Experimental impacts of climate warming and ocean carbonation on eelgrass Zostera marina

Zimmerman, RC; Hill, VJ; Jinuntuya, M.; Celebi, Billur; Ruble, D.; Smith, Matt; Cedeno, T.; Swingle, W. Mark

doi:10.3354/meps12051

Cited by 54 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…For example, photosynthesis in spring algal blooms and healthy seagrass meadows can draw down pCO 2 levels to <100 ppm during the daytime, with an increase in pH of~1-2 units. This is commonly observed in mesocosm experiments (e.g., Zimmerman et al 2017) and eelgrass meadows. In South Bay, Virginia (USA), daytime photosynthesis reduces pCO 2 levels from~600 ppm to 300 ppm or below (Figure 2).…”

Section: Coastal Zone Acidificationsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…Here, the combination of CO 2 enrichment and high light yielded a significantly higher reproductive output and an increase in belowground biomass (which exhibited higher levels of carbohydrate reserves) and the proliferation of new shoots. Zimmerman et al (2017) recently conducted a long-term (18 months) experiment with eelgrass from Virginia growing in outdoor aquaria exposed to the natural seasonal cycles in irradiance and water temperature. They demonstrated that tolerance of high summer water temperatures increased linearly with CO 2 availability, resulting in increased rates of plant survival and vegetative growth, plant size, accumulation of internal carbon reserves (sugar), and flowering shoot production the following spring (Figure 4).…”

Section: Coastal Zone Acidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Arnold

Zimmerman

Engelhardt

et al. 2017

Ecosyst Health Sustain

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Introduction: The Chesapeake Bay was once renowned for expansive meadows of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). However, only 10% of the original meadows survive. Future restoration efforts will be complicated by accelerating climate change, including physiological stressors such as a predicted mean temperature increase of 2-6°C and a 50-160% increase in CO 2 concentrations. Outcomes: As the Chesapeake Bay begins to exhibit characteristics of a subtropical estuary, summer heat waves will become more frequent and severe. Warming alone would eventually eliminate eelgrass (Zostera marina) from the region. It will favor native heat-tolerant species such as widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) while facilitating colonization by non-native seagrasses (e.g., Halodule spp.). Intensifying human activity will also fuel coastal zone acidification and the resulting high CO 2 /low pH conditions may benefit SAV via a "CO 2 fertilization effect." Discussion: Acidification is known to offset the effects of thermal stress and may have similar effects in estuaries, assuming water clarity is sufficient to support CO 2 -stimulated photosynthesis and plants are not overgrown by epiphytes. However, coastal zone acidification is variable, driven mostly by local biological processes that may or may not always counterbalance the effects of regional warming. This precarious equipoise between two forcesthermal stress and acidification -will be critically important because it may ultimately determine the fate of cool-water plants such as Zostera marina in the Chesapeake Bay. Conclusion: The combined impacts of warming, coastal zone acidification, water clarity, and overgrowth of competing algae will determine the fate of SAV communities in rapidly changing temperate estuaries.

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Section: Coastal Zone Acidificationsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Coastal Zone Acidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Arnold

Zimmerman

Engelhardt

et al. 2017

Ecosyst Health Sustain

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“…The standing dry biomass was converted to standing carbon biomass by multiplying by 0.322 ± 0.018, a ratio we derived from an analysis of seagrass carbon content data of Duarte (1990). A specific growth rate of α = 7.3 ± 1.8 yr À1 (or 2 ± 0.5% d À1 ) was adopted based on seasonal variability (Fourqurean et al, 2001;Lee & Dunton, 1997;Zimmerman et al, 1996Zimmerman et al, , 1997Zimmerman et al, , 2001Zimmerman et al, , 2017. To compute spatially integrated fluxes, we used the seagrass areas in Table 1.…”

Section: Estuarine Fluxes 421 Estuarine Net Primary Production (Npmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Budget of Tidal Wetlands, Estuaries, and Shelf Waters of Eastern North America

