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2030 SE Marine Science Dr, Newport, OR 97365

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Evaluating the impacts of  high  pCO seawater upon the larval development of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas): stage specific sensitivity and heightened genetic vulnerability. 

 

 Previous work investigating the effects of high pCOseawater upon larval bivalves has demonstrated that the low pH and reduced saturation state of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) intrinsic to these conditions impedes calcification and development during shell formation and has broad effects on larval physiology and cellular processes.   Few studies, however, have examined the physiological effects of acidified seawater across the entire larval development period of bivalves, encompassing multiple metamorphic transitions and quantifying the net result: settlement success to juvenile.  Furthermore, the effect of genetics on larval sensitivity to acidified seawater has been identified as a significant co-factor yet has not been characterized.  We conducted two experiments, with Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) larvae spawned from wild and domesticated stocks in the Pacific Northwest USA, and reared larvae in ambient (~400ppm) and high pCO2 (~1600ppm) conditions from fertilization to settlement, 22-24 days later.  Larval pools were sampled throughout the developmental period during the first experiment for analysis of their genetic composition.  Larval oyster sensitivity to seawater pCO2 in these experiments was highly correlated to developmental stage:  high pCOseawater increased the proportion of deformed larvae at 48 hours post fertilization but exhibited no significant persistent effect on veliger larval

 

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