celebrating progress in nz oa research and outreach · celebrating progress in nz oa research and...
TRANSCRIPT
The 10th New Zealand Ocean Acidification Workshop
Celebrating Progress in NZ OA Research and Outreach
15 - 17 February 2017
Researchers on University of Otago Research Vessel Polaris II, Stewart Island photo: A Smith
A meeting of the
NZOAC New Zealand Ocean Acidification Community
Working together to understand the changing ocean www.nzoac.nz
Hosted by
Otago Ocean Acidification Research Theme www.otago.ac.nz/oceanacidification University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Programme Overview
Wednesday 15 February
12-5 pm Technical Session Avoiding Simple Errors: lab skills for OA research Doug Mackie, Christina McGraw
Chemistry Labs Meet at 12 noon at University Union, Cumberland St, opposite Otago Museum Afternoon tea provided
3-6 pm CARIM meeting (by invitation) Cliff Law
St David 4
6-7 pm OA Workshop Registration Foyer outside Archway 4
7-8 pm Public Lecture: Seaweeds in the Future Ocean -- winners and losers of Ocean Acidification Catriona Hurd, IMAS, U Tasmania
Archway 4
Thursday 16 February
8:30-9am OA Workshop Registration St David foyer
9am-5pm
Scientific talks including a Plenary Talk by Prof Catriona Hurd
St David 1 lunch and teas provided
6-7 pm Social Winetasting Hamish Spencer
St Margarets College Valentine Common Room
7 pm Workshop Dinner St Margarets College Dining Room
Friday 17 February
9am-12pm
Workshops and Special Sessions
St David 1 morning tea provided
12-1:30 pm
Launch of new “OA For Teachers” resource and Lunch
St David foyer lunch provided
1:30-4:30 pm
Community Meetings: Council report, new Council election, prizes
St David 1 afternoon tea provided
Organising Committee If you need help, please contact one of us!
Sally Carson 021-279-5842 [email protected]
Kim Currie 022-104-0608 [email protected]
Linn Hoffmann 021-025-15342 [email protected]
Doug Mackie 021-279-5811 [email protected] Christina McGraw 027-501-5152 [email protected] Abby Smith 027-606-3552 [email protected]
Kate Sparks 022-365-8863 [email protected]
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University of Otago Central Campus Map
Venues Otago’s brand new Chemistry Labs are located in the Science III Building at 730 Cumberland St. They have a shiny new front saying “Mellor Laboratories”. It’s a little hard to find your way to the actual room, so Doug will meet people who are attending the technical day in the Information Services Building (ISB), 640 Cumberland St, located at the pedestrian crossing opposite the Otago Museum. The IBS building (also known as ‘The Link’) has chairs and coffee if you arrive early. The Archway Lecture Theatres are located on the corner of Union St East and Leith Walk. If you put “290 Leith Walk” into google maps that will get you to the right area. It’s a funny-looking short concrete building with murals painted on it. Inside it’s a maze, but just walk around looking for a big number 4. St David Lecture Theatres are located at 72 St David Street, opposite the Good Earth Café (a good place for breakfast) at 765 Cumberland St. Our winetasting and dinner will be held at St Margaret’s College, one of the oldest residential colleges in the country. Head to 333 Leith St, and walk up through their lovely garden to the open front door. The winetasting will begin sharp at 6pm, and the dinner about 7:30 pm in their historic Dining Room. Beware: both Union Street and Castle Street have different sections that are only connected by notional walkways and not as you might expect. Make sure you are on the right bit. If you get lost, call Abby on 027-606-3552.
St Margaret’s College
Science III
St David’s
Archway
ISB Link
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Wi-Fi The University of Otago now has a self-service guest wifi. Guests can connect to the UO_GUEST wifi network and then will be prompted to setup a guest profile. This is only available to a device that is not currently registered with Otago and has not connected within the last month. Most visitors should be fine using this system. The other way some people may be able to connect is if your organisation is a member of Eduroam. If so, just connect using your home organisation’s credentials.
Campus Map You can download the Otago Campus Map from this website: http://www.otago.ac.nz/about/campuses.html#dunedin Most of our events are on the Central Campus map. It’s notoriously hard to work with, but it’s what there is.