Najjar

Herrmann

Alexander

et al. 2018

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

177

140

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Carbon cycling in the coastal zone affects global carbon budgets and is critical for understanding the urgent issues of hypoxia, acidification, and tidal wetland loss. However, there are no regional carbon budgets spanning the three main ecosystems in coastal waters: tidal wetlands, estuaries, and shelf waters. Here we construct such a budget for eastern North America using historical data, empirical models, remote sensing algorithms, and process‐based models. Considering the net fluxes of total carbon at the domain boundaries, 59 ± 12% (± 2 standard errors) of the carbon entering is from rivers and 41 ± 12% is from the atmosphere, while 80 ± 9% of the carbon leaving is exported to the open ocean and 20 ± 9% is buried. Net lateral carbon transfers between the three main ecosystem types are comparable to fluxes at the domain boundaries. Each ecosystem type contributes substantially to exchange with the atmosphere, with CO2 uptake split evenly between tidal wetlands and shelf waters, and estuarine CO2 outgassing offsetting half of the uptake. Similarly, burial is about equal in tidal wetlands and shelf waters, while estuaries play a smaller but still substantial role. The importance of tidal wetlands and estuaries in the overall budget is remarkable given that they, respectively, make up only 2.4 and 8.9% of the study domain area. This study shows that coastal carbon budgets should explicitly include tidal wetlands, estuaries, shelf waters, and the linkages between them; ignoring any of them may produce a biased picture of coastal carbon cycling.

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“…OA results in lower availability of the carbonate ion (CO 2À 3 ) and, therefore, a decrease in the saturation state of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), making it more difficult for marine invertebrates to form calcified shells (reviewed by Hofmann et al 2010, Kroeker et al 2010, 2013. Physiological requirements of individual species and altered interactions within ecological communities will determine whether a species is predicted to be a "winner", i.e., experiencing population growth under OA conditions (e.g., seagrasses and algae), or a "loser", i.e., experiencing population declines under OA conditions (e.g., bivalve molluscs, corals, and coralline algae) (Howard et al 2013, Zimmerman et al 2017. Physiological requirements of individual species and altered interactions within ecological communities will determine whether a species is predicted to be a "winner", i.e., experiencing population growth under OA conditions (e.g., seagrasses and algae), or a "loser", i.e., experiencing population declines under OA conditions (e.g., bivalve molluscs, corals, and coralline algae) (Howard et al 2013, Zimmerman et al 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oysters and Eelgrass: Potential Partners in a High pCO₂ Ocean

Groner¹,

Burge²,

Cox³

et al. 2018

Bulletin Ecologic Soc America

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Climate change is affecting the health and physiology of marine organisms and altering species interactions. Ocean acidification (OA) threatens calcifying organisms such as the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. In contrast, seagrasses, such as the eelgrass Zostera marina, can benefit from the increase in available carbon for photosynthesis found at a lower seawater pH. Seagrasses can remove dissolved inorganic carbon from OA environments, creating local daytime pH refugia. Pacific oysters may improve the health of eelgrass by filtering out pathogens such as Labyrinthula zosterae (LZ), which causes eelgrass wasting disease (EWD). We examined how co-culture of eelgrass ramets and juvenile oysters affected the health and growth of eelgrass and the mass of oysters under different pCO 2 exposures. In Phase I, each species was cultured alone or in co-culture at 12°C across ambient, medium, and high pCO 2 conditions, (656, 1,158 and 1,606 latm pCO 2 , respectively). Under high pCO 2 , eelgrass grew faster and had less severe EWD (contracted in the field prior to the experiment). Co-culture with oysters also reduced the severity of EWD. While the presence of eelgrass decreased daytime pCO 2 , this reduction was not substantial enough to ameliorate the negative impact of high pCO 2 on oyster mass. In Phase II, eelgrass alone or oysters and eelgrass in co-culture were held at 15°C under ambient and high pCO 2 conditions, (488 and 2,013 latm pCO 2 , respectively). Half of the replicates were challenged with cultured LZ. Concentrations of defensive compounds in eelgrass (total phenolics and tannins), were altered by LZ exposure and pCO 2 treatments. Greater pathogen loads and increased EWD severity were detected in LZ exposed eelgrass ramets; EWD severity was reduced at high relative to low pCO 2 . Oyster presence did not influence pathogen load or EWD severity; high LZ concentrations in experimental treatments may have masked the effect of this treatment. Collectively, these results indicate that, when exposed to natural concentrations of LZ under high pCO 2 conditions, eelgrass can benefit from co-culture with oysters. Further experimentation is necessary to quantify how oysters may benefit from co-culture with eelgrass, examine these interactions in the field and quantify context-dependency.

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Experimental impacts of climate warming and ocean carbonation on eelgrass Zostera marina

Cited by 54 publications

References 63 publications

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Carbon Budget of Tidal Wetlands, Estuaries, and Shelf Waters of Eastern North America

Oysters and Eelgrass: Potential Partners in a High pCO₂ Ocean

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Experimental impacts of climate warming and ocean carbonation on eelgrass Zostera marina

Cited by 54 publications

References 63 publications

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Carbon Budget of Tidal Wetlands, Estuaries, and Shelf Waters of Eastern North America

Oysters and Eelgrass: Potential Partners in a High pCO2 Ocean

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Oysters and Eelgrass: Potential Partners in a High pCO₂ Ocean