cause and effect understanding of ecological patterns under climate change and identify the scope and limits of adaptation. Across most habitats, this requires analyzing organism responses to warming, which can be modified by other drivers such as acidification and oxygen loss in aquatic environments or excess humidity or drought on land. Experimental findings support the hypothesis that the width and temperature range of thermal performance curves relate to biogeographical range. Current warming causes range shifts, hypothesized to include constraints in aerobic power budget which in turn are elicited by limitations in oxygen supply capacity in relation to demand. Different metabolic scopes involved may set the borders of both the fundamental niche (at standard metabolic rate) and the realized niche (at routine rate). Relative scopes for aerobic performance also set the capacity of species to interact with others at the ecosystem level. Niche limits and widths are shifting and probably interdependent across life stages, with young adults being least thermally vulnerable. The principles of thermal tolerance and performance may also apply to endotherms including humans, their habitat and human society. Overall, phylogenetically based comparisons would need to consider the life cycle of species as well as organism functional properties across climate zones and time scales. This Review concludes with a perspective on how mechanism-based understanding allows scrutinizing often simplified modeling approaches projecting future climate impacts and risks for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. It also emphasizes the usefulness of a consensus-building process among experimentalists for better recognition in the climate debate.

Changes of cellular stress response related hsp70 and abcb1 transcript and Hsp70 protein levels in Siberian freshwater amphipods upon exposure to cadmium chloride in the lethal concentration range

The induction of cellular stress response systems, heat shock protein hsp70/Hsp70 and multixenobiotic transporter abcb1, by cadmium chloride (CdCl₂) was explored in amphipod species with different stress adaptation strategies from the Lake Baikal area. Based on the lethal concentrations (LC) of CdCl₂, the sensitivities of the different species to CdCl₂ were ranked (24 hr LC50 in mg/L CdCl₂ (mean/95% confidence interval)): Gammarus lacustris (1.7/1.3–2.4) < Eulimnogammarus cyaneus (2.9/2.1–4.0) < Eulimnogammarus verrucosus (5.7/3.8–8.7) < Eulimnogammarus vittatus (18.1/12.4–26.6). Conjugated dienes, indicating lipid peroxidation, were significantly increased after 24 hr exposures to 5 mg/L CdCl₂ only in the more CdCl₂-sensitive species G. lacustris and E. cyaneus. Upon treatment with 0.54 to 5.8 mg/L CdCl₂ for 1, 6 and 24 hrs, hsp70 transcript levels were generally more increased after the longer exposure times and in the more CdCl₂-sensitive species. Relating the CdCl₂ exposure concentrations to LCx values revealed that across the species the increases of hsp70 transcript levels were comparatively low (up to 2.6-fold) at CdCl₂ concentrations ≤LC50. Relative hsp70 transcript levels were maximally increased in E. cyaneus by 5 mg/L CdCl₂ (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{upgreek} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} }{}$\hat {=}$\end{document}= ˆLC70) at 24 hrs (9.1-fold increase above the respective control). When G. lacustris was exposed to 5 mg/L CdCl₂ (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{upgreek} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} }{}$\hat {=}$\end{document}= ˆLC90) for 24 hrs, the increase in hsp70 was in comparison to E. cyaneus considerably less pronounced (3.0-fold increase in hsp70 levels relative to control). Upon exposure of amphipods to 5 mg/L CdCl₂, increases in Hsp70 protein levels compared to untreated controls were highest in E. cyaneus at 1 and 6 hrs (5 mg/L CdCl₂\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{upgreek} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} }{}$\hat {=}$\end{document}= ˆ LC70) and in E. verrucosus at 24 hrs (5 mg/L CdCl₂\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{upgreek} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} }{}$\hat {=}$\end{document}= ˆ LC45). Thus, when the fold increases in Hsp70 protein levels in the different amphipod species were related to the respective species-specific LCx values a similar bell-shaped trend as for hsp70 transcript levels was seen across the species. Transcript levels of abcb1 in CdCl₂exposed individuals of the different amphipod species varied up to 4.7-fold in relation to the respective controls. In contrast to hsp70/Hsp70, abcb1 transcripts in CdCl₂ exposed individuals of the different amphipod species did not indicate similar levels of induction of abcb1 at equal LCx levels across the species. Induction of hsp70 and abcb1 genes and Hsp70 proteins by CdCl₂ in the lethal concentration range shows that these cellular responses are rather insensitive to CdCl₂ stress in the examined amphipod species. Furthermore, the increase of expression of these cellular defense systems at such high stress levels suggests that induction of these genes is not related to the maintenance of normal metabolism but to mitigation of the effects of severe toxic stress.

