Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Toxic impact of aluminium on the natural phytoplankton community during spring in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean","authors":"C. Demasy ,&nbsp;A. Singh ,&nbsp;S. Samanta ,&nbsp;T.J. Ryan-Keogh ,&nbsp;A.N. Roychoudhury","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152119","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152119","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The natural Southern Ocean phytoplankton community plays a pivotal role in both the marine trophic chain and global climate regulation. Previous studies and models have primarily focused on the individual effects of iron (Fe) on phytoplankton, often overlooking the potential toxic impact of aluminium (Al) and its interactive effects with Fe and cobalt (Co). Here, a series of controlled incubations involving the addition of trace metals (Al, Fe, and Co) were conducted to evaluate the potential effects of these elements in the Polar Frontal Zone and the Marginal Ice Zone. The findings revealed that the introduction of 1 nM of Al prompted a reduction in biomass of the entire natural community, coupled with a decrease in the photosynthetic efficiency (F_v/F_m) and an increase of the absorption cross-section of photosystem II (σ_PSII). A similar toxic impact of Al addition was observed at both sites, however, the level of cell activity and presence of other micronutrients (Fe, Co) attenuated the toxicity to some extent. Despite its connotations, Al toxicity is not considered an immediate threat to the sub-Antarctic phytoplankton community, however, the scenario could differ in regions where increased lithogenic input is likely.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"591 ","pages":"Article 152119"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exposure to a gradient of freshwater pulses duration mimicking frequent floodings reveals species-specific vulnerability thresholds in an assemblage of key benthic molluscs","authors":"Valentine Loiseau ,&nbsp;Piero Calosi ,&nbsp;David Drolet ,&nbsp;Mathieu Cusson ,&nbsp;Yanick Gendreau","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152120","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152120","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Estuarine communities provide many ecosystem services and are highly vulnerable to global changes. Detrimental changes in land use and intense rainfall events increase the frequency and intensity of flooding, causing abrupt changes in estuarine conditions. As a result, marine organisms are more often exposed to freshwater conditions for several days after flooding. While estuarine organisms are able to thrive under fluctuating salinities, their responses to intense and prolonged hypoosmotic stress may differ. Understanding these responses is crucial as salinity variability is key to species distribution. Changes in hydrological regimes are occurring much faster in high latitudes environments, yet subarctic estuarian communities are rarely studied. Our study investigates the sensitivity of three key marine benthic macroinvertebrates inhabiting subarctic estuaries (<em>Littorina saxatilis</em>, <em>Macoma balthica</em> and <em>Mytilus</em> spp.) to different durations of freshwater exposure. In laboratory conditions, molluscs were exposed during six weeks to a gradient of 12 freshwater pulse durations, ranging from 0 to 9 d, interspersed with 24 h of exposure to sea water. Mortality and shell growth, as well as energy content for <em>Mytilus</em> spp., were compared after two, four and six weeks of exposure using linear mixed models and break-point analyses. All three species demonstrated tolerance to short-duration freshwater pulses (less than 2 d) repeated over several weeks. <em>Littorina saxatilis</em> exhibited the highest vulnerability, with mortality increasing under freshwater pulses longer than 2 d after two weeks. <em>Macoma balthica</em> displayed a comparable threshold but only after four weeks. <em>Mytilus</em> spp. displayed the greatest tolerance, with a threshold only detectable after six weeks of exposure and increasing mortality in treatments with freshwater pulses longer than 5 d. In addition, shell growth decreased with increasing duration of freshwater pulse only in <em>L. saxatilis</em> while it was not affected in <em>M. balthica</em> and <em>Mytilus</em> spp. Energy content in <em>Mytilus</em> spp. varied according to pulse duration and time, with the highest energy content being detected in the longer freshwater exposure periods, suggesting complex physiological responses to hypoosmotic stress. Altogether, our study indicates the existence of highly species-specific differences in freshwater vulnerability among marine benthic macroinvertebrates inhabiting subarctic estuaries. Our findings highlight the importance of using gradients of stress scenarios to identify ecologically relevant thresholds, helping in the prediction and management of extreme climate events like river floods on estuarine communities. Our study provides valuable recommendations for dam management and biodiversity conservation in estuarine ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"591 ","pages":"Article 152120"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144588350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Organic enrichment negatively impacts meiobenthic copepods on Argentinean coasts","authors":"Michel Sciberras ,&nbsp;Agustin G. Menechella ,&nbsp;Néstor Pérez-Méndez ,&nbsp;Néstor J. Cazzaniga ,&nbsp;Hugo J. Marrero","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152118","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152118","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Organic enrichment is a growing threat to coastal environments, yet its effects on meiobenthic copepods in marine sediments remain poorly understood. In this large-scale