The effects of ocean acidification on Astropecten irregularis (Echinodermata: Asteroidea)

• Grant number: 14/12879-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: January 15, 2015
• End date: November 14, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Alexander Turra
• Grantee: Wellington Silva Fernandez
• Supervisor: Ian McCarthy
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Bangor University, Wales
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/19826-6 - Influence of acidification on the population dynamics of Astropecten marginatus and Luidia senegalensis (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), BP.PD

Abstract

In the last 250 years the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased significantly, mainly because of the burning of fossil fuels and since the beginning of the industrial age nearly half of all atmospheric CO2 has been absorbed by the oceans resulting in a process known as acidification. Estimates indicate that there has been a reduction of 0.1 units in the pH of the oceans since the industrial age and that by the end of the twenty-first century there may be a further decline by up to 0.4 units. Ocean acidification (OA) tends to profoundly affect marine organisms, especially those with calcareous skeletons, such as echinoderms. These changes can happen by decreasing the saturation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or by disrupting acid-base affecting the energy balance of individuals with possible consequences at population and community level. In this context, the proposed internship in the "School of Ocean Sciences" at Bangor University (UK ) is intended to (1) expand the knowledge of the installation and maintenance of OA aquarium systems to facilitate the development of a center for the study of ocean acidification in the state of Sao Paulo, headquartered in the Oceanographic Institute of the University of Sao Paulo (IOUSP) and (2) to evaluate the influence of ocean acidification on nutrition, regeneration, reproduction, body growth, level of physiological stress, and metabolic rate in Astropecten irregularis (species of temperate region). Furthermore, this study will enable a comparison of results of this project with those that will be generated in future with experiments on Astropecten marginatus (species of tropical region) in IOUSP within the international cooperation project "Tropical and Temperate Marine Ecosystems - Adapting to a Changing World" (FAPESP Nº 2013/50197-5). (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TURRA, ALEXANDER; RAGAGNIN, MARILIA N.; MCCARTHY, IAN D.; FERNANDEZ, WELLINGTON S.. The effect of ocean acidification on the intertidal hermit crab Pagurus criniticornis is not modulated by cheliped amputation and sex. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, v. 153, JAN 2020. (13/19826-6, 14/12879-0, 13/50197-5, 15/02727-0)

MCCARTHY, IAN D.; WHITELEY, NIA M.; FERNANDEZ, WELLINGTON S.; RAGAGNIN, MARILIA N.; CORNWELL, TOMAS O.; SUCKLING, COLEEN C.; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Elevated pCO(2) does not impair performance in autotomised individuals of the intertidal predatory starfish Asterias rubens (Linnaeus, 1758). MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, v. 153, JAN 2020. (14/12879-0, 13/50197-5, 15/02727-0)