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Tough adults, frail babies: an analysis of stress sensitivity across early life-history stages of widely introduced marine invertebrates

Tough adults, frail babies: an analysis of stress sensitivity across early life-history stages of widely introduced marine invertebrates
Tough adults, frail babies: an analysis of stress sensitivity across early life-history stages of widely introduced marine invertebrates
All ontogenetic stages of a life cycle are exposed to environmental conditions so that population persistence depends on the performance of both adults and offspring. Most studies analysing the influence of abiotic conditions on species performance have focussed on adults, while studies covering early life-history stages remain rare. We investigated the responses of early stages of two widely introduced ascidians, Styela plicata and Microcosmus squamiger, to different abiotic conditions. Stressors mimicked conditions in the habitats where both species can be found in their distributional ranges and responses were related to the selection potential of their populations by analysing their genetic diversity. Four developmental stages (egg fertilisation, larval development, settlement, metamorphosis) were studied after exposure to high temperature (30°C), low salinities (26 and 22‰) and high copper concentrations (25, 50 and 100 µg/L). Although most stressors effectively led to failure of complete development (fertilisation through metamorphosis), fertilisation and larval development were the most sensitive stages. All the studied stressors affected the development of both species, though responses differed with stage and stressor. S. plicata was overall more resistant to copper, and some stages of M. squamiger to low salinities. No relationship was found between parental genetic composition and responses to stressors. We conclude that successful development can be prevented at several life-history stages, and therefore, it is essential to consider multiple stages when assessing species' abilities to tolerate stress. Moreover, we found that early development of these species cannot be completed under conditions prevailing where adults live. These populations must therefore recruit from elsewhere or reproduce during temporal windows of more benign conditions. Alternatively, novel strategies or behaviours that increase overall reproductive success might be responsible for ensuring population survival.
1932-6203
e46672
Pineda, M. Carmen
e70a00db-4737-4dcc-b256-6b9b904d6740
McQuaid, Christopher D.
97f8c217-f30c-405c-8cf3-f616208b5008
Turon, Xavier
df0c3b35-aba1-4657-add0-3c6aee7c08d3
López-Legentil, Susanna
b1a98922-db44-4485-8947-9ea53eb3e02d
Ordóñez, Víctor
54bbc19c-76da-42bc-b47d-2899c6b6ed40
Rius, Marc
c4e88345-4b4e-4428-b4b2-37229155f68d
Pineda, M. Carmen
e70a00db-4737-4dcc-b256-6b9b904d6740
McQuaid, Christopher D.
97f8c217-f30c-405c-8cf3-f616208b5008
Turon, Xavier
df0c3b35-aba1-4657-add0-3c6aee7c08d3
López-Legentil, Susanna
b1a98922-db44-4485-8947-9ea53eb3e02d
Ordóñez, Víctor
54bbc19c-76da-42bc-b47d-2899c6b6ed40
Rius, Marc
c4e88345-4b4e-4428-b4b2-37229155f68d

Pineda, M. Carmen, McQuaid, Christopher D., Turon, Xavier, López-Legentil, Susanna, Ordóñez, Víctor and Rius, Marc (2012) Tough adults, frail babies: an analysis of stress sensitivity across early life-history stages of widely introduced marine invertebrates. PLoS ONE, 7 (10), e46672. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046672).

Record type: Article

Abstract

All ontogenetic stages of a life cycle are exposed to environmental conditions so that population persistence depends on the performance of both adults and offspring. Most studies analysing the influence of abiotic conditions on species performance have focussed on adults, while studies covering early life-history stages remain rare. We investigated the responses of early stages of two widely introduced ascidians, Styela plicata and Microcosmus squamiger, to different abiotic conditions. Stressors mimicked conditions in the habitats where both species can be found in their distributional ranges and responses were related to the selection potential of their populations by analysing their genetic diversity. Four developmental stages (egg fertilisation, larval development, settlement, metamorphosis) were studied after exposure to high temperature (30°C), low salinities (26 and 22‰) and high copper concentrations (25, 50 and 100 µg/L). Although most stressors effectively led to failure of complete development (fertilisation through metamorphosis), fertilisation and larval development were the most sensitive stages. All the studied stressors affected the development of both species, though responses differed with stage and stressor. S. plicata was overall more resistant to copper, and some stages of M. squamiger to low salinities. No relationship was found between parental genetic composition and responses to stressors. We conclude that successful development can be prevented at several life-history stages, and therefore, it is essential to consider multiple stages when assessing species' abilities to tolerate stress. Moreover, we found that early development of these species cannot be completed under conditions prevailing where adults live. These populations must therefore recruit from elsewhere or reproduce during temporal windows of more benign conditions. Alternatively, novel strategies or behaviours that increase overall reproductive success might be responsible for ensuring population survival.

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Published date: 12 October 2012
Organisations: Ocean Biochemistry & Ecosystems

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 354668
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/354668
ISSN: 1932-6203
PURE UUID: 2c6debd0-8905-4ba5-a793-aa9c6280f867

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Date deposited: 17 Jul 2013 10:30
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 14:22

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Contributors

Author: M. Carmen Pineda
Author: Christopher D. McQuaid
Author: Xavier Turon
Author: Susanna López-Legentil
Author: Víctor Ordóñez
Author: Marc Rius

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