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Coupled changes in pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen impact the physiology and ecology of herbivorous kelp forest grazers

Abstract. 

"Understanding species’ responses to upwelling may be especially important in light of ongoing environmental change. Upwelling frequency and intensity are expected to increase in the future, while ocean acidification and deoxygenation are expected to decrease the pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) of upwelled waters. However, the acute effects of a single upwelling event and the integrated effects of multiple upwelling events on marine organisms are poorly understood. Here, we use in situ measurements of pH, temperature, and DO to characterize the covariance of environmental conditions within upwelling-dominated kelp forest ecosystems. We then test the effects of acute (0–3 days) and chronic (1–3 months) upwelling on the performance of two species of kelp forest grazers, the echinoderm, Mesocentrotus franciscanus, and the gastropod, Promartynia pulligo. We exposed organisms to static conditions in a regression design to determine the shape of the relationship between upwelling and performance and provide insights into the potential effects in a variable environment. We found that respiration, grazing, growth, and net calcification decline linearly with increasing upwelling intensity for Mfrancicanus over both acute and chronic timescales. [...]".

 

Source: Wiley Online Library

Authors: Emily M. Donham et al. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16125

Read the full article here.


Short- and long-term impacts of variable hypoxia exposures on kelp forest sea urchins

Abstract.

"Climate change is altering the intensity and variability of environmental stress that organisms and ecosystems experience, but effects of changing stress regimes are not well understood. We examined impacts of constant and variable sublethal hypoxia exposures on multiple biological processes in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, a key grazer in California Current kelp forests, which experience high variability in physical conditions. [...]"

Source: Scientific Reports
Authors: Natalie H. N. Low & Fiorenza Micheli 
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59483-5

Read the full article here.

 


Variability of seawater chemistry in a kelp forest environment is linked to in situ transgenerational effects in the purple sea urchin

Abstract.

"While the value of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) as a habitat-forming foundation species is well-understood, it is unclear how they impact the oxygen concentration and pH of the surrounding seawater, and further, how such a dynamic abiotic environment will affect eco-evolutionary dynamics in a context of global change. Here, we profiled the nearshore kelp forest environment in Southern California to understand changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH with high spatiotemporal resolution. We then examined transgenerational effects using sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) as our study organism.  [...]"

Source: Frontiers in Marine Science
Authors: Umihiko Hoshijima and Gretchen Hofmann
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00062

Read the full article here.


Project: Kelp Forest Array

The Kelp Forest Array (KFA) is a state-of-the-art cabled platform for observational and experimental science aimed at monitoring and understanding local impacts of global climate change. Increasing climate change and ocean acidification pressures require the establishment of long-term, baseline monitoring methods to document how a currently healthy system changes and to understand effects of climate change in relation to this natural variability. Current monitoring practices limit resolution and longevity of baseline data sets.

 

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