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Melbourne LA, Goodkin NF. Using Museum collections to assess the impact of industrialization on mussel (Mytilus edulis) calcification. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301874. [PMID: 38630684 PMCID: PMC11023280 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Mytilus edulis is a commercially and ecologically important species found along the east coast of the United States. Ecologically, M. edulis improves water quality through filtration feeding and provides habitat formation and coastal protection through reef formation. Like many marine calcifiers, ocean warming, and acidification are a growing threat to these organisms-impacting their morphology and function. Museum collections are useful in assessing long-term environmental impacts on organisms in a natural multi-stressor environment, where acclimation and adaptation can be considered. Using the American Museum of Natural History collections ranging from the early 1900s until now, we show that shell porosity changes through time. Shells collected today are significantly more porous than shells collected in the 1960s and, at some sites, than shells collected from the early 1900s. The disparity between porosity changes matches well with the warming that occurred over the last 130 years in the north Atlantic suggesting that warming is causing porosity changes. However, more work is required to discern local environmental impacts and to fully identify porosity drivers. Since, porosity is known to affect structural integrity, porosity increasing through time could have negative consequences for mussel reef structural integrity and hence habitat formation and storm defenses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leanne A. Melbourne
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Nathalie F. Goodkin
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
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2
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Telesca L, Peck LS, Backeljau T, Heinig MF, Harper EM. A century of coping with environmental and ecological changes via compensatory biomineralization in mussels. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:624-639. [PMID: 33112464 PMCID: PMC7839727 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Accurate biological models are critical to predict biotic responses to climate change and human-caused disturbances. Current understanding of organismal responses to change stems from studies over relatively short timescales. However, most projections lack long-term observations incorporating the potential for transgenerational phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaption, the keys to resistance. Here, we describe unexpected temporal compensatory responses in biomineralization as a mechanism for resistance to altered environmental conditions and predation impacts in a calcifying foundation species. We evaluated exceptional archival specimens of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis collected regularly between 1904 and 2016 along 15 km of Belgian coastline, along with records of key environmental descriptors and predators. Contrary to global-scale predictions, shell production increased over the last century, highlighting a protective capacity of mussels for qualitative and quantitative trade-offs in biomineralization as compensatory responses to altered environments. We also demonstrated the role of changes in predator communities in stimulating unanticipated biological trends that run contrary to experimental predictive models under future climate scenarios. Analysis of archival records has a key role for anticipating emergent impacts of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Telesca
- Department of Earth SciencesUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
- British Antarctic SurveyCambridgeUK
| | | | - Thierry Backeljau
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesBrusselsBelgium
- Evolutionary Ecology GroupUniversity of AntwerpAntwerpBelgium
| | - Mario F. Heinig
- Technical University of DenmarkDTU NanolabNational Centre for Nano Fabrication and CharacterizationKongens LyngbyDenmark
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3
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Petraitis PS, Dudgeon SR. Declines over the last two decades of five intertidal invertebrate species in the western North Atlantic. Commun Biol 2020; 3:591. [PMID: 33082487 PMCID: PMC7576203 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01326-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change has already altered the environmental conditions of the world's oceans. Here we report declines in gastropod abundances and recruitment of mussels (Mytilus edulis) and barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides) over the last two decades that are correlated with changes in temperature and ocean conditions. Mussel recruitment is declining by 15.7% per year, barnacle recruitment by 5.0% per year, and abundances of three common gastropods are declining by an average of 3.1% per year (Testudinalia testudinalis, Littorina littorea, and Nucella lapillus). The declines in mussels and the common periwinkle (L. littorea) are correlated with warming sea temperatures and the declines in T. testudinalis and N. lapillus are correlated with aragonite saturation state, which affects rates of shell calcification. These species are common on shores throughout the North Atlantic and their loss is likely to lead to simplification of an important food web on rocky shores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter S Petraitis
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6018, USA.
| | - S R Dudgeon
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, 91330-8303, USA.
