Viability of coastal fish larvae under ocean alkalinity enhancement: from organisms to communities

Abstract

Abstract. Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) stands as a promising carbon dioxide removal technology. Yet, this solution to climate change entails shifts in water chemistry with unknown consequences for marine fish that are critical to ecosystem health and food security. With a laboratory and mesocosm experiment, we show that early life stages of fish can be resistant to OAE. We examined metabolic rate, swimming behavior, growth and survival in Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and other temperate coastal fish species. Neither direct physiological nor indirect food web-mediated impacts of OAE were apparent. This was despite non-CO2-equilibrated OAE (ΔTA = +600 µmol kg-1) that induces strong perturbations (ΔpH = +0.7, pCO2 = 75 µatm) compared to alternative deployment scenarios. Whilst our results give cause for optimism regarding the large-scale application of OAE, other life history stages (embryos) and habitats (open ocean) may prove more vulnerable. Still, our study across ecological scales (organism to community) and exposure times (short- to long-term) suggests that some fish populations, including key fisheries species, may be resilient to the carbonate chemistry changes under OAE.