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Impacts of near future sea surface pH and temperature conditions on fertilisation and embryonic development in Centrostephanus rodgersii from northern New Zealand and northern New South Wales, Australia

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Abstract

Oceans are warming and becoming more acidic. While higher temperature and lower pH can have negative effects on fertilisation and development of marine invertebrates, warming may partially ameliorate the negative effect of lower pH. This study determined the effect of warming (3 °C) and decreased pH (0.3, 0.5, 1.1 units below ambient) on fertilisation and development in two populations of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii, one at its northern range limit (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales NSW, 30°27′S, 153°14′E) and the other one in New Zealand where the species may be a recent arrival (Mokohinau Islands, 35°56′S, 175°9′E). Both populations were sampled in August 2011. The two populations exhibited a differential response to temperature, while pH affected them similarly. Fertilisation was robust to pH levels forecast for 2100, and it was only slightly reduced at pH values forecast for 2300 (i.e. ≈5 and ≈8 % for the northern NSW and the New Zealand populations, respectively). Decreased pH (pH = 7.6) reduced the percentage of succeeding developmental stages. Progression through cleavage and hatching stages was faster at +3 °C in the New Zealand population but not in northern NSW urchins, while for the NSW population, there was a positive interaction between temperature and pH at hatching. Gastrulation was negatively affected by an extreme pH 7.0 treatment (60–80 % reduction) and least affected by increased temperature. The percentage of abnormal embryos at gastrulation increased significantly at +3 °C treatment in the northern NSW population. Predicted future increases in temperature may facilitate further expansion of the geographical range of C. rodgersii in New Zealand, with a minimal effect of concurrent reduced pH.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the staff of the Leigh Marine Laboratory of the University of Auckland and the staff of NMSC at Coffs Harbour for their help during the collection of the sea urchins and while running the experiments. This research was supported by a New Zealand Marine Sciences Society Student Research Grant and by a Grant of the Australian Research Council (MB, SD) that supported the construction of the facility in Coffs Harbour.

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  1. D. Pecorino

    Present address: Department for Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, Corso Europa 26, 16132, Genoa, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand

    D. Pecorino, M. F. Barker & M. D. Lamare

  2. National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, PO Box 4321, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia

    S. A. Dworjanyn

  3. Schools of Medical and Biological Sciences, F13, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    M. Byrne

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Correspondence to D. Pecorino.

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Communicated by U. Sommer.

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227_2013_2318_MOESM2_ESM.tiff

Photomicrographs of a representative fertilised egg and subsequent developmental stages of Centrostephanus rodgersii. From left to right: fertilised egg, cleaved embryo, hatched blastula, gastrula and abnormal embryo. Scale bars represent 100 μm. (TIFF 897 kb)

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Pecorino, D., Barker, M.F., Dworjanyn, S.A. et al. Impacts of near future sea surface pH and temperature conditions on fertilisation and embryonic development in Centrostephanus rodgersii from northern New Zealand and northern New South Wales, Australia. Mar Biol 161, 101–110 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2318-1

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