Abstract
Arctic ecosystems are predicted to have more severe effects from global warming as during the last decades the temperatures have increased in this region at a rate of 2-4 times higher than the global average. In addition, oil exploitation and shipping activities in the Arctic are predicted to increase under global warming as the result of the retreat of sea ice, posing the risk of oil contamination. It is poorly known how cold adapted copepods in the Arctic deal with the combined effects of global warming and oil exposure. To address this,
we exposed females of two copepods species Calanus glacialis and C.
finmarchicus to pyrene at three temperatures: 2, 6 and 10°C. Both species
co-exist in the Disko Bay, Greenland, but only C. glacialis is a true
Arctic species while C. finmarchicus is of north Atlantic origin. Pyrene
is one of the most toxic components of crude oil to marine copepods.
The temperatures of 2, 6 and 10°C represent the mean sea water
temperature during the reproductive season, the 4°C increase in mean
temperature by 2100 as predicted by IPCC scenario RCP8.5 (2013) and
the extreme sea water temperature, respectively, in Disko Bay. Fourdegree
temperature increase did not have an effect on grazing rate and
survival of both species. However, the extreme temperature (10°C)
increased the grazing rate and mortality of C. glacialis, but not in C.
finmarchicus. Exposure to high pyrene strongly reduced survival and
grazing rate in both species and this pattern was independent of
temperatures. Notably, exposure to high pyrene resulted in ca. 70% of
mortality in C. finmarchicus, the species with North Atlantic Origin, that
was two times higher than the mortality observed for C. glacialis, the
true Arctic species. These results suggest that extreme temperature
under global warming and oil contamination may drastically change the
relative abundance of the Arctic pelagic copepod community by
changing the species-specific vulnerability to extreme temperature and
oil exposure
we exposed females of two copepods species Calanus glacialis and C.
finmarchicus to pyrene at three temperatures: 2, 6 and 10°C. Both species
co-exist in the Disko Bay, Greenland, but only C. glacialis is a true
Arctic species while C. finmarchicus is of north Atlantic origin. Pyrene
is one of the most toxic components of crude oil to marine copepods.
The temperatures of 2, 6 and 10°C represent the mean sea water
temperature during the reproductive season, the 4°C increase in mean
temperature by 2100 as predicted by IPCC scenario RCP8.5 (2013) and
the extreme sea water temperature, respectively, in Disko Bay. Fourdegree
temperature increase did not have an effect on grazing rate and
survival of both species. However, the extreme temperature (10°C)
increased the grazing rate and mortality of C. glacialis, but not in C.
finmarchicus. Exposure to high pyrene strongly reduced survival and
grazing rate in both species and this pattern was independent of
temperatures. Notably, exposure to high pyrene resulted in ca. 70% of
mortality in C. finmarchicus, the species with North Atlantic Origin, that
was two times higher than the mortality observed for C. glacialis, the
true Arctic species. These results suggest that extreme temperature
under global warming and oil contamination may drastically change the
relative abundance of the Arctic pelagic copepod community by
changing the species-specific vulnerability to extreme temperature and
oil exposure
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
| Event | SETAC Europe: 27th Annual Meeting – Environmental Quality Through Transdisciplinary Collaboration - Brussels, Belgium Duration: 7 May 2017 → 13 Jul 2017 |
Conference
| Conference | SETAC Europe: 27th Annual Meeting – Environmental Quality Through Transdisciplinary Collaboration |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Belgium |
| City | Brussels |
| Period | 07/05/2017 → 13/07/2017 |
