Ocean Acidification across bivalve lifehistory stages: Relevant outcomes for the OR shellfish industry

Transcription

1 Ocean Acidification across bivalve lifehistory stages: Relevant outcomes for the OR shellfish industry Iria Gimenez, on behalf of Dr. George G. Waldbusser Oregon Shellfish Taskforce HMSC, Newport January 20 th 2016 WRAC

2 B. Mabardy, F.D.L. Conway, G.G. Waldbusser, C.S. Olsen Over 80% of Industry consider OA has consequences for people today, compared to 20% of US public Over half of industry experiencing OA, and a third not sure. Roughly 5/6 respondents believed either they could adapt (60%) or weren t sure 90% of Industry though University partnerships were useful and a high priority to adapt to OA

3 Ocean Acidification (OA) in a nutshell As CO2 in the atmosphere increases, roughly between 20%- 30% is absorbed by the ocean. The increase of dissolved CO2 results in decreased ph and saturation state (Omega) PMEL (2016) Saturation state is a measure of how corrosive the water is for calcium carbonate (shells)

4 OA at local/regional spatial scales Oregon is an OA hotspot Natural processes like upwelling and photosynthesis/respiration exacerbate OA by further increasing dissolved CO 2. OA happening at a faster rate than in open ocean The carbonate chemistry in coastal OR is highly variable but a shifting baseline of dissolved CO 2 results in: Extreme negative events are more frequent, more intense and longer in duration Windows of good conditions become shorter and less frequent. What does it mean for shellfish? ~80% of bivalves studied show negative responses to increasing dissolved CO 2 Windows of vulnerability across and within life-stages

5 General Bivalve Life History and Sensitivity Bottlenecks Life cycle of bivalves is complex Differential sensitivity to OA among and within life-stages leads to Sensitivity Bottlenecks Various research projects designed to study and address different bottlenecks

6 A mechanistic understanding of the impacts of ocean acidification on the early life stages of marine bivalves. ( ) Primary Objective PIs: Waldbusser, Hales, Langdon, Haley Students: Brunner, Gimenez, Gray, Miller, Vance, Wall Why and how are bivalve larvae so sensitive to Ocean Acidification? Key Findings 18 Hrs Early larvae growth metrics sensitive to saturation state due to predetermined rapid shell growth Links to saturation state critical because it sensitivity thresholds will be crossed sooner than for other variables Native and non-native mussels both sensitive Native oyster seems resistant to acute OA impacts at this stage! How to buffer water effectively 21 Hrs 24 Hrs Focus on early stage Carry-over effects C. gigas

7 Primary Objective What is the acidification stress on larvae in a variable environment and can we predict survival? Key Findings Developing realistic metrics of acidification stress for commercially important bivalves invariable habitats ( ) PIs: Waldbusser, Hales, Langdon Students: Gimenez, Mabardy Buffering after early exposure helps far less than only buffering for first 2 days Delayed effect of early exposure (confirms hatchery observations) Can predict survival from monitoring data (OASIS) Confirms buffering strategies Industry Survey of needs and understanding Can we refine model for naturally reproducing populations? Hindcast recruitment failures

8 Adapting Aquaculture to Changing Water Chemistry in the Pacific Northwest USDA-WRAC ( ) WRAC PIs: Waldbusser, Hales, Langdon, Haley, Warren, Barton, Eudeline Students: Allen Primary Objective Determine causes of late season larval failures not corrected by buffering Work Plan Additional monitoring of water quality parameters Experiments within hatchery to evaluate treatment strategies Data mining hatchery records Directly improve hatchery production to support increasing demand Secondary water treatment systems

9 Improving juvenile oyster survival through adaptation and screening of ocean acidification impacts ( ) PIs: Waldbusser Primary Objective Provide biological monitoring tools to growers to determine fitness of oyster seed and spat Key Findings and Work Plan Preliminary techniques are promising for determining how fat and how fast shells grow Refinement of and calibration studies this summer Interest from French Shellfish industry to employ techniques Database of oyster fitness across locations that have chemical monitoring (good for industry and science) Can determine best times to out-plant to minimize losses at this stage Increased knowledge and optimized practices

10 Primary Objective Can seagrass beds provide localized conditions better than the surrounding environment that may improve growth of juvenile oysters Key Findings Sea Grass as Possible Ocean Acidification Refugia for Shellfish in a High CO2 World. ( ) PIs: Waldbusser, Hales Students: Smith Development of low cost CO 2 sensors ($2K in parts) Native seagrasses do improve growth newly planted oysters, nonnative seagrasses do not The good times in native sea grass beds are better than non-native or bare sites Potential habitat level mitigation of OA for juvenile oysters Value in preserving native seagrasses Low-cost CO 2 monitoring equipment for shallow water systems

11 Utilizing U/Ca Ratios to Determine Best Management Practices for Shell Planting and Oyster Culture to Mitigate Ocean Acidification Impacts. ( ) PIs: Shiel, Waldbusser, Kent Primary Objective Documenting exposure to ph as a tool for developing BMPs for shell planting Work Plan Calibrate U/Ca ratio in wild grown oysters to monitoring data Evaluate different shell planting arrangements to identify best use of shell Additional habitat level refugia? Optimize use of shell resources (limiting in some places) Improve juvenile survival in increasingly poor growing time periods

12 Primary Objective Determine the potential for localized and bay wide shell planting to offset acidification impacts Work Plan Modeling impacts of eutrophication and acidification Measure alkalinity exchanges from oyster reefs in different conditions Modeling bay-wide carbonate chemistry dynamics Interactions between ocean acidification and eutrophication in estuaries: Modeling opportunities and limitations for shellfish restoration. ( ) PIs: Testa, Cai, Waldbusser, Kemp, Cornwell, Li Student: Gimenez Acidification mitigation on local and bay-wide scales Predictions of impacts of nutrient reduction versus increasing atmospheric carbon

13 Thank you! Questions?