Increased fitness of a key appendicularian zooplankton species under warmer, acidified seawater conditions

PLoS One. 2018 Jan 3;13(1):e0190625. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190625. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Ocean warming and acidification (OA) may alter the fitness of species in marine pelagic ecosystems through community effects or direct physiological impacts. We used the zooplanktonic appendicularian, Oikopleura dioica, to assess temperature and pH effects at mesocosm and microcosm scales. In mesocosms, both OA and warming positively impacted O. dioica abundance over successive generations. In microcosms, the positive impact of OA, was observed to result from increased fecundity. In contrast, increased pH, observed for example during phytoplankton blooms, reduced fecundity. Oocyte fertility and juvenile development were equivalent under all pH conditions, indicating that the positive effect of lower pH on O. dioica abundance was principally due to increased egg number. This effect was influenced by food quantity and quality, supporting possible improved digestion and assimilation at lowered pH. Higher temperature resulted in more rapid growth, faster maturation and earlier reproduction. Thus, increased temperature and reduced pH had significant positive impacts on O. dioica fitness through increased fecundity and shortened generation time, suggesting that predicted future ocean conditions may favour this zooplankton species.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acids / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Ecosystem
  • Hot Temperature
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Seawater*
  • Zooplankton / physiology*

Substances

  • Acids

Grants and funding

SD was supported by the Linnaeus Centre, University of Gothenburg and a Linnaeus grant from the Swedish Research Council VR (www.vr.se) and a Linnaeus grant from Swedish research Council Formas (www.formas.se). This work was funded by Norwegian Research Council (www.forskningsradet.no) grant NFR-HK 2024040/E40 to EMT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.