Habitat traits and food availability determine the response of marine invertebrates to ocean acidification

Abstract

Energy availability and local adaptation are major components in mediating the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on marine species. In a long‐term study, we investigated the effects of food availability and elevated p CO2 (ca. 400, 1000 and 3000 μatm) on growth of newly settled Amphibalanus (Balanus) improvisus to reproduction, and on their offspring. We also compared two different populations, which were presumed to differ in their sensitivity to p CO2 due to differing habitat conditions: Kiel Fjord, Germany (Western Baltic Sea) with naturally strong p CO2 fluctuations, and the Tjärnö Archipelago, Sweden (Skagerrak) with far lower fluctuations. Over 20 weeks, survival, growth, reproduction and shell strength of Kiel barnacles were all unaffected by elevated p CO2, regardless of food availability. Moulting frequency and shell corrosion increased with increasing p CO2 in adults. Larval development and juvenile growth of the F1 generation were tolerant to increased p CO2, irrespective of parental treatment. In contrast, elevated p CO2 had a strong negative impact on survival of Tjärnö barnacles. Specimens from this population were able to withstand moderate levels of elevated p CO2 over 5 weeks when food was plentiful but showed reduced growth under food limitation. Severe levels of elevated p CO2 negatively impacted growth of Tjärnö barnacles in both food treatments. We demonstrate a conspicuously higher tolerance to elevated p CO2 in Kiel barnacles than in Tjärnö barnacles. This tolerance was carried over from adults to their offspring. Our findings indicate that populations from fluctuating p CO2 environments are more tolerant to elevated p CO2 than populations from more stable p CO2 habitats. We furthermore provide evidence that energy availability can mediate the ability of barnacles to withstand moderate CO2 stress. Considering the high tolerance of Kiel specimens and the possibility to adapt over many generations, near future OA alone does not seem to present a major threat for A. improvisus.