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4
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Ocean acidification and dynamic energy budget models: Parameterisation and simulations for the green-lipped mussel. Ecol Modell 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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5
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Hausmann N, Meredith-Williams M, Douka K, Inglis RH, Bailey G. Quantifying spatial variability in shell midden formation in the Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0217596. [PMID: 31188856 PMCID: PMC6561681 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
During the past decade, over 3000 shell middens or shell matrix deposits have been discovered on the Farasan Islands in the southern Red Sea, dating to the period c. 7,360 to 4,700 years ago. Many of the sites are distributed along a palaeoshoreline which is now 2-3 m above present sea level. Others form clusters with some sites on the shoreline and others located inland over distances of c. 30 m to 1 km. We refer to these inland sites as 'post-shore' sites. Following Meehan, who observed a similar spatial separation in shell deposition in her ethnographic study of Anbarra shellgathering in the Northern Territory of Australia, we hypothesise that the shoreline sites are specialised sites for the processing or immediate consumption of shell food, and the post-shore sites are habitation sites used for a variety of activities. We test this proposition through a systematic analysis of 55 radiocarbon dates and measurement of shell quantities from the excavation of 15 shell matrix sites in a variety of locations including shoreline and post-shore sites. Our results demonstrate large differences in rates of shell accumulation between these two types of sites and selective removal of shoreline sites by changes in sea level. We also discuss the wider implications for understanding the differential preservation and visibility of shell-matrix deposits in coastal settings in other parts of the world extending back into the later Pleistocene in association with periods of lowersea level. Our results highlight the importance of taphonomic factors of post-depositional degradation and destruction, rates of shell accumulation, the influence on site location of factors other than shell food supply, and the relative distance of deposits from their nearest palaeoshorelines as key variables in the interpretation of shell quantities. Failure to take these variables into account when investigating shells and shell-matrix deposits in late Pleistocene and early Holocene contexts is likely to compromise interpretations of the role and significance of shell food in human evolutionary and socio-cultural development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niklas Hausmann
- Max-Planck-Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- University of York, Heslington, United Kingdom
| | | | - Katerina Douka
- Max-Planck-Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Geoff Bailey
- University of York, Heslington, United Kingdom
- Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
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6
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Gaylord B, Barclay KM, Jellison BM, Jurgens LJ, Ninokawa AT, Rivest EB, Leighton LR. Ocean change within shoreline communities: from biomechanics to behaviour and beyond. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2019; 7:coz077. [PMID: 31754431 PMCID: PMC6855281 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coz077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Humans are changing the physical properties of Earth. In marine systems, elevated carbon dioxide concentrations are driving notable shifts in temperature and seawater chemistry. Here, we consider consequences of such perturbations for organism biomechanics and linkages amongst species within communities. In particular, we examine case examples of altered morphologies and material properties, disrupted consumer-prey behaviours, and the potential for modulated positive (i.e. facilitative) interactions amongst taxa, as incurred through increasing ocean acidity and rising temperatures. We focus on intertidal rocky shores of temperate seas as model systems, acknowledging the longstanding role of these communities in deciphering ecological principles. Our survey illustrates the broad capacity for biomechanical and behavioural shifts in organisms to influence the ecology of a transforming world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Gaylord
- Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California at Davis, 2099 Westshore Road, Bodega Bay, CA 94923, USA
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Corresponding author:
| | - Kristina M Barclay
- Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Brittany M Jellison
- Biology Department, Bowdoin College, 255 Main Street, Brunswick, ME 04011, USA
| | - Laura J Jurgens
- Marine Biology Department, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, TX 77553, USA
| | - Aaron T Ninokawa
- Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California at Davis, 2099 Westshore Road, Bodega Bay, CA 94923, USA
| | - Emily B Rivest
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, 1370 Greate Road, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
| | - Lindsey R Leighton
- Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
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McCoy SJ, Kamenos NA, Chung P, Wootton TJ, Pfister CA. A mineralogical record of ocean change: Decadal and centennial patterns in the California mussel. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:2554-2562. [PMID: 29314468 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Ocean acidification, a product of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, may already have affected calcified organisms in the coastal zone, such as bivalves and other shellfish. Understanding species' responses to climate change requires the context of long-term dynamics. This can be particularly difficult given the longevity of many important species in contrast with the relatively rapid onset of environmental changes. Here, we present a unique archival dataset of mussel shells from a locale with recent environmental monitoring and historical climate reconstructions. We compare shell structure and composition in modern mussels, mussels from the 1970s, and mussel shells dating back to 1000-2420 years BP. Shell mineralogy has changed dramatically over the past 15 years, despite evidence for consistent mineral structure in the California mussel, Mytilus californianus, over the prior 2500 years. We present evidence for increased disorder in the calcium carbonate shells of mussels and greater variability between individuals. These changes in the last decade contrast markedly from a background of consistent shell mineralogy for centuries. Our results use an archival record of natural specimens to provide centennial-scale context for altered minerology and variability in shell features as a response to acidification stress and illustrate the utility of long-term studies and archival records in global change ecology. Increased variability between individuals is an emerging pattern in climate change responses, which may equally expose the vulnerability of organisms and the potential of populations for resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie J McCoy
