Physiological effects of environmental acidification in the deep-sea urchin Strongylocentrotus fragilis

Anthropogenic CO2 is now reaching depths over 1000m in the Eastern Pacific, overlapping the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). Deep-sea animals are suspected to be especially sensitive to environmental acidification associated with global climate change. We have investigated the effects of elevated pCO(2) and variable O-2 on the deep-sea urchin Strongylocentrotus fragilis, a species whose range of 200-1200m depth includes the OMZ and spans a pCO(2) range of approx. 600-1200 mu atm (approx. pH 7.6 to 7.8). Individuals were evaluated during two exposure experiments (1-month and 4 month) at control and three levels of elevated pCO(2) at in situ O-2 levels of approx. 10% air saturation. A treatment of control pCO(2) at 100% air saturation was also included in experiment two. During the first experiment, perivisceral coelomic fluid (PCF) acid-base balance was investigated during a one-month exposure; results show S. fragilis has limited ability to compensate for the respiratory acidosis brought on by elevated pCO(2), due in part to low non-bicarbonate PCF buffering capacity. During the second experiment, individuals were separated into fed and fasted experimental groups, and longer-term effects of elevated pCO(2) and variable O-2 on righting time, feeding, growth, and gonadosomatic index (GSI) were investigated for both groups. Results suggest that the acidosis found during experiment one does not directly correlate with adverse effects during exposure to realistic future pCO(2) levels.