Coupled changes in pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen impact the physiology and ecology of herbivorous kelp forest grazers

Artificial light at night and warming impact grazing rates and gonad index of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing threat to coastal habitats, and is likely to exacerbate the impacts of other stressors. Kelp forests are dominant habitats on temperate reefs but are declining due to ocean warming and overgrazing. We tested the independent and interactive effects of ALAN (dark versus ALAN) and warming (ambient versus warm) on grazing rates and gonad index of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii. Within these treatments, urchins were fed either 'fresh' kelp or 'treated' kelp. Treated kelp (Ecklonia radiata) was exposed to the same light and temperature combinations as urchins. We assessed photosynthetic yield, carbon and nitrogen content and C : N ratio of treated kelp to help identify potential drivers behind any effects on urchins. Grazing increased with warming and ALAN for urchins fed fresh kelp, and increased with warming for urchins fed treated kelp. Gonad index was higher in ALAN/ambient and dark/warm treatments compared to dark/ambient treatments for urchins fed fresh kelp. Kelp carbon content was higher in ALAN/ambient treatments than ALAN/warm treatments at one time point. This indicates ocean warming and ALAN may increase urchin grazing pressure on rocky reefs, an important finding for management strategies.

Season-specific impacts of climate change on canopy-forming seaweed communities

Understory assemblages associated with canopy-forming species such as trees, kelps, and rockweeds should respond strongly to climate stressors due to strong canopy-understory interactions. Climate change can directly and indirectly modify these assemblages, particularly during more stressful seasons and climate scenarios. However, fully understanding the seasonal impacts of different climate conditions on canopy-reliant assemblages is difficult due to a continued emphasis on studying single-species responses to a single future climate scenario during a single season. To examine these emergent effects, we used mesocosm experiments to expose seaweed assemblages associated with the canopy-forming golden rockweed, Silvetia compressa, to elevated temperature and pCO2 conditions reflecting two projected greenhouse emission scenarios (RCP 2.6 [low] & RCP 4.5 [moderate]). Assemblages were grown in the presence and absence of Silvetia, and in two seasons. Relative to ambient conditions, predicted climate scenarios generally suppressed Silvetia biomass and photosynthetic efficiency. However, these effects varied seasonally-both future scenarios reduced Silvetia biomass in summer, but only the moderate scenario did so in winter. These reductions shifted the assemblage, with more extreme shifts occurring in summer. Contrarily, future scenarios did not shift assemblages within Silvetia Absent treatments, suggesting that climate primarily affected assemblages indirectly through changes in Silvetia. Mesocosm experiments were coupled with a field Silvetia removal experiment to simulate the effects of climate-mediated Silvetia loss on natural assemblages. Consistent with the mesocosm experiment, Silvetia loss resulted in season-specific assemblage shifts, with weaker effects observed in winter. Together, our study supports the hypotheses that climate-mediated changes to canopy-forming species can indirectly affect the associated assemblage, and that these effects vary seasonally. Such seasonality is important to consider as it may provide periods of recovery when conditions are less stressful, especially if we can reduce the severity of future climate scenarios.

One-health approach on the future application of snails: a focus on snail-transmitted parasitic diseases

Snails are fascinating molluscs with unique morphological and physiological adaptive features to cope with various environments. They have traditionally been utilized as food and feed sources in many regions of the world. The future exploitation of alternative nutrient sources, like snails, is likely to increase further. Snails, however, also serve as an intermediate host for several zoonotic parasites. A category of parasitic infections, known as snail-transmitted parasitic diseases (STPDs), is harmful to humans and animals and is mainly driven by various trematodes, cestodes, and nematodes. The environment plays a crucial role in transmitting these parasites, as suitable habitats and conditions can facilitate their growth and proliferation in snails. In light of diverse environmental settings and biologically categorized snail species, this review evaluates the dynamics of significant STPDs of zoological importance. Additionally, possible diagnostic approaches for the prevention of STPDs are highlighted. One-health measures must be considered when employing snails as an alternative food or feed source to ensure the safety of snail-based products and prevent any adverse effects on humans, animals, and the environment.

Upwelling intensity and source water properties drive high interannual variability of corrosive events in the California Current

Ocean acidification is progressing rapidly in the California Current System (CCS), a region already susceptible to reduced aragonite saturation state due to seasonal coastal upwelling. Results from a high-resolution (~ 3 km), coupled physical-biogeochemical model highlight that the intensity, duration, and severity of undersaturation events exhibit high interannual variability along the central CCS shelfbreak. Variability in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) along the bottom of the 100-m isobath explains 70-90% of event severity variance over the range of latitudes where most severe conditions occur. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis further reveals that interannual event variability is explained by a combination coastal upwelling intensity and DIC content in upwelled source waters. Simulated regional DIC exhibits low frequency temporal variability resembling that of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and is explained by changes to water mass composition in the CCS. While regional DIC concentrations and upwelling intensity individually explain 9 and 43% of year-to-year variability in undersaturation event severity, their combined influence accounts for 66% of the variance. The mechanistic description of exposure to undersaturated conditions presented here provides important context for monitoring the progression of ocean acidification in the CCS and identifies conditions leading to increased vulnerability for ecologically and commercially important species.

What does the future look like for kelp when facing multiple stressors?