Transcriptome-level effects of the model organic pollutant phenanthrene and its solvent acetone in three amphipod species

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are common pollutants of water ecosystems originating from incineration processes and contamination with mineral oil. Water solubility of PAHs is generally low; for toxicity tests with aquatic organisms, they are therefore usually dissolved in organic solvents. Here we examined the effects of a typical model PAH, phenanthrene, and a solvent, acetone, on amphipods as relevant aquatic invertebrate models. Two of these species, Eulimnogammarus verrucosus and Eulimnogammarus cyaneus, are common endemics of the oligotrophic and pristine Lake Baikal, while one, Gammarus lacustris, is widespread throughout the Holarctic and inhabits smaller and more eutrophic water bodies in the Baikal area. Neither solvent nor phenanthrene caused mortality at the applied concentrations, but both substances affected gene expression in all species. Differential gene expression was more profound in the species from Lake Baikal than in the Holarctic species. Moreover, in one of the Baikal species, E. cyaneus, we found that many known components of the cellular xenobiotic detoxification system reacted to the treatments. Finally, we detected a negative relationship between changes in transcript abundances in response to the solvent and phenanthrene. This mixture effect, weaker than the impact by a single mixture component, needs further exploration.

Comparison between transcriptomic responses to short-term stress exposures of a common Holarctic and endemic Lake Baikal amphipods

Background

Lake Baikal is one of the oldest freshwater lakes and has constituted a stable environment for millions of years, in stark contrast to small, transient bodies of water in its immediate vicinity. A highly diverse endemic endemic amphipod fauna is found in one, but not the other habitat. We ask here whether differences in stress response can explain the immiscibility barrier between Lake Baikal and non-Baikal faunas. To this end, we conducted exposure experiments to increased temperature and the toxic heavy metal cadmium as stressors.

Results

Here we obtained high-quality de novo transcriptome assemblies, covering mutiple conditions, of three amphipod species, and compared their transcriptomic stress responses. Two of these species, Eulimnogammarus verrucosus and E. cyaneus, are endemic to Lake Baikal, while the Holarctic Gammarus lacustris is a potential invader.

Conclusions

Both Baikal species possess intact stress response systems and respond to elevated temperature with relatively similar changes in their expression profiles. G. lacustris reacts less strongly to the same stressors, possibly because its transcriptome is already perturbed by acclimation conditions.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-6024-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Application of PEG-Covered Non-Biodegradable Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules in the Crustacean Circulatory System on the Example of the Amphipod Eulimnogammarus verrucosus

Layer-by-layer assembled microcapsules are promising carriers for the delivery of various pharmaceutical and sensing substances into specific organs of different animals, but their utility in vivo inside such an important group as crustaceans remains poorly explored. In the current study, we analyzed several significant aspects of the application of fluorescent microcapsules covered by polyethylene glycol (PEG) inside the crustacean circulatory system, using the example of the amphipod Eulimnogammarus verrucosus. In particular, we explored the distribution dynamics of visible microcapsules after injection into the main hemolymph vessel; analyzed the most significant features of E. verrucosus autofluorescence; monitored amphipod mortality and biochemical markers of stress response after microcapsule injection, as well as the healing of the injection wound; and finally, we studied the immune response to the microcapsules. The visibility of microcapsules decreased with time, however, the central hemolymph vessel was confirmed to be the most promising organ for detecting the spectral signal of implanted microencapsulated fluorescent probes. One million injected microcapsules (sufficient for detecting stable fluorescence during the first hours after injection) showed no toxicity for six weeks, but in vitro amphipod immune cells recognize the PEG-coated microcapsules as foreign bodies and try to isolate them by 12 h after contact.

