# Presentation: 623493

## Southeast Fisheries Science Center

- Potential Contributions

## SEFSC with local collaborators* have potential to fill gaps (relatively short term)

- Organismal-level responses (laboratory)
- Atlantic/Caribbean tropical/subtropical species
- Under-represented in the literature so far
- Early life stages
- Fishes
- Corals
- including broadcasting species
- ESA-listed *A.palmata*

***UM/RSMAS (Langdon, Grosell), UM Experimental Hatchery (Capo), AOML **

- SEFSC

## Initial collaboration: P. astreoides settlersLangdon & Albright (RSMAS)June 2007

- Initial collaboration: *P. astreoides* settlersLangdon & Albright (RSMAS)June 2007

- Brooding species
- Newly settled spat on tiles mounted to PVC palates
- 5 gallon, flow-through aquaria
-  Duplicate aquaria for each treatment
-  Saturation states manipulated in 3 header tanks through acid additions (1M HCl)
- Control ~ 3.1
- Mid ~ 2.6
- Low ~ 2.1
-  System maintained at 25oC, ambient light
-  Routinely monitored for growth rate - photographs

**Photo: R. Albright**

- SEFSC

**Notes:**
- corresponding to same treatment they were settled in.
- Once settlement has been assessed, limestone disks will be mounted to rigid PVC palates and introduced to treatment aquaria (51⁄2 gallon), with the corresponding saturation state as the treatment water used for settlement.  These aquaria are part of a flow-through seawater system and will be exposed to artificial lighting on a 12/12 hour cycle.  Seawater to the facility is supplied from a source inlet in the nearby Bear Cut and pumped into a 63,000-gallon settling tank.  Residence time in this tank is such that most particulates settle out, with remaining particulate matter removed by pumping through a sand filter followed by 10m and 1m filters.  The seawater will then be passed through a protein skimmer to remove DOM and a UV sterilizer to kill bacteria and viruses, before supplying it to the three header tanks that feed the experimental aquaria. Light intensity and water temperature will be monitored and chillers will be used to maintain the seawater at 25C. The experimental set-up will consist of three saturation states: (1)  = 3.5 (ambient); (2)  = 3.1; and (3)  = 2.6 (based on projected saturation states for the years 2065 and 2100 respectively, as determined by Kleypas et al., 1999). Saturation states will be manipulated in three header tanks through acid additions (1M HCl), and treatment water from these header tanks will then be introduced into treatment aquaria at a constant, flow-through rate. Duplicate treatment aquaria will be used for each treatment level, totaling six aquaria. This design minimizes fluctuations in CO2 in each experimental aquarium by using header tanks to ensure centralized control over each of the three treatment levels. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the proposed experimental design. Settled larvae will then be examined daily to monitor post-settlement survivorship, and samples of each species and treatment will be routinely monitored for growth rate, according to the procedure outlined below

## P. astreoides Average Growth Rate (Days 1-56) 

- June * *

- Control
- Ωa = 3.1

- Middle
- Ωa = 2.6

- Low
- Ωa = 2.1

- F0.05,2,38 = 16.9229, p< 0.0001

**Albright et al. unpubl data**

- SEFSC

**Notes:**
- 47% decrease in mid and 89% decrease in low over 56 days
- n = 14

## P. astreoides larvae (brooded) showed no effect of saturation state on settlement
Broadcasting species likely to have more susceptibility
Limited energy reserves
Longer exposure in the water column
Similar experiments possible with broadcasting spp. in 2008
Hope to culture larval phase in saturation state treatments
Acropora palmata
Montastraea faveolata
Diploria strigosa

- Broadcasting species likely to have more susceptibility
- Limited energy reserves
- Longer exposure in the water column
- Similar experiments possible with broadcasting spp. in 2008
- Hope to culture larval phase in saturation state treatments
*Acropora palmata*
*Montastraea faveolata*
*Diploria strigosa*

- SEFSC

## Likely to proceed in Aug 2008

- Coral settlement assays on acid-conditioned substrates (CCA regimes; Kuffner et al. ‘08)

- Likely to proceed in Aug 2008

- Langdon’s flow-through mesocosms
- – 3 sat states
- - UM Experimental Hatchery

- SEFSC

## Fishes

- Though fishes relatively less susceptible, early life stages may be
- With collaborators, SEFSC has capacity for exposure experiments with larval grouper, snapper, yellowfin tuna
- Though otolith deposition may not be expected to be influenced by pH, tractable larval exposure experiments would allow for validation

- SEFSC

## Fishes

- Primary uncertainty regarding indirect effects via habitat and prey
- Targeted exposure experiments for model prey to assess the appropriate degree of concern
- Molluscs and urchins: primary prey of hogfish

- SEFSC

## Misc. organisms

*Halimeda tuna*
- Promising ‘lab (and possibly field) rat’
- Common local reef species
- Extensive baseline physiological characterization in the literature (Conch reef)
- Possible targeted field monitoring parameter at instrumented sites (e.g., Molasses reef)
- Benthic Forams (symbiotic vs. aposymbiotic spp)
- Small crustaceans and/or urchins (amphipods, other important fish prey)

- SEFSC

## Local deep corals

- Lab exposure treatments theoretically feasible if material available
*Oculina ‘varicosa’* (Oculina Banks)
*Lophelia pertusa*

- SEFSC

## Concerns

- Coral Health/Disease
- ‘Pink Line Syndrome’ of *Porites lutea* (Ravindran& Raghukumar 2006)
- Toxicity changes of metals (Cu, Hg) or other xenobiotic substances?
- Amplification in apex fish and mammals?
- Further detriment to coral health?
- Good physiology needs to be incorporated
- Different groups of organisms (e.g., corals vs. gastropods) may show inhibition of calcification, but by totally different mechanisms* . . . . .implications for extrapolation to ecosystem-level effects

- * difficulty absorbing carbonate versus difficulty excreting protons

- SEFSC

## SEFSC overview

- Likely to proceed
- Coral settlement assays on acid-conditioned tiles (Kuffner et al. 08)
- Aug-Sept 2008

- Straightforward but requiring basic resources
- Broadcasting coral larval exposure treatments
- Pre-settlement
- Post-settlement growth
- Fish larval exposure
- Growth
- Otolith validation
*Halimeda tuna*
- Lab exposure
- Field monitoring

- Requiring more extensive development/ resources
- Prey species exposures
- Deep coral exposures
- More extensive targeted field monitoring

- SEFSC