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Nicholas A Kamenos
- School of Geographical and Earth Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Peter Chung
- School of Geographical and Earth Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Timothy J Wootton
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Catherine A Pfister
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Cross EL, Harper EM, Peck LS. A 120-year record of resilience to environmental change in brachiopods. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:2262-2271. [PMID: 29536586 PMCID: PMC6850138 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Revised: 12/25/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The inability of organisms to cope in changing environments poses a major threat to their survival. Rising carbon dioxide concentrations, recently exceeding 400 μatm, are rapidly warming and acidifying our oceans. Current understanding of organism responses to this environmental phenomenon is based mainly on relatively short- to medium-term laboratory and field experiments, which cannot evaluate the potential for long-term acclimation and adaptation, the processes identified as most important to confer resistance. Here, we present data from a novel approach that assesses responses over a centennial timescale showing remarkable resilience to change in a species predicted to be vulnerable. Utilising museum collections allows the assessment of how organisms have coped with past environmental change. It also provides a historical reference for future climate change responses. We evaluated a unique specimen collection of a single species of brachiopod (Calloria inconspicua) collected every decade from 1900 to 2014 from one sampling site. The majority of brachiopod shell characteristics remained unchanged over the past century. One response, however, appears to reinforce their shell by constructing narrower punctae (shell perforations) and laying down more shell. This study indicates one of the most calcium-carbonate-dependent species globally to be highly resilient to environmental change over the last 120 years and provides a new insight for how similar species might react and possibly adapt to future change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma L. Cross
- Department of Earth SciencesUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
- British Antarctic SurveyNatural Environment Research CouncilCambridgeUK
| | | | - Lloyd S. Peck
- British Antarctic SurveyNatural Environment Research CouncilCambridgeUK
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Bracken MES, Silbiger NJ, Bernatchez G, Sorte CJB. Primary producers may ameliorate impacts of daytime CO 2 addition in a coastal marine ecosystem. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4739. [PMID: 29761055 PMCID: PMC5949060 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Predicting the impacts of ocean acidification in coastal habitats is complicated by bio-physical feedbacks between organisms and carbonate chemistry. Daily changes in pH and other carbonate parameters in coastal ecosystems, associated with processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, often greatly exceed global mean predicted changes over the next century. We assessed the strength of these feedbacks under projected elevated CO2 levels by conducting a field experiment in 10 macrophyte-dominated tide pools on the coast of California, USA. We evaluated changes in carbonate parameters over time and found that under ambient conditions, daytime changes in pH, pCO2, net ecosystem calcification (NEC), and O2 concentrations were strongly related to rates of net community production (NCP). CO2 was added to pools during daytime low tides, which should have reduced pH and enhanced pCO2. However, photosynthesis rapidly reduced pCO2 and increased pH, so effects of CO2 addition were not apparent unless we accounted for seaweed and surfgrass abundances. In the absence of macrophytes, CO2 addition caused pH to decline by ∼0.6 units and pCO2 to increase by ∼487 µatm over 6 hr during the daytime low tide. As macrophyte abundances increased, the impacts of CO2 addition declined because more CO2 was absorbed due to photosynthesis. Effects of CO2addition were, therefore, modified by feedbacks between NCP, pH, pCO2, and NEC. Our results underscore the potential importance of coastal macrophytes in ameliorating impacts of ocean acidification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E S Bracken
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Nyssa J Silbiger
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America.,Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA, United States of America
| | - Genevieve Bernatchez
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Cascade J B Sorte
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
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Ordoñez A, Kennedy EV, Diaz-Pulido G. Reduced spore germination explains sensitivity of reef-building algae to climate change stressors. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0189122. [PMID: 29206887 PMCID: PMC5716602 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Reduced seawater pH and changes in carbonate chemistry associated with ocean acidification (OA) decrease the recruitment of crustose coralline algae (CCAcf.), an important coral-reef builder. However, it is unclear whether the observed decline in recruitment is driven by impairment of spore germination, or post-settlement processes (e.g. space competition). To address this, we conducted an experiment using a dominant CCA, Porolithon cf. onkodes to test the independent and combined effects of OA, warming, and irradiance on its germination success and early development. Elevated CO2 negatively affected several processes of spore germination, including formation of the germination disc, initial growth, and germling survival. The magnitude of these effects varied depending on the levels of temperature and irradiance. For example, the combination of high CO2 and high temperature reduced formation of the germination disc, but this effect was independent of irradiance levels, while spore abnormalities increased under high CO2 and high temperature particularly in combination with low irradiance intensity. This study demonstrates that spore germination of CCA is impacted by the independent and interactive effects of OA, increasing seawater temperature and irradiance intensity. For the first time, this provides a mechanism for how the sensitivity of critical early life history processes to global change may drive declines of adult populations of key marine calcifiers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Ordoñez
- Griffith School of Environment and Australian Rivers Institute–Coast & Estuaries, Nathan Campus, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Emma V. Kennedy
- Griffith School of Environment and Australian Rivers Institute–Coast & Estuaries, Nathan Campus, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
- Griffith School of Environment and Australian Rivers Institute–Coast & Estuaries, Nathan Campus, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- * E-mail:
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