Ocean Acidification: Biological Impacts and Research

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Ocean Acidification Biological Impacts and
Research

• Robert Foy and Tom Hurst
• 2014 AOOS Ocean Acidification Workshop
• Linking Knowledge to Need Responding to Ocean
  Acidification (OA) in Alaska

• Alaska Fisheries Science Center

• December 2, 2014

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NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center Research
Approach

• Focal species groups
• Commercially important fish and shellfish
  species
• Their prey (calcareous plankton)
• And shelter (corals).
• Objectives
• Ocean pH monitoring
• Understand species-specific physiological
  responses
• Forecast population impacts and economic
  consequences.

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King and Tanner Crab Research
W. Christopher Long, Katherine M. Swiney, and
Robert J. Foy

• 2006-2007 pilot experiments effects of pH change
  on growth and survival of blue king crab.
• 2008 AFSC ocean acidification research plan
• 2008-2009 methods development
• water chemistry and mineral measurement method
  development
• effective CO2 delivery system designed for red
  king crab
• Additional response variables
• 2010-2013 experimentation
• Red king crab larval growth and survival response
  to increased pCO2
• Golden king crab adult physiological response to
  increased pCO2
• Tanner crab larval and adult response to
  increased pCO2

• Long, Swiney, Foy. 2013. Effects of Ocean
  acidification on embryos and larvae of red king
  crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus. Marine
  Pollution Bulletin. 69 38-47.
• Long, Swiney, Harris, Page, Foy. 2013. Effects of
  ocean acidification on juvenile red king crab
  (Paralithodes camtschaticus) and Tanner crab
  (Chionoecetes bairdi). PLoS ONE 8(4).

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King and Tanner Crab Research
Why Crab??

• Important shell (cuticle) components are chitin,
  calcium carbonate and protein
• Calcium carbonate occurs mainly as calcite
  although the amorphous form sometimes occurs

red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)
blue king crab (Paralithodes platypus)

• golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus)

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King and Tanner Crab Research
Depth distributions
Affected by pH?
Affected by CaCO3 saturation state?
As depth increases (pressure increases,
temperature decreases, and pH decreases) all of
which promote the dissolution of CaCO3.
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King and Tanner Crab Research

• Experiments
• Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) adult
  females
• Red king crab embryos and larvae
• Red king crab juveniles
• Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) juveniles
• Golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus) adults
• Response variables Survival, fecundity,
  morphometrics (image analysis), growth (width and
  wet mass), calcification
• Treatment system
• Flow through CO2 delivery system
• pH control
• Daily pH, temperature, and salinity measurement
• Weekly water samples taken for DIC and Alkalinity

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Kodiak Fisheries Research Center Seawater Facility

• OA Treatment system
• Open, flow through CO2 delivery system
• 2 L/min 10 L/min
• Current capability 1 control, 4 CO2 treatments
• In construction 2 controls, 8 CO2 treatments, 3
  temperature treatments, variable control
• pH control

• Daily pH, temperature, and salinity measurement
• Weekly water samples taken for DIC and Alkalinity

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Red King Crab Embryos

• Adult females collected from Bristol Bay fishery
• pHs Ambient and 7.7 (2100)
• Decreased pH associated with smaller eggs and
  embryos and larger yolks.

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Red King Crab Larvae

• Larvae collected as they hatched
• Starvation survival experiments fully crossed
  with mom treatments
• 5 replicates with 20 larvae
• pHs ambient and 7.7
• Calcification increased
• Morphometrics varied
• Survival decreased

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Red King Crab Juveniles

• Crabs held in individual containers
• Control, pH 7.8, pH 7.5
• 30 crabs/treatment
• Check for molts/mortalities
• Measure pH/temp
• Growth (length and mass) reduced
• Calcium content did not change

Tradeoff?
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Red King Crab Juveniles

• Crabs held in individual containers
• Control, pH 7.8, pH 7.5
• 30 crabs/treatment
• Survival decreased with decreasing pH

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King Crab Population Effects
Michael Dalton, Andre Punt

• Bristol Bay red king crab fishery
• OA scenarios based on trends in recruitment
• Forecasts based on bioeconomic model linked to a
  population dynamics model

USCG
UAF
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King Crab Population Effects Red King Crab

• stock dynamics without OA

• At a pH of 7.8 stocks and catches decline
• Under current catch levels fishery would be
  closed in about 2100
• Punt, Poljak, Dalton, Foy. 2014. Evaluating the
  impact of ocean acidification on fishery yields
  and profits The example of red king crab in
  Bristol Bay. Ecological Modeling. 285 39-53.

stock dynamics with OA
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Ocean Acidification outreach

• Kodiak Fisheries Research Center Ocean Science
  Discovery Lab
• NMFS and Kodiak Island Borough School District
  collaboration
• Goal to improve Ocean Science Literacy in grades
  K -12

• Middle School What is OA? How do you measure
  ocean pH?
• Intro to pH scale and ocean chemistry
• Algal growth and plankton exposure experiments
• High School HS Oceanography class
• Local OA background
• Global OA implications
• Climate change

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Thank you. Questions?

• Alaska Fisheries Science Center Research Staff

WWW.AFSC.NOAA.GOV