Indication of ongoing amphipod speciation in Lake Baikal by genetic structures within endemic species

Background

The ancient Lake Baikal is characterized by an outstanding diversity of endemic faunas with more than 350 amphipod species and subspecies. We determined the genetic diversity within the endemic littoral amphipod species Eulimnogammarus verrucosus, E. cyaneus and E. vittatus and investigated whether within those species genetically separate populations occur across Lake Baikal. Gammarus lacustris from water bodies in the Baikal area was examined for comparison.

Results

Genetic diversities within a species were determined based on fragments of cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and for E. verrucosus additionally of 18S rDNA. Highly location-specific haplogroups of E. verrucosus and E. vittatus were found at the southern and western shores of Baikal that are separated by the Angara River outflow; E. verrucosus from the eastern shore formed a further, clearly distinct haplotype cluster possibly confined by the Selenga River and Angarskiy Sor deltas. The genetic diversities within these haplogroups were lower than between the different haplogroups. Intraspecific genetic diversities within E. verrucosus and E. vittatus with 13 and 10%, respectively, were similar to interspecies differences indicating the occurrence of cryptic, morphologically highly similar species; for E. verrucosus this was confirmed with 18S rDNA. The haplotypes of E. cyaneus and G. lacustris specimens were with intraspecific genetic distances of 3 and 2%, respectively, more homogeneous indicating no or only recent disruption of gene flow of E. cyaneus across Baikal and recent colonization of water bodies around Baikal by G. lacustris.

Conclusions

Our finding of separation of subgroups of Baikal endemic amphipods to different degrees points to a species-specific ability of dispersal across areas with adverse conditions and to potential geographical dispersal barriers in Lake Baikal.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-019-1470-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Ampelisca eschrichtii Krøyer, 1842 (Ampeliscidae) of the Sakhalin Shelf in the Okhotsk Sea starve in summer and feast in winter

Background

Ampelisca eschrichtii Krøyer, 1842 of the Sakhalin Shelf of the Okhotsk Sea, Far Eastern Russia, comprise the highest known biomass concentration of any amphipod population in the world and are a critically important prey source for western gray whales. Growth and reproduction in this population has not been apparent in summer. However, they are not accessible for sampling in winter to test a previous default conclusion that they grow and reproduce in winter.

Methods

We tested the default winter growth and reproduction hypothesis by detailed comparisons of the brood and gonad development among 40 females and 14 males and brood sizes among females observed since 2002. Our test included six predictions of reproductive synchrony that would be apparent from gonad and brood morphology if active reproduction occurs in summer.

Results

We found high prevalences of undersized and damaged oocytes, undersized broods, a lack of females brooding fully formed juveniles, atrophied ovaries, and males with mature sperm but lacking fully developed secondary sex morphologies required for pelagic mating. All of these conditions are consistent with trophic stress and starvation.

Discussion

These A. eschrichtii populations therefore appear to starve in summer and to grow and reproduce in winter. The Offshore A. eschrichtii populations occur in summer below water strata bearing high phytoplankton biomasses. These populations are more likely to feed successfully in winter when storms mix phytoplankton to their depths.

Oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance: bridging ecology and physiology

Observations of climate impacts on ecosystems highlight the need for an understanding of organismal thermal ranges and their implications at the ecosystem level. Where changes in aquatic animal populations have been observed, the integrative concept of oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance (OCLTT) has successfully characterised the onset of thermal limits to performance and field abundance. The OCLTT concept addresses the molecular to whole-animal mechanisms that define thermal constraints on the capacity for oxygen supply to the organism in relation to oxygen demand. The resulting ‘total excess aerobic power budget’ supports an animal's performance (e.g. comprising motor activity, reproduction and growth) within an individual's thermal range. The aerobic power budget is often approximated through measurements of aerobic scope for activity (i.e. the maximum difference between resting and the highest exercise-induced rate of oxygen consumption), whereas most animals in the field rely on lower (i.e. routine) modes of activity. At thermal limits, OCLTT also integrates protective mechanisms that extend time-limited tolerance to temperature extremes – mechanisms such as chaperones, anaerobic metabolism and antioxidative defence. Here, we briefly summarise the OCLTT concept and update it by addressing the role of routine metabolism. We highlight potential pitfalls in applying the concept and discuss the variables measured that led to the development of OCLTT. We propose that OCLTT explains why thermal vulnerability is highest at the whole-animal level and lowest at the molecular level. We also discuss how OCLTT captures the thermal constraints on the evolution of aquatic animal life and supports an understanding of the benefits of transitioning from water to land.

Uptake Kinetics and Subcellular Compartmentalization Explain Lethal but Not Sublethal Effects of Cadmium in Two Closely Related Amphipod Species

Eulimnogammarus cyaneus and Eulimnogammarus verrucosus, closely related amphipod species endemic to Lake Baikal, differ with respect to body size (10- to 50-fold lower fresh weights of E. cyaneus) and cellular stress response (CSR) capacity, potentially causing species-related differences in uptake, internal sequestration, and toxic sensitivity to waterborne cadmium (Cd). We found that, compared to E. verrucosus, Cd uptake rates, related to a given exposure concentration, were higher, and lethal concentrations (50%; LC50) were 2.3-fold lower in E. cyaneus (4 weeks exposure; 6 °C). Upon exposures to species-specific subacutely toxic Cd concentrations (nominal LC1; E. cyaneus: 18 nM (2.0 μg L^-1); E. verrucosus: 115 nM (12.9 μg L^-1); 4 weeks exposure; 6 °C), Cd amounts in metal sensitive tissue fractions (MSF), in relation to fresh weight, were similar in both species (E. cyaneus: 0.25 ± 0.06 μg g^-1; E. verrucosus: 0.26 ± 0.07 μg g^-1), whereas relative Cd amounts in the biologically detoxified heat stable protein fraction were 35% higher in E. cyaneus. Despite different potencies in detoxifying Cd, body size appears to mainly explain species-related differences in Cd uptake and sensitivities. When exposed to Cd at LC1 over 4 weeks, only E. verrucosus continuously showed 15-36% reduced oxygen consumption rates indicating metabolic depression and pointing to particular sensitivity of E. verrucosus to persisting low-level toxicant pressure.

Intersexual differences of heat shock response between two amphipods (Eulimnogammarus verrucosus and Eulimnogammarus cyaneus) in Lake Baikal