As primary producers and ecosystem engineers, kelp (generally Order Laminariales) are ecologically important, and their decline could have far-reaching consequences. Kelp are valuable in forming habitats for fish and invertebrates and are crucial for adaptation to climate change by creating coastal defenses and in providing key functions, such as carbon sequestration and food provision. Kelp are threatened by multiple stressors, such as climate change, over-harvesting of predators, and pollution. In this opinion paper, we discuss how these stressors may interact to affect kelp, and how this varies under different contexts. We argue that more research that bridges kelp conservation and multiple stressor theory is needed and outline key questions that should be addressed as a priority. For instance, it is important to understand how previous exposure (either to earlier generations or life stages) determines responses to emerging stressors, and how responses in kelp scale up to alter food webs and ecosystem functioning. By increasing the temporal and biological complexity of kelp research in this way, we will improve our understanding allowing better predictions. This research is essential for the effective conservation and potential restoration of kelp in our rapidly changing world.

Population-specific vulnerability to ocean change in a multistressor environment

Variation in environmental conditions across a species' range can alter their responses to environmental change through local adaptation and acclimation. Evolutionary responses, however, may be challenged in ecosystems with tightly coupled environmental conditions, where changes in the covariance of environmental factors may make it more difficult for species to adapt to global change. Here, we conduct a 3-month-long mesocosm experiment and find evidence for local adaptation/acclimation in populations of red sea urchins, Mesocentrotus franciscanus, to multiple environmental drivers. Moreover, populations differ in their response to projected concurrent changes in pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. Our results highlight the potential for local adaptation/acclimation to multivariate environmental regimes but suggest that thresholds in responses to a single environmental variable, such as temperature, may be more important than changes to environmental covariance. Therefore, identifying physiological thresholds in key environmental drivers may be particularly useful for preserving biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

The Diversity and Functional Capacity of Microbes Associated with Coastal Macrophytes

Coastal marine macrophytes exhibit some of the highest rates of primary productivity in the world. They have been found to host a diverse set of microbes, many of which may impact the biology of their hosts through metabolisms that are unique to microbial taxa. Here, we characterized the metabolic functions of macrophyte-associated microbial communities using metagenomes collected from 2 species of kelp (Laminaria setchellii and Nereocystis luetkeana) and 3 marine angiosperms (Phyllospadix scouleri, P. serrulatus, and Zostera marina), including the rhizomes of two surfgrass species (Phyllospadix spp.), the seagrass Zostera marina, and the sediments surrounding P. scouleri and Z. marina. Using metagenomic sequencing, we describe 63 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) that potentially benefit from being associated with macrophytes and may contribute to macrophyte fitness through their metabolic activity. Host-associated metagenomes contained genes for the use of dissolved organic matter from hosts and vitamin (B₁, B₂, B₇, B₁₂) biosynthesis in addition to a range of nitrogen and sulfur metabolisms that recycle dissolved inorganic nutrients into forms more available to the host. The rhizosphere of surfgrass and seagrass contained genes for anaerobic microbial metabolisms, including nifH genes associated with nitrogen fixation, despite residing in a well-mixed and oxygenated environment. The range of oxygen environments engineered by macrophytes likely explains the diversity of both oxidizing and reducing microbial metabolisms and contributes to the functional capabilities of microbes and their influences on carbon and nitrogen cycling in nearshore ecosystems. IMPORTANCE Kelps, seagrasses, and surfgrasses are ecosystem engineers on rocky shorelines, where they show remarkably high levels of primary production. Through analysis of their associated microbial communities, we found a variety of microbial metabolisms that may benefit the host, including nitrogen metabolisms, sulfur oxidation, and the production of B vitamins. In turn, these microbes have the genetic capabilities to assimilate the dissolved organic compounds released by their macrophyte hosts. We describe a range of oxygen environments associated with surfgrass, including low-oxygen microhabitats in their rhizomes that host genes for nitrogen fixation. The tremendous productivity of coastal seaweeds and seagrasses is likely due in part to the activities of associated microbes, and an increased understanding of these associations is needed.

Upwelling-level acidification and pH/pCO2 variability moderate effects of ocean acidification on brain gene expression in the temperate surfperch, Embiotoca jacksoni

Acidification-induced changes in neurological function have been documented in several tropical marine fishes. Here, we investigate whether similar patterns of neurological impacts are observed in a temperate Pacific fish that naturally experiences regular and often large shifts in environmental pH/pCO₂ . In two laboratory experiments, we tested the effect of acidification, as well as pH/pCO₂ variability, on gene expression in the brain tissue of a common temperate kelp forest/estuarine fish, Embiotoca jacksoni. Experiment 1 employed static pH treatments (target pH = 7.85/7.30), while Experiment 2 incorporated two variable treatments that oscillated around corresponding static treatments with the same mean (target pH = 7.85/7.70) in an eight-day cycle (amplitude ± 0.15). We found that patterns of global gene expression differed across pH level treatments. Additionally, we identified differential expression of specific genes and enrichment of specific gene sets (GSEA) in comparisons of static pH treatments and in comparisons of static and variable pH treatments of the same mean pH. Importantly, we found that pH/pCO₂ variability decreased the number of differentially expressed genes detected between high and low pH treatments, and that inter-individual variability in gene expression was greater in variable treatments than static treatments. These results provide important confirmation of neurological impacts of acidification in a temperate fish species and, critically, that natural environmental variability may mediate the impacts of ocean acidification.