Tolerance of juvenile barnacles (Amphibalanus improvisus) to warming and elevated pCO2

• Published in: Marine biology Vol. 160; no. 8; pp. 2023 - 2035
• Main Authors: Pansch, Christian, Nasrolahi, Ali, Appelhans, Yasmin Shirin, Wahl, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acidification; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carbon dioxide; Environmental impact; Flow system; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Global warming; Life Sciences; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Marine biology; Microbiology; Oceanography; Original Paper; Water flow; Zoology; Elevated pCO2; pCO2 Level; Breaking Force; pCO2 Treatment; High pCO2
• ISSN: 0025-3162; 1432-1793
• DOI: 10.1007/s00227-012-2069-4

We investigated the impacts of warming and elevated p CO 2 on newly settled Amphibalanus improvisus from Kiel Fjord, an estuarine ecosystem characterized by significant natural p CO 2 variability. In two experiments, juvenile barnacles were maintained at two temperature and three p CO 2 levels (20/24 °C, 700–2,140 μatm) for 8 weeks in a batch culture and at four p CO 2 levels (20 °C, 620–2,870 μatm) for 12 weeks in a water flow-through system. Warming as well as elevated p CO 2 hardly affected growth or the condition index of barnacles, although some factor combinations led to temporal significances in enhanced or reduced growth with an increase in p CO 2 . While warming increased the shell strength of A. improvisus individuals, elevated p CO 2 had only weak effects. We demonstrate a strong tolerance of juvenile A. improvisus to mean acidification levels of about 1,000 μatm p CO 2 as is already naturally experienced by the investigated barnacle population.