Acute temperature fluctuations are common in surface waters, and aquatic organisms may manifest physiological responses to punctuated temperature spikes long before behavioral responses. Ectotherms, especially cryophilic stenotherms such as those endemic to Lake Baikal (Siberia), may demonstrate specialized physiological responses to acute temperature increases because their proteomes have evolved to function most efficiently at lower temperatures (e.g., <10 °C). Therefore, our study questioned the nature and degree of variation in physiological response to acute thermal stress in two congenerous, endemic Baikal amphipod species, Eulimnogammarus verrucosus and Eulimnogammarus cyaneus. We hypothesized that because interspecific and intersexual thermosensitivity varies significantly among ectotherms, there would be divergent intersexual and interspecific strategies to withstand acute thermal stress, manifested in different protein compositions and concentrations. We exposed individuals to the species’ respective LT50 for one hour followed by a three-hour recovery period. We then performed 1D-PAGE, Western blotting, 2D-PAGE, and Mass Spectrometry techniques and assessed relative intersexual and interspecific changes in proteomic composition and heat shock protein 70 level. Our results demonstrate that females tend to be more sensitive to an acute thermal stimulus than males, most likely because females allocate significant energy to reproduction and less to heat shock response, evidenced by females’ significantly lower LT50_time. Lower level of Hsp70 was found in females of the thermosensitive E. verrucosus compared to males of this species. No intersexual differences were found in Hsp70 level in thermotolerant E. cyaneus. Higher levels of hemocyanin subunits and arginine kinase were found in E. cyaneus females after heat shock and recovery compared to males, which was not found for E. verrucosus, suggesting interspecific mechanisms for E. cyaneus’s higher thermotolerance. These differing responses between species and sexes of Baikal amphipods may reflect more general strategies for maintaining homeostatic conditions during acute thermal stress. As mean surface water temperatures increase worldwide, the net efficiency and efficacy of these strategies could give rise to long term changes in physiology, behavior, and interactions with other species, potentially precipitating population and community level alterations.

Remote in vivo stress assessment of aquatic animals with microencapsulated biomarkers for environmental monitoring

Remote in vivo scanning of physiological parameters is a major trend in the development of new tools for the fields of medicine and animal physiology. For this purpose, a variety of implantable optical micro- and nanosensors have been designed for potential medical applications. At the same time, the important area of environmental sciences has been neglected in the development of techniques for remote physiological measurements. In the field of environmental monitoring and related research, there is a constant demand for new effective and quick techniques for the stress assessment of aquatic animals, and the development of proper methods for remote physiological measurements in vivo may significantly increase the precision and throughput of analyses in this field. In the present study, we apply pH-sensitive microencapsulated biomarkers to remotely monitor the pH of haemolymph in vivo in endemic amphipods from Lake Baikal, and we compare the suitability of this technique for stress assessment with that of common biochemical methods. For the first time, we demonstrate the possibility of remotely detecting a change in a physiological parameter in an aquatic organism under ecologically relevant stressful conditions and show the applicability of techniques using microencapsulated biomarkers for remote physiological measurements in environmental monitoring.

Thermal Preference Ranges Correlate with Stable Signals of Universal Stress Markers in Lake Baikal Endemic and Holarctic Amphipods

Temperature is the most pervasive abiotic environmental factor for aquatic organisms. Fluctuations in temperature range lead to changes in metabolic performance. Here, we aimed to identify whether surpassing the thermal preference zones is correlated with shifts in universal cellular stress markers of protein integrity, responses to oxidative stress and lactate content, as indicators of anaerobic metabolism. Exposure of the Lake Baikal endemic amphipod species Eulimnogammarus verrucosus (Gerstfeldt, 1858), Ommatogammarus flavus (Dybowski, 1874) and of the Holarctic amphipod Gammarus lacustris Sars 1863 (Amphipoda, Crustacea) to increasing temperatures resulted in elevated heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and lactate content, elevated antioxidant enzyme activities (i.e., catalase and peroxidase), and reduced lactate dehydrogenase and glutathione S-transferase activities. Thus, the zone of stability (absence of any significant changes) of the studied molecular and biochemical markers correlated with the behaviorally preferred temperatures. We conclude that the thermal behavioral responses of the studied amphipods are directly related to metabolic processes at the cellular level. Thus, the determined thermal ranges may possibly correspond to the thermal optima. This relationship between species-specific behavioral reactions and stress response metabolism may have significant ecological consequences that result in a thermal zone-specific distribution (i.e., depths, feed spectrum, etc.) of species. As a consequence, by separating species with different temperature preferences, interspecific competition is reduced, which, in turn, increases a species' Darwinian fitness in its environment.