observational study conducted in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, we evaluated the impact of riverine input—particularly the organic matter transported by rivers—on the structure of meiobenthic copepod communities. We hypothesized that the amount of organic matter and other abiotic factors, influenced by river discharge, modify environmental conditions and affect copepod abundance and richness. Sampling was conducted in low intertidal zones associated with the mouth of eight rivers on three dates between 2019 and 2020. At each site, we collected samples at three coastal positions—river mouth, 200 m west, and 200 m east—to assess copepod richness and abundance, organic matter content, temperature, pH, salinity, and grain size. Our findings indicate that riverine input played a key role in shaping copepod community structure, with temperature emerging as the primary environmental driver of community composition. Organic matter content and salinity were also critical abiotic variables influencing abundance and richness. Salinity modulated the effect of organic matter, with negative impacts on abundance becoming more pronounced under high-salinity conditions. These patterns support the hypothesis that organic enrichment negatively impacts meiobenthic copepod communities, as even slight increases in organic matter content were linked to decreases in both abundance and richness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"590 ","pages":"Article 152118"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144514220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the effects of aluminum exposure on the cell wall of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum","authors":"Jie Ma ,&nbsp;Huinan Wu ,&nbsp;Yingqi Lao ,&nbsp;Zhen Zhang ,&nbsp;Fengyuan Chen ,&nbsp;Liangliang Huang ,&nbsp;Ke Pan","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152117","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152117","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Marine diatoms exhibit varying responses to aluminum (Al) in seawater, influenced by their cell wall composition and structure, yet the mechanisms driving this relationship remain poorly understood. Herein, this study aimed to elucidate how Al interacts with the cell wall of the model diatom <em>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</em> and impacts its physiological and ecological behaviors. To achieve this, novel multidisciplinary approaches that combine X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, non-invasive micro-test technology, and atomic force microscopy were employed. The results showed that the presence of 100 nM Al in the cultural medium did not have a significant impact on the cell growth of <em>P. tricornutum</em>. However, with an increase in Al concentration to 2 μM, there was a notable decrease in cell growth. Al exposure altered cell wall functional groups, siliceous components, and nitrogen adsorption potential, alongside inducing nanoscale morphological changes, including increased surface roughness and modulus. These structural modifications correlated with reduced copepod grazing and accelerated sinking rates, suggesting that Al-cell wall interactions critically modulate diatom ecological dynamics. This work provides integrated evidence linking Al-induced cell wall remodeling to broader ecological consequences in marine diatoms, advancing understanding of trace metal impacts on phytoplankton ecology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"590 ","pages":"Article 152117"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144270632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Population differentiation of thermal physiology in the temperate coral Astrangia poculata","authors":"Deva K. Holliman ,&nbsp;Barry A. Logan ,&nbsp;Jaret S. Reblin ,&nbsp;Justin H. Baumann","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152114","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152114","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the evolutionary and physiological mechanisms that drive thermal tolerance is crucial to supporting coral conservation and restoration. In the face of climate change, organisms can cope with variable environmental landscapes through adaptive genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity. In this study, we utilized a factorial common garden experiment to assess stress tolerance and thermal plasticity of symbiotic colonies of the temperate coral, <em>Astrangia poculata</em>. We collected coral colonies from sites in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and North Carolina, representing a 7.5° latitudinal range and a 10 °C range in mean summer seawater temperatures. We measured how acclimation of the corals to temperatures representative of summer means at their origin site versus other latitudes impacted basal rates of cellular respiration and photosynthesis, as well as stress indicators including endosymbiont density, chlorophyll fluorescence (F_v/F_m), and chlorophyll <em>a</em> content. We found evidence of heat stress at 32 °C in photosynthetic endosymbionts from all populations, especially those from North Carolina. Metabolic performance of the coral holobiont appears optimized for native conditions (28 °C) in NC populations but appears to be plastic in RI corals, as incubation in warmer than native conditions (28 °C) led to elevated respiration in RI corals. Metabolic performance does not differ between acclimation treatments in MA populations, suggesting both population-specific responses and differential plasticity of metabolic responses to temperature changes. Overall, we see some minimal support for locally adapted thermal maxima in these populations and some evidence of thermal plasticity. Continued work to understand the ecological repercussions of a high capacity for phenotypic plasticity will be important to understanding the long-term