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Responses of pink salmon to CO2-induced aquatic acidification

Abstract

Ocean acidification negatively affects many marine species and is predicted to cause widespread changes to marine ecosystems. Similarly, freshwater ecosystems may potentially be affected by climate-change-related acidification; however, this has received far less attention. Freshwater fish represent 40% of all fishes, and salmon, which rear and spawn in freshwater, are of immense ecosystem, economical and cultural importance. In this study, we investigate the impacts of CO2-induced acidification during the development of pink salmon, in freshwater and following early seawater entry. At this critical and sensitive life stage, we show dose-dependent reductions in growth, yolk-to-tissue conversion and maximal O2 uptake capacity; as well as significant alterations in olfactory responses, anti-predator behaviour and anxiety under projected future increases in CO2 levels. These data indicate that future populations of pink salmon may be at risk without mitigation and highlight the need for further studies on the impact of CO2-induced acidification on freshwater systems.

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Figure 1: Growth measurements in pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) at yolk sac absorption (following ten weeks of CO2 exposure in freshwater).
Figure 2: Predator avoidance behaviour and olfactory responses of pink salmon reared at different p CO 2 tensions to conspecific alarm cues in freshwater.
Figure 3: Electrophysiological responses at the olfactory epithelium of pink salmon (week 8 of CO2 exposure) in response to various amino acids (10−3 M) at different p CO 2 tensions in freshwater.
Figure 4: Time pink salmon spent in different zones (centre and thigmotaxis zone) in a novel approach test in fish reared and tested in different freshwater p CO 2 tensions.
Figure 5: Absolute growth rates in pink salmon in the first two weeks following seawater transfer at different p CO 2 tensions.
Figure 6: RMR and MMR during development in pink salmon in freshwater and following seawater transfer at different p CO 2 tensions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Ewart and the staff at Quinsam River Hatchery for providing us with pink salmon embryos and S. Balshine for her comments on the manuscript. Special thanks to G. Fullerton, P. Tamkee, B. Gillespie and the UBC Comphy group for their help and support throughout this project. The project was financially supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery grants to C.J.B. and T.J.H. and a NSERC Accelerator Supplement to C.J.B.

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M.O. and C.J.B. devised the study. M.O., C.J.B., J.E., T.J.H. and S.-S.Y. designed the experiments. M.O., T.J.H., J.E., E.M.L., J.G., A.J. and J.L. conducted the experiments. M.O., E.M.L., J.E. and T.J.H. developed equipment. M.O. and E.M.L. collected water samples and conducted water analyses. M.O. and C.J.B. wrote the manuscript. M.O., C.J.B., T.J.H., J.E., S.-S.Y. and D.A.C. contributed to intellectual input and edited this manuscript. All authors approved this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Michelle Ou or Colin J. Brauner.

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Ou, M., Hamilton, T., Eom, J. et al. Responses of pink salmon to CO2-induced aquatic acidification. Nature Clim Change 5, 950–955 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2694

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