Reduced seawater pH alters marine biofilms with impacts for marine polychaete larval settlement

Nadjejda Espinel-Velasco; Sven P Tobias-Hünefeldt; Sam Karelitz; Linn J Hoffmann; Sergio E Morales; Miles D Lamare

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105291

Reduced seawater pH alters marine biofilms with impacts for marine polychaete larval settlement

Mar Environ Res. 2021 May:167:105291. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105291. Epub 2021 Feb 27.

Authors

Nadjejda Espinel-Velasco¹, Sven P Tobias-Hünefeldt², Sam Karelitz³, Linn J Hoffmann⁴, Sergio E Morales², Miles D Lamare⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand; Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, 9296, Tromsø, Norway. Electronic address: nadjejda.espinel@npolar.no.
² Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
³ Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA.
⁴ Botany Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
⁵ Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.

PMID: 33691257
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105291

Abstract

Ocean acidification (OA) can negatively affect early-life stages of marine organisms, with the key processes of larval settlement and metamorphosis potentially vulnerable to reduced seawater pH. Settlement success depends strongly on suitable substrates and environmental cues, with marine biofilms as key settlement inducers for a range of marine invertebrate larvae. This study experimentally investigated (1) how seawater pH determines growth and community composition of marine biofilms, and (2) whether marine biofilms developed under different pH conditions can alter settlement success in the New Zealand serpulid polychaete Galeolaria hystrix. Biofilms were developed under six pH_(T) treatments (spanning from 7.0 to 8.1 [ambient]) in a flow-through system for up to 14 months. Biofilms of different ages (7, 10 and 14 months) were used to assay successful settlement of competent G. hystrix larvae reared under ambient conditions. Biofilm microbiomes were characterized through amplicon sequencing of the small subunit ribosomal rRNA gene (16S and 18S). Biofilm community composition was stable over time within each pH treatment and biofilm age did not affect larval settlement selectivity. Seawater pH treatment strongly influenced biofilm community composition, as well as subsequent settlement success when biofilms were presented to competent Galeolaria larvae. Exposure to biofilms incubated under OA-treatments caused a decrease in larval settlement of up to 40% compared to the ambient treatments. We observed a decrease in settlement on biofilms relative to ambient pH for slides incubated at pH 7.9 and 7.7. This trend was reversed at pH 7.4, resulting in high settlement, comparable to ambient biofilms. Settlement decreased on biofilms from pH 7.2, and no settlement was observed on biofilms from pH 7.0. For the first time, we show that long-term incubation of marine biofilms under a wide range of reduced seawater pH treatments can alter marine biofilms in such a way that settlement success in marine invertebrates can be compromised.

Keywords: Biofilms; Galeolaria hystrix; Larval settlement; Microbiome; Reduced seawater pH; Serpulid polychaete; Settlement substrates.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biofilms
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Larva
Polychaeta*
Seawater*