tolerance of this species to elevated temperatures predicted with climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"590 ","pages":"Article 152114"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144255174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dive wiggles as a proxy of prey consumption in krill-feeding penguins","authors":"W. Chris Oosthuizen ,&nbsp;Stefan Schoombie ,&nbsp;Marianna Chimienti ,&nbsp;Pierre A. Pistorius ,&nbsp;Andrew D. Lowther","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152115","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152115","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The dive profiles of pursuit-diving marine predators are often used to infer foraging behaviour, including potential indicators of prey consumption. ‘Wiggles’ are undulations in dive profiles that relate to foraging activity in a variety of marine predators. In penguins, wiggles are sometimes used as a proxy for prey consumption (e.g., catch per unit effort, CPUE), but this relationship remains poorly validated and likely varies with diet. We deployed animal-borne video cameras and depth recorders on chinstrap penguins (<em>Pygoscelis antarcticus</em>; <em>n</em> = 37) and identified over 17,000 euphausiid prey captures - mainly Antarctic krill (<em>Euphausia superba</em>) - during dives deeper than 3 m (<em>n</em> = 2458 dives). Using the video-observed prey captures as a reference, we tested how well various wiggle metrics derived from 1 Hz depth data predicted krill consumption by the penguins. Wiggle metrics generally showed a positive but noisy and highly variable relationship with the number of krill captured per dive, with association strength varying among metrics. While it is tempting to infer detailed foraging behaviours from dive wiggles (including ‘bottom distance’ generated by the R package diveMove), our results show: (1) notable rates of foraging – non-foraging dive misclassification; (2) only moderate agreement between CPUE estimated from wiggle counts and video observations; and (3) imprecise predictive models of actual prey consumption. While wiggle analyses offer some insight into prey consumption of krill-feeding penguins, our results suggest that alternative methods (e.g., acceleration-based indices) are needed to obtain more robust quantitative estimates of prey consumption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"590 ","pages":"Article 152115"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144255173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metabolism and hypoxia tolerance of the endangered white abalone (Haliotis sorenseni): Implications for conservation and restoration efforts","authors":"Stephanie J. Fan ,&nbsp;Taylor R. Smith ,&nbsp;Nasseer Idrisi ,&nbsp;John R. Hyde ,&nbsp;Nicholas C. Wegner","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152107","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152107","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The white abalone, <em>Haliotis sorenseni</em>, is an endangered marine gastropod that has shown no signs of population recovery despite fishery closure and protective status. To better understand the energetic demands, hypoxia tolerance, and critical habitat of this species, we measured oxygen consumption rates over a size range of captive-reared <em>H. sorenseni</em> at different environmental oxygen concentrations and temperatures in comparison to the more common red abalone, <em>H. rufescens</em>. We found that <em>H. sorenseni</em> has a relatively low metabolic rate that likely contributes to generally slow growth that can hamper recovery efforts. We also discovered that both <em>H. sorenseni</em> and <em>H. rufescens</em> appear to partially conform to ambient oxygen conditions by lowering their metabolism to deal with increasing hypoxia while still retaining an aerobic scope until reaching a critical oxygen concentration (<em>P</em>_crit), at which point they become oxylimited. For species exhibiting such relationships, determining the <em>P</em>₉₀, <em>P</em>₇₅, <em>P</em>₅₀, and <em>P</em>₂₅ (dissolved oxygen value at which oxygen consumption is 90 %, 75 %, 50 %, and 25 % of resting metabolic rate), as well as the <em>P</em>_crit and oxygen supply capacity, can provide useful metrics to compare hypoxia sensitivities among species and individuals. Variability in these metrics suggest potential fitness differences for <em>H. sorenseni</em> individuals spawned and raised in captivity for restoration outplanting. Higher temperatures also led to an increase in <em>P</em>₉₀, <em>P</em>₇₅, <em>P</em>₅₀, <em>P</em>₂₅, and <em>P</em>_crit and decrease in factorial aerobic scope for <em>H. sorenseni,</em> revealing the potential compounding effects of high temperature and low oxygen. Our results thus provide a suite of physiological metrics on which to test the health and fitness of captive-reared abalone and can help inform selection of appropriate outplanting sites for endangered <em>H. sorenseni</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"589 ","pages":"Article 152107"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144189878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing biomarkers in common dolphin: Insights from novel blubber cortisol analysis","authors":"Sofia Albrecht ,&nbsp;Sinéad Murphy ,&nbsp;Jim O'Donovan ,&nbsp;Cóilín Minto ,&nbsp;Luca Mirimin ,&nbsp;Orla Slattery","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152112","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152112","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Monitoring the health of protected marine mammals is crucial for conservation. Cortisol, a hormone involved in the stress response and metabolism, is a recognised biomarker for physiological states across species. Previous studies assessing blubber cortisol in marine mammals predominantly relied on an extraction methodology using numerous