Unpublished Paper
Ocean Acidification and Ocean Warming effects on Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) Early Life Stages
(2020)
Abstract
Increasing green house gas emissions are expected to raise surface seawater temperatures and
lead to locally intensified ocean acidity in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Pacific herring (Clupea
pallasi) are ecologically and economically important forage fish species native to this region. While
the impacts of ocean acidification and ocean warming on organism physiology have been extensively
studied, less is known on how interactive climate change stressors will affect marine fish. Therefore,
our study focused on the combined effects of ocean acidification and warming on Pacific herring
early life history stages. Pacific herring embryos were incubated under a factorial design of two
temperature (10°C or 16°C) and two pCO2 (600 μatm or 1200 μatm) treatments from fertilization
until hatch (11 to 15 days depending on temperature). Elevated pCO2 was associated with a small
increase in embryo mortality. Elevated temperature generated greater embryo mortality, greater
embryo heart rates and larger yolk areas upon hatch, lower hatching success, and decreased larval
lengths. The interaction of elevated temperature and pCO2 was associated with greater embryo
respiration rates and yolk areas. This study suggests that while temperature is the primary global
change stressor affecting Pacific herring embryology, interactive effects with pCO2 could introduce
additional physiological challenges.
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall October 1, 2020
Comments
Working paper under review
Citation Information
Cristina Villalobos, Brooke Love and M. Brady Olson. "Ocean Acidification and Ocean Warming effects on Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) Early Life Stages" (2020) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brooke-love/16/