Effects of ocean acidification and changes of salinity on the crab Physiology calls tide Uca mordax (Decapoda, Brachyura) in the laboratory

• Grant number: 15/11953-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Compared Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Alessandra da Silva Augusto
• Grantee: Tayná Figueiredo Strefezza
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

It has been demonstrated significant changes in climatic conditions on the planet, especially temperature rise, changes in precipitation, and ocean acidification. Although the physiological systems maintain the internal environment fairly constant under ideal conditions of pH, temperature, salinity, etc., suboptimal levels of these variables may affect the basic chemical reactions and cause changes in physiological functions. We intend to evaluate in the laboratory aspects of crab physiology Uca mordax tide against planned scenarios of climate change as ocean acidification and changes in salinity resulting rise in sea level and / or increased based rainfall in theIPCC forecasts (2013). The animals will be collected in Bertioga, north coast of São Paulo, the place has great biodiversity of decapods occupying areas between tides, rocky shores, mangroves and are subject to flooding resulting from rising sea levels, which can cause changes in salinity. The species are chosen, Uca mordax is representative of the location indicator and possible climate change due to their sensitivity to abiotic changes, for example, population density that varies seasonally and spatial distribution as a function of salinity. The physiological mechanisms will be investigated in animals maintained in the laboratory and exposed for three days at 10 treatments resulting from the combination of different pH levels (6.5 and 5.8) and salinity (25, 30, 35, 40, and 45). They will be investigated metabolism, osmoregulation, excretion of ammonia, oxidized energy substrate, and hepatosomatic. The scarcity of information on the effects of climate change on the physiology of marine animals is one of the main challenges to be resolved and this study may contribute to understanding the impact of environmental changes on biodiversity crabs Uca. (AU)