steps with different solvents. In this study, we applied a simplified extraction method from blubber tissue, followed by a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to quantify the cortisol content. Assay validations included intra- and interspecific coefficients of variation, as well as tests for parallelism and accuracy. While relatively low and variable extraction efficiencies suggest that protocols still need refinement before future application, our results indicate potential for improvement in blubber cortisol studies. This could lead to optimisation for a faster and more cost-effective protocol. While a decline in the nutritional health of common dolphins in the Celtic Seas ecoregion has been identified based on morphometric data, physiological markers have not yet been applied. To further validate the method and potentially disentangle the multitude of stress factors affecting the species we applied blubber cortisol analysis to stranded common dolphins along the Irish coastline (2017–2019, <em>n</em> = 71). Using generalised linear models with causes of death, body condition, body length, and maturity status as predictors, cortisol concentrations were found to be negatively correlated with body length and significantly higher in sexually immature individuals. The higher cortisol concentrations in younger animals may result from a combination of developmental, metabolic, or stress-related factors, underscoring the need for further investigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"589 ","pages":"Article 152112"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144178049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lack of root oxygen loss from the dominant tropical Atlantic-Caribbean seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, in a highly sulfidic carbonate lagoon","authors":"N.H. Winn ,&nbsp;M.S. Koch ,&nbsp;C.J. Madden","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152113","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152113","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although seagrasses transport leaf and water column oxygen (O₂) to belowground rhizome and root tissues, mortality events from hypoxia-driven H₂S intrusion occur, resulting in large-scale seagrass mortality events worldwide and in Florida Bay (40 km²), a large (2200 km²) seagrass-dominated estuary at the terminus of the Florida (USA) Peninsula. We examined the dominant tropical Atlantic-Caribbean seagrass <em>Thalassia testudinum</em>'s ability to transport O₂ to belowground tissues and diffuse O₂ into root rhizospheres to constrain H₂S diffusion into roots. We examined O₂ in the rhizosphere in the light and dark by deploying 2-D planar O₂ optode sensors and measured pO₂ and H₂S dynamics in rhizospheres using microsensors. Our planar optode experiments revealed no detectable root O₂ loss (ROL) to rhizospheres which remained anoxic in &gt;9 h of light (500 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹). Sediment O₂ and H₂S microsensor profiles of the rhizosphere and light/dark gas dynamic studies revealed that rhizospheres remained anoxic and H₂S concentrations reached ∼200 μM in the light and dark. At the same time, belowground tissue internal pO₂ was above air saturation (&gt;21 kPa) in the light (3−12<em>h</em>) and remained oxic in the dark (12<em>h</em>) with no detectable H₂S intrusion. The lack of oxic regions in rhizospheres under high internal tissue pO₂ indicate a restriction of ROL in this slow-growing species. A limitation of root-sediment gas exchange in <em>T. testudinum</em> may be an evolutionary strategy to prevent O₂ loss along deep roots and minimize H₂S intrusion in sulfidic carbonate sediments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"589 ","pages":"Article 152113"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144147872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of ocean acidification and altered prey fatty acids on the early development of northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra) larvae","authors":"Louise A. Copeman ,&nbsp;Michelle A. Stowell ,&nbsp;Jessica F. Andrade ,&nbsp;Thomas P. Hurst","doi":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152111","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152111","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ocean acidification (OA) is predicted to affect the physiological rates of larval fish and invertebrates and is also expected to significantly impact marine fisheries through alteration of food webs. We examined whether mortality rates, body size, and condition of first-feeding larval northern rock sole, <em>Lepidopsetta polyxystra</em>, were synergistically influenced by prey quality (essential fatty acids, EFAs) and high carbon dioxide (CO₂) exposure. Larvae were exposed to ambient and high CO₂ levels (∼ 330 vs. 1020 μatm) and were fed diets with balanced or unbalanced EFA ratios for 7 weeks immediately following hatch. After 2 weeks, significant effects from CO₂ and diet were observed, with the largest larvae occurring in the high CO₂ exposure group that received a balanced EFA diet. After 5 weeks of exposure, the effects of elevated CO₂ had a diminished impact on larval size, but larvae reared on the balanced EFA diet maintained higher lipid-based condition metrics than those fed an unbalanced EFA diet. Survival was variable across replicate tanks and not significantly different between treatments. This study suggests that <em>L. polyxystra</em> larvae are most vulnerable to OA and food web change at different points in their development. Further understanding of these ecosystem effects will be required to predict the impacts of OA on northern rock sole fisheries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology","volume":"589 ","pages":"Article 152111"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144139470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}