Surf smelt accelerate usage of endogenous energy reserves under climate change

PLoS One. 2022 Jun 27;17(6):e0270491. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270491. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) are ecologically critical forage fish in the North Pacific ecosystem. As obligate beach spawners, surf smelt embryos are exposed to wide-ranging marine and terrestrial environmental conditions. Despite this fact, very few studies have assessed surf smelt tolerance to climate stressors. The purpose of this study was to examine the interactive effects of climate co-stressors ocean warming and acidification on the energy demands of embryonic and larval surf smelt. Surf smelt embryos and larvae were collected from spawning beaches and placed into treatment basins under three temperature treatments (13°C, 15°C, and 18°C) and two pCO2 treatments (i.e. ocean acidification) of approximately 900 and 1900 μatm. Increased temperature significantly decreased yolk size in surf smelt embryos and larvae. Embryo yolk sacs in high temperature treatments were on average 7.3% smaller than embryo yolk sacs from ambient temperature water. Larval yolk and oil globules mirrored this trend. Larval yolk sacs in the high temperature treatment were 45.8% smaller and oil globules 31.9% smaller compared to larvae in ambient temperature. There was also a significant positive effect of acidification on embryo yolk size, indicating embryos used less maternally-provisioned energy under acidification scenarios. There was no significant effect of either temperature or acidification on embryo heartrates. These results indicate that near-future climate change scenarios may impact the energy demands of developing surf smelt, leading to potential effects on surf smelt fitness and contributing to variability in adult recruitment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Climate Change*
  • Ecosystem
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Larva
  • Osmeriformes*
  • Seawater
  • Temperature

Grants and funding

The project described in this publication was supported by the Department of the Interior Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC- https://nwcasc.uw.edu/) through a Cooperative Agreement (G17AC000218) from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the NW CASC or the USGS. This manuscript is submitted for publication with the understanding that the United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Award #:33491