Comparing the effect of elevated pCO₂ and temperature on the fertilization and early development of two species of oysters

• Published in: Marine biology Vol. 157; no. 11; pp. 2435 - 2452
• Main Authors: Parker, Laura M, Ross, Pauline M, O'Connor, Wayne A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 2010; Springer-Verlag; Springer
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Crassostrea gigas; early development; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; germ cells; Invertebrates; larvae; Life Sciences; Marine; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Microbiology; Mollusca; Oceanography; Original Paper; oysters; Saccostrea glomerata; Sea water ecosystems; Synecology; synergism; temperature; Zoology; PSE, Australia, New South Wales, Sydney; Acid Sulphate Soil; Fertilization Success; Elevated pCO2; Pacific Oyster; Shell Growth; Temperature; Fertilization; Bivalvia; Oyster; Carbon dioxide; Invertebrata; Mollusca
• ISSN: 0025-3162; 1432-1793
• DOI: 10.1007/s00227-010-1508-3

This study compared the synergistic effects of elevated pCO₂ and temperature on the early life history stages of two ecologically and economically important oysters: the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata and the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. Gametes, embryos, larvae and spat were exposed to four pCO₂ (375, 600, 750, 1,000 µatm) and four temperature (18, 22, 26, 30°C) levels. At elevated pCO₂ and suboptimal temperatures, there was a reduction in the fertilization success of gametes, a reduction in the development of embryos and size of larvae and spat and an increase in abnormal morphology of larvae. These effects varied between species and fertilization treatments with S. glomerata having greater sensitivity than C. gigas. In the absence of adaptation, C. gigas may become the more dominant species along the south-eastern coast of Australia, recruiting into estuaries currently dominated by the native S. glomerata.