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Species-specific responses to ocean acidification should account for local adaptation and adaptive plasticity

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 1, Article number: 0084 (2017) Cite this article

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Abstract

Global stressors, such as ocean acidification, constitute a rapidly emerging and significant problem for marine organisms, ecosystem functioning and services. The coastal ecosystems of the Humboldt Current System (HCS) off Chile harbour a broad physical–chemical latitudinal and temporal gradient with considerable patchiness in local oceanographic conditions. This heterogeneity may, in turn, modulate the specific tolerances of organisms to climate stress in species with populations distributed along this environmental gradient. Negative response ratios are observed in species models (mussels, gastropods and planktonic copepods) exposed to changes in the partial pressure of CO2 ( p CO 2 ) far from the average and extreme p CO 2 levels experienced in their native habitats. This variability in response between populations reveals the potential role of local adaptation and/or adaptive phenotypic plasticity in increasing resilience of species to environmental change. The growing use of standard ocean acidification scenarios and treatment levels in experimental protocols brings with it a danger that inter-population differences are confounded by the varying environmental conditions naturally experienced by different populations. Here, we propose the use of a simple index taking into account the natural p CO 2 variability, for a better interpretation of the potential consequences of ocean acidification on species inhabiting variable coastal ecosystems. Using scenarios that take into account the natural variability will allow understanding of the limits to plasticity across organismal traits, populations and species.

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Figure 1: Temporal series (line plots) and frequency analysis (bars plots) of surface (upper 10 m depth) p CO 2 (μatm) for different coastal environments along the Chilean coast.
Figure 2: The mean effect of near-future (2100) CO2-driven ocean acidification on different physiological traits in marine organisms.
Figure 3: Mean response of different marine taxa in relation to a ∆ p CO 2 level exposition.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Millennium Nucleus Center for the Study of Multiple-Drivers on Marine Socio-Ecological Systems (MUSELS) funded by MINECON NC120086 and the Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO) funded by MINECON IC120019. Previous and additional support from grants FONDECYT 1130254, 1060938, 1140938, 11400092 and 11130052 (RELOAD) is also acknowledged. We acknowledge L. Saavedra for p CO 2 data sharing through grant FONDECYT 3150392. S.D. is funded by the Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology (CeMEB; http://www.cemeb.science.gu.se/) and supported by a Linnaeus grant from the Swedish Research Councils VR and Formas.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aquatic Systems, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, 4030000, Chile

    Cristian A. Vargas

  2. Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO), Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, 4030000, Chile

    Cristian A. Vargas & Victor M. Aguilera

  3. Center for the Study of Multiple-Drivers on Marine Socio-Ecological Systems (MUSELS), Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, 4030000, Chile

    Cristian A. Vargas, Nelson A. Lagos, Marco A. Lardies, Cristian Duarte & Bernardo Broitman

  4. Centro de Investigación e Innovación para el Cambio Climático (CiiCC), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Santo Tomás, Santiago, 8320000, Chile

    Nelson A. Lagos

  5. Facultad de Ingeniería and Facultad de Artes Liberales, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, 8320000, Chile

    Marco A. Lardies

  6. Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, 8320000, Chile

    Cristian Duarte

  7. Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, 1780000, Chile

    Patricio H. Manríquez & Bernardo Broitman

  8. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, 1240000, Chile

    Victor M. Aguilera

  9. Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), PL1 3DH, Plymouth, UK

    Steve Widdicombe

  10. Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg 69318, Sweden

    Sam Dupont

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  1. Cristian A. Vargas
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Contributions

All authors provided input into data availability and preliminary discussions. C.A.V. led the drafting of the text with main contributions in the same order from S.D., B.R.B., S.W., N.A.L., M.A.L., C.D., P.H.M. and V.M.A. C.A.V. carried out data analysis and the main structure of the study.

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Correspondence to Cristian A. Vargas.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Figures 1,2, Supplementary Table 1. (PDF 2380 kb)

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Vargas, C., Lagos, N., Lardies, M. et al. Species-specific responses to ocean acidification should account for local adaptation and adaptive plasticity. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 0084 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0084

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