Calcifying algae maintain settlement cues to larval abalone following algal exposure to extreme ocean acidification.

ABSTRACT: Ocean acidification (OA) increasingly threatens marine systems, and is especially harmful to calcifying organisms. One important question is whether OA will alter species interactions. Crustose coralline algae (CCA) provide space and chemical cues for larval settlement. CCA have shown strongly negative responses to OA in previous studies, including disruption of settlement cues to corals. In California, CCA provide cues for seven species of harvested, threatened, and endangered abalone. We exposed four common CCA genera and a crustose calcifying red algae, Peyssonnelia (collectively CCRA) from California to three pCO₂ levels ranging from 419-2,013 µatm for four months. We then evaluated abalone (Haliotis rufescens) settlement under ambient conditions among the CCRA and non-algal

SUBMITTER: O'Leary JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5515930 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature