Abstract

California’s coastal ecosystems are forecasted to undergo shifting ocean conditions due to climate change, some of which may negatively impact recreational and commercial fish populations. To understand if fish populations have the capacity to respond to multiple stressors, it is critical to examine interactive effects across multiple biological scales, from cellular metabolism to species interactions. This study examined the effects of CO₂-acidification and hypoxia on two naturally co-occurring species, juvenile rockfish (genus Sebastes) and a known predator, cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus). Fishes were exposed to two PCO₂ levels at two dissolved oxygen (DO) levels: ~600 (ambient) and ~1600 (high) μatm PCO₂ and 8.0 (normoxic) and 4.5 mg l⁻¹ DO (hypoxic) and assessments of cellular metabolism, prey behavior and predation mortality rates were quantified after 1 and 3 weeks. Physiologically, rockfish showed acute alterations in cellular metabolic enzyme activity after 1 week of acclimation to elevated PCO₂ and hypoxia that were not evident in cabezon. Alterations in rockfish energy metabolism were driven by increases in anaerobic LDH activity, and adjustments in enzyme activity ratios of cytochrome c oxidase and citrate synthase and LDH:CS. Correlated changes in rockfish behavior were also apparent after 1 week of acclimation to elevated PCO₂ and hypoxia. Exploration behavior increased in rockfish exposed to elevated PCO₂ and spatial analysis of activity indicated short-term interference with anti-predator responses. Predation rate after 1 week increased with elevated PCO₂; however, no mortality was observed under the multiple-stressor treatment suggesting negative effects on cabezon predators. Most noteworthy, metabolic and behavioral changes were moderately compensated after 3 weeks of acclimation, and predation mortality rates also decreased suggesting that these rockfish may be resilient to changes in environmental stressors predicted by climate models. Linking physiological and behavioral responses to multiple stressors is vital to understand impacts on populations and community dynamics.

Climate change is predicted to have profound implications for marine ecosystems, with adverse ramifications expected for species abundance and diversity, and the sustainability of commercial fisheries (Brander, 2007; Wood and McDonald, 1997). Shifts in multiple environmental factors such as elevated dissolved carbon dioxide (CO₂, hereafter CO₂-acidification), low dissolved oxygen (DO, hereafter hypoxia) and increased temperature (Crain et al., 2008; Keeling et al., 2010; Doney et al., 2011) have the potential to threaten individual species and communities by negatively affecting animal physiology and behavior (see reviews Heuer and Grosell, 2014; Nagelkerken and Munday, 2016; Tresguerres and Hamilton, 2017). While the organismal responses to CO₂-acidification and hypoxia have individually been explored, in nature these factors can change in concert. In particular, in highly productive, mid-latitude coastal systems with seasonal upwelling, seawater can be both high in partial pressure of CO₂ (PCO₂) and low in DO due to expansion of oxygen minimum zones (Chan et al., 2008; Largier et al., 2015). This results in dynamic changes in both pH and oxygen in coastal habitats (Feely et al., 2008).

Full Article: https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/6/1/coy038/5051719