Registration for the workshop will be available:
Wednesday 15 February from 6-7pm in the foyer outside Archway 4 (before the public lecture)
Thursday 16 February from 8:30 to 9am in the foyer outside St David 4 (before the first session)
Campus Life You may or may not think it’s exciting to be on campus as all our new students are moving in. Orientation Week begins on 20 February, so the University is really humming. Just be aware that there are lots of visitors, lots of traffic, lots of moving vans, and lots of students around. That’s one of the things that makes Dunedin special!
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Avoiding Simple Errors: Lab Skills for OA Research
Wednesday 15 February 2017, 12-5pm
afternoon tea included
Chemistry Labs, 730 Cumberland St. Please meet at midday at the University Union, across Cumberland St from Otago Museum
Dr Doug Mackie Dr Christina McGraw
Need a brush-up on your chemistry lab skills? Doug Mackie and Christina McGraw offer a 5-hour hands-on workshop to take you through some lab skills you will need to carry out rigorous OA research and avoid some common pitfalls.
• How should you handle and store OA samples?
• Do you know how to use a pipette and balance?
• Dilutions, concentrations, and following ambiguous recipes. • Can you take carbonate production per organism and organism
abundance to get a sedimentation rate? No; because you need another piece of information. We’ll show you how to work out the other parameter you need to measure in situations like this.
• What do you know about carbonate equilibria? We promise you’ll leave knowing more.
• What about data management commands like Index(Match())?
• Do you really know what pH is? How to calibrate a pH meter? Which buffer when?
• What is an electrode slope? Does it matter?
• Is there a way to correct for temperature differences?
• Do you know how to measure pH in seawater by electrode and spectrometer? Really? We’ll show you how to meet CDIAC SOP6a and 6b.
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Dr. Catriona Hurd is Associate Professor at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic
Studies, University of Tasmania, Australia. Her research expertise is in seaweed physiological. Since 2007, she has focussed on the responses of different groups of seaweed to ocean acidification and has revealed that calcifying species are particularly susceptible whereas responses of fleshy species are neutral or positive. Catriona has supervised to completion 50 postgraduate students, published 98 papers and was lead author of the textbook Seaweed Ecology and Physiology 2nd Edition (2014) which won the 2015 Phycological Society of America Gerald Prescott Award. It is particularly pleasing to have Catriona here to help us celebrate our decade of research, as she was the moving force behind the first workshops in Dunedin.
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Scientific Programme of Talks Thursday 16 February 2017 8:30 Registration Desk Open Organising
committee St David’s Foyer
9:00 Welcome and Opening Abby Smith, Otago
St David’s Lecture Room 1 Session Chair: Kate Sparks
9:15 Phytoplankton community composition response to ocean acidification and increased light intensities
Linn Hoffmann, Otago
9:30 The ecological and evolutionary importance of genetic diversity in phytoplankton responses to ocean acidification
Ro Allen, Otago
9:45 Adaptation by a NZ subantarctic coccolithophore
Evelyn Armstrong, Otago
10:00 Bacterioplankton community response to elevated CO2 and/or temperature in the South Pacific
Francie Rudminat, Otago
10:15 morning tea St David’s Foyer
11:00 The collapsed factorial: a small-factor experimental design for multi-stressor ocean acidification experiments
Peter Dillingham, Otago
St David’s Lecture Room 1 Session Chair: Ro Allen
11:15 From desktop to data: Development, deployment and maintenance of the new SeaFet monitoring site in the Firth of Thames
Emily Frost, Auckland
11:30 A multi-sensor system to monitor marine variability associated with global climate change
Christina McGraw, Otago
11:45 NZOA-ON – The first year of coastal OA monitoring, what can we tell so far?
Kim Currie, NIWA
12:00 OA: Information needs from an end-user’s perspective
Mary Livingston, MPI
12:00 lunch and networking St David’s Foyer
1:30 Predicting the responses of seaweeds to ocean acidification: a physiological perspective
Catriona Hurd, University of Tasmania
St David’s Lecture Room 1 Session Chair: Bryce Peebles
2:30 In situ developmental responses of tropical sea urchin embryos to ocean acidification conditions at naturally elevated pCO2 vent sites
Miles Lamare, Otago
2:45 Trans-generational Plasticity among Antarctic sea stars (Odontaster validus) in response to combined ocean acidification and warming
Kate Sparks, Otago
3:00 Paua and oysters in a changing environment: do shells reflect exposure to ocean acidification experiments?
Vonda Cummings, NIWA
3:15 afternoon tea St David’s Foyer
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4:00
An imbalanced marine nitrogen cycle due to ocean acidification?
Cliff Law, NIWA
St David’s Lecture Room 4 Session Chair: Rebecca Zitoun
4:15 Impacts of ocean acidification on nutrient processing in coastal sediments
Conrad Pilditch, Waikato
4:30 Interactions of oxygen depletion, pH depression and nutrient runoff in a mesotrophic coastal embayment
John Zeldis, NIWA
5:00 wrap up and instructions Abby Smith
5:45 Winetasting Hamish Spencer
Dining Room, St Margaret’s College
7:00 Dinner Dining Room, St Margaret’s College
OA Workshops Friday 17 February 2017 9:00 What’s happening
today? Abby Smith, University of Otago St David’s Lecture
Room 1 9:15 CARIM workshop:
Update & progress on coastal OA
Cliff Law, NIWA and Otago Overviews from members of the CARIM project
10:15 morning tea and Council Meeting St David’s Foyer
11:00 Ocean acidification: Mana Whenua Perspectives
Richelle Kahui-McConnell St David’s Lecture Room 1
11:45 OA for Teachers: launch of a new resource
Sally Carson, New Zealand Marine Studies Centre
12:00 lunch and networking St David’s Foyer
1:00 NZ OA Community
• Council report
• Elections
• Directions
• Prizes
Abby Smith, Council Chair St David’s Lecture Room 1
3:00 afternoon tea St David’s Foyer 3:30 – 5 pm
Unconference: another way of talking together
Vic Metcalf, Curious Minds
St David’s Lecture Room 1
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The 10th New Zealand Ocean Acidification Workshop
Celebrating Progress in NZ OA Research and Outreach
15 - 17 February 2017
Tidal flats, Okarito Lagoon, South Island photo: A Smith
Abstracts in alphabetical order of presenting author
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The Ecological and Evolutionary Importance of Genetic Diversity in Phytoplankton Responses to Ocean Acidification
Ro Allena, Linn Hoffmanna, and Tina Summerfielda aDepartment of Botany, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Marine phytoplankton communities contribute approximately 50% of global primary production, and play a fundamental role in biogeochemical cycling and trophic energy transfer. A great research effort has been applied to understanding how phytoplankton communities are likely to respond to a future high CO2 ocean. However, the role of genetic diversity in marine phytoplankton ecology and evolution has arguably not received sufficient attention. Genetic diversity in phytoplankton can be vast, with thousands of genetically distinct strains of a single species spatiotemporally co-occurring. Laboratory studies have demonstrated significant physiological differences between closely related strains of the same species. These physiological differences result in strain-specific sensitivity to CO2. More recently, studies have begun to explore how genetic diversity affects population responses to environmental stressors. However, the research field remains in its infancy, largely limited by practical constraints in up-scaling laboratory experiments to explorations of natural communities. In this talk, I will explore the depth of genetic diversity in marine phytoplankton, how this diversity translates to ecologically relevant phenotypic traits, and potential implications for the ecological function and adaptive capacity of phytoplankton communities as CO2 levels increase. I will also share early data from the latest CARIM mesocosm experiment, investigating the ability of phytoplankton communities to rapidly adapt to ocean acidification and warming through selection towards pre-existing resilient strains.
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Adaptation by a NZ subantarctic coccolithophore
Evelyn Armstronga and Cliff Lawb,c aNIWA/University of Otago Research Centre for Oceanography, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand bNational Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Greta Point, Kilbirnie, Wellington 6002, New Zealand c Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand
There have been a number of short-term experiments examining the potential impacts of ocean acidification on calcifying plankton, such as the coccolithophores, but few studies have considered potential for adaptation. We incubated a strain of Emiliania huxleyi isolated from NZ subantarctic waters at temperature and pH conditions experienced now and predicted in 2100, for a period of 12 months. Growth rates are currently faster under 2100 relative to current conditions. We also carried out experiments, in which cells incubated under now conditions were transferred to future conditions, and vice versa. Growth rates in these transferred cultures indicated that cells under 2100 conditions had adapted to those conditions after 10 months, as they exhibited slower growth than cells continually incubated under now conditions. Cells from future cultures also appear smaller with liths more loosely attached than those grown under current conditions. These and other physiological parameters will be presented to assess the potential long term success of this ubiquitous coccolithophore species.
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Paua and oysters in a changing environment: do shells reflect exposure to ocean acidification experiments?
Vonda J. Cummingsa, Abigail M. Smithb , Bryce Peeblesb, Peter Marriotta and Jane Hallidaya aNIWA, Private Bag 14-901, Wellington, New Zealand bDepartment of Marine Science, University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
Ocean acidification and warming temperatures may influence the functioning of molluscs in many ways. While there may be no strongly measureable impacts on an organisms’ physiology (e.g. growth, metabolic rate), shell mineralogy or integrity can still be affected. Here we describe investigations using shells of an earlier experiment, in which juvenile pāua (Haliotis iris) and flat oysters (Ostrea chilensis) were exposed to different pHs (8.00, 7.65 representing current Wellington Harbour pH and end-of century predictions, respectively) at two temperatures (13oC, 15oC) for 4+ months. We trialed procedures for sectioning shells, followed by analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive x‐ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Results of these analyses were assessed to determine how the decreased pH modified shell characteristics and integrity, and how this modification was influenced by temperature. We found many more significant effects on pāua than on flat oysters, likely due to the differences in carbonate composition between species. For pāua, we noted a consistent, strong effect of temperature, and disruption of normal growth and shell characteristics at low pH, which was also stronger at lower temperature. The study also showed the importance of even a small (2oC) difference in temperature on growth and shell characteristics, and on influencing the effects of low pH.
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NZOA-ON – The First Year of Coastal OA Monitoring, What Can We Tell So Far?
Kim Curriea, Judith Murdochb, and Andrew Marrinerc a NIWA, Dunedin, New Zealand b Chemistry Dept, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand c NIWA, Wellington, New Zealand
Good quality pH data from the New Zealand coastal waters is required to establish present day conditions and natural variability in different ecosystems and locations. This will then inform predictions of future concentrations and ecosystem responses. The NZOA-ON (New Zealand Ocean Acidification Observing Network) been up and running for almost two years, with sampling partners collecting fortnightly samples at 14 coastal sites throughout the country. SeaFET sensors provide high temporal (half-hourly) data at several of the sites. In this presentation we will give a snapshot of the annual cycle in pH and aragonite saturation at the sites, and introduce the data access portal.
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The collapsed factorial: a small-factor experimental design for multi-stressor ocean acidification experiments Peter W. Dillinghama, Philip W. Boydb, Catriona L. Hurdb, Christopher E. Cornwallc, Christina M. McGrawd
a Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand b Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7005, Australia c School of Earth and Environment & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia d Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Most laboratory-based ocean acidification experiments manipulate only a small subset of environmental properties predicted to change by 2100. In order to quantify cumulative effects of multiple stressors, experimental designs that move beyond two- or three-factor studies are required. Here, we describe a collapsed factorial experimental design for the manipulation of multiple stressors which is both tractable and efficient. Building on single-factor studies that determine a likely dominant physiological control, the collapsed factorial design groups the remaining variables into a single, collapsed factor. This design balances the desire to quantify the effect of individual factors with the need to make accurate predictions of physiological responses in a complex and changing ocean. This design was implemented to study growth rate and other physiological responses of the Southern Ocean diatom Pseudonitzschia multiseries. Manipulating five oceanic properties (temperature, CO2, nutrients, iron, light), the collapsed factorial was more efficient than either full or fractional factorial designs that it replaces. Combining the new experimental design with analysis techniques more sophisticated than classical ANOVAs (e.g. model averaging), we gained further insight and efficiency when making predictions based on laboratory studies.
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From desktop to data: Development, deployment and maintenance of the new SeaFet monitoring site in the Firth of Thames.
Emily Frosta and Mary Sewella aSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Understanding present pH variability within ecologically and commercially significant areas across New Zealand is an essential component to frame investigations of the effects of near-future ocean acidification on New Zealand’s marine ecosystems. The use of high resolution autonomous pH sensors, such as the SeaFET (http://satlantic.com/seafet), to provide continuous records of pH on a fine temporal scale has now been integrated within the New Zealand Ocean Acidification Observing Network (NZOA-ON) and the MBIE-funded Coastal Acidification, Rate, Impacts and Management (CARIM) research programme. The Firth of Thames (FoT) was chosen as a sentinel site within CARIM because it already experiences seasonal declines in pH to values below that projected for the open ocean in 2100, and its commercial importance (~20% of NZ’s $220M mussel farming industry). In June of 2016, a SeaFet (pH) and MicroCAT (temperature, salinity) were deployed on a mooring within a mussel farm (Tuwhitu) on the south-western shore of the FoT. In this talk we will discuss the challenges of long-term monitoring at this site, particularly with respect to biofouling, and the management practices we have developed to attain the highest quality pH data. In presenting the record for the last 7 months, we will describe the diel and seasonal patterns in pH seen in the FoT.
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Phytoplankton community composition response to ocean acidification and increased light intensities
Linn Hoffmanna , Kelsey Donahuea, b aUniversity of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand bUniversity of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
The composition of phytoplankton communities plays a major role in the efficiency of the biological carbon pump and energy transfer to higher trophic levels. Phytoplankton community composition can be significantly affected by changes in environmental conditions. However, we still very little about how very little about how ocean acidification alone or in combination with other stressors might affect the composition of marine phytoplankton communities and what the implications for the productivity of the future marine ecosystem might be. I will summarize the current knowledge and present data from a recent incubation experiment where we investigated the effect of increased pCO2 and light intensity on natural communities from two Southern Ocean water masses surrounding New Zealand, the Subtropical Frontal Zone (STFZ) and Subantarctic Surface Waters (SASW). Our results indicate that there are taxon-specific and locality specific differences in natural phytoplankton community responses to increased light and CO2 within these water masses.
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Predicting the responses of seaweeds to ocean acidification: a physiological perspective
Catriona Hurda
aInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
The responses of seaweeds to OA likely to be driven by the physiological mechanisms by which they take up dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from seawater, that is, their ‘carbon-uptake strategy’. Many seaweeds actively (i.e. requires energy) uptake bicarbonate, using a CO2 concentrating mechanism (CCM-species). The vast majority of CCM-species can additionally take up CO2 by passive diffusion, which is considered an ‘energetically cheap’ method of CO2 acquisition. However, about 30% of seaweeds, mostly Rhodophyta, can take up CO2 only by diffusion and do not operate a CCM (termed non-CCM species). In a future high CO2 ocean, range expansions are predicted for red seaweeds that use only CO2, at the expense of habitat-forming brown seaweeds such as kelps. However, other environmental factors, especially light, temperature, water motion and daily pH fluctuations, interactively modify physiological responses of seaweeds to OA. In this talk I will discuss our ongoing carbon physiological research aimed at predicting how seaweeds will respond to a future high CO2 ocean.
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In situ developmental responses of tropical sea urchin embryos to ocean acidification conditions at naturally elevated pCO2 vent sites Miles Lamarea , Michelle Liddya, and Sven Uthickeb
aDepartment of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin NEW ZEALAND bAustralian Institute of Marine Sciences, AUSTRALIA
Laboratory experiments suggest that calcifying developmental stages of marine invertebrates may be the most ocean acidification-sensitive life-history stage and represent a life-history bottleneck. To better extrapolate laboratory findings to future ocean acidification conditions, developmental responses in sea urchin embryos were compared under ecologically relevant in situ exposures on vent-elevated pCO2 and ambient pCO2 coral reefs in Papua New Guinea. Echinometra embryos/larvae were reared in meshed chambers moored in arrays on either venting reefs or adjacent non-vent reefs. After 24h and 48h, larval development and morphology was quantified. Compared to controls (mean pH(T) = 7.89-7.92), embryos developing in elevated pCO2 vent conditions (pH(T) = 7.50-7.72) displayed a significant reduction in size and increased abnormality, with a significant correlation of seawater pH with both larval size and larval asymmetry across all experiments. Reciprocal transplants (embryos from vent adults transplanted to control conditions, and vice versa) were also undertaken to identify if adult acclimatisation can translate resilience to offspring (i.e. transgenerational processes). Embryos originating from vent adults were, however, no more tolerant to reduced pH. Sea temperature and chlorophyll-a concentrations (i.e. larval nutrition) did not contribute to difference in larval size, but abnormality was correlated with chlorophyll levels. The present study is the first to examine the response of marine larvae to ocean acidification scenarios in the natural environment where, importantly, we found that stunted and abnormal development observed in situ is consistent with laboratory observations reported in sea urchins, both in the direction and magnitude of the response.
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How will coastal plankton respond to increasing CO2? Preliminary results from the first two CARIM mesocosm experiments
Cliff Lawa,b, Neill Barra, Lisa Northcotea, Andres Gutierrez-Rodrigueza,, Moira Decimaa, Andrew Marrinera, Brittany Grahama, Zihan Fanga,b, Fenella Deansa,b, Ro Allenc, Linn Hoffmannc, Fede Baltar, Mark Galla a NIWA Wellington b Department of Chemistry, University of Otago c Deptment of Botany, University of Otago
Despite a number of international studies examining the influence of increasing CO2 on marine plankton there have been conflicting results, in part because of the different range of conditions and experimental systems employed. As part of the NZ CARIM (Coastal Acidification: Rates, Impacts and Management) project, we carried out two mesocosm experiments to determine the integrated response of the whole planktonic community to projected changes in dissolved CO2 and temperature. Coastal waters (Evans Bay, Wellington) were altered to future conditions, and the biogeochemical and biological responses compared with that of unammended water in nine 4000-litre mesocosm bags over an 18-day period. The first experiment in May 2016 was carried out under nutrient-deplete conditions, whereas macronutrients were maintained throughtout the second experiment in October 2016. The preliminary findings of both experiments will be presented, with consideration of their implications and links to other components of the CARIM project.
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An imbalanced marine nitrogen cycle due to ocean acidification?
Nicola Wannickea, Cliff Lawb,c, Claudia Freya,d, Maren Vossa a Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Warnemünde, Germany
b NIWA, Wellington c Department of Chemistry, University of Otago d Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey USA
Despite being critical to the biogeochemistry and productivity of the ocean we have limited insight into how the nitrogen cycle will respond to increasing CO2 in the future ocean. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a meta–analysis and review of 43 publications which examined nitrogen transformation processes in OA studies. The results suggest future perturbation of the marine nitrogen cycle with a potential shift in the relative stocks of different dissolved nitrogen species in response to imbalances between nitrogen supply and loss. However, this may be moderated by feedbacks with other chemical cycles, such as oxygen, and also interaction with other climate change stressors.
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Ocean acidification: information needs from an end user’s perspective
Mary Livingstona aMPI, Wellington, New Zealand
Ocean acidification (OA) and other aspects of climate change effects on the ocean have the potential to seriously impact New Zealand’s seafood industries. Our aquaculture industry has engaged substantially with the science community on this issue in New Zealand largely because the direct effects of OA on open aquaculture are now recognized as a serious threat. The broader fishing industry is, however, less engaged as the effects on wild-caught fish are perceived as likely to be secondary. Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has funded several studies on species response to OA (shellfish, deepsea corals, rhodoliths), modelling of OA and mapping of the ASH, and currently, MPI is funding a major review to assess the risks and opportunities for the seafood industries, and also some work on the impact of OA on fish behavior. But is this enough? How concerned should we really be and how can we best convey this information to decision-makers?
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A multi-sensor system to monitor marine variability associated with global climate change Christina M. McGraw1,2, Wayne D.N. Dillon2, Hugh L. Doyle4, Peter W. Dillingham2,3, Peter G. Lye2, Philip W. Boyd4, Catriona L. Hurd4 1 Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand 2 School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, New South Wales, Australia 3 Department of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand 4 Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 7005, Tasmania, Australia
A multi-sensor system was developed to monitor short-term carbonate variability in the laboratory and field. The system combines a saturation state sensor with carbonate and pH sensors to measure real-time changes in carbonate chemistry. For pH, a relatively inexpensive (ca $4,500) and fully automated spectrophotometric system was developed. By using small-volume flow cells and miniature pumps, analysis time and volume is kept to a minimum (<2 minutes and ~3 mL, respectively). An intuitive user interface simplifies the measurement and minimises operator error. To help ensure accurate measurements, instrument-specific calibrations are performed on each system using purified meta-cresol purple dye over a range of temperatures and salinities. To measure carbonate, solid-contact fabrication techniques were used to produce disposable carbonate ion-selective electrodes. To complement these measurements, a saturation state (Ω) probe detects real-time dissolution and precipitation of calcium carbonate. Thin films of CaCO3 with known morphology and thickness are deposited on the Ω sensor through chemically-controlled deposition. With a sub-second response time, the Ω sensor can be used to study real-time dissolution under a range of environmental conditions. The multisensor array was tested on solutions of known DIC and AT and used to analyse samples from a 2016 hydrographic cruise to the Southern Ocean (RV Investigator). These results show that when deployed in the laboratory or field, the device can be used for real-time identification of under-saturation events.
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Impacts of ocean acidification on nutrient processing in coastal sediments Conrad Pilditcha, Kay Vopelb, Charