Short and long term consequences of larval stage exposure

Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Back Close Full Screen / Esc Biogeosciences Discussions This discussion paper is/has been under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in BG if available. Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Back Close Full Screen / Esc Abstract While larval bivalves are highly sensitive to ocean acidification, the basis for this sensitivity and the longer term implications of this sensitivity are unclear. Experiments were performed to assess the short term (days) and long term (months) consequences of larval stage exposure to varying CO 2 concentrations for calcifying bivalves. Higher 5 CO 2 concentrations depressed both calcification rates assessed using 45 Ca uptake and RNA:DNA ratios in Mercenaria mercenaria and Argopecten irradians larvae with RNA:DNA ratios being highly correlated with larval growth rates (r 2 > 0.9). These findings suggested that high CO 2 has a cascading negative physiological impact on bivalve larvae stemming in part from lower calcification rates. Exposure to elevated CO 2 during 10 the first four days of larval development significantly depressed A. irradians larval survival rates, while a 10 day exposure later in larval development did not, demonstrating the extreme CO 2-sensitivity of bivalve larvae during first days of development. Short-(weeks) and long-term (10 month) experiments revealed that individuals surviving exposure to high CO 2 during larval development grew faster when exposed to normal 15 CO 2 as juveniles compared to individuals reared under ambient CO 2 as larvae. These increased growth rates could not, however, overcome size differences established during larval development, as size deficits of individuals exposed to even moderate levels of CO 2 as larvae were evident even after 10 months of growth under normal CO 2 concentrations. This 'legacy effect' emphasizes the central role larval stage CO 2 exposure 20 can play in shaping the success of modern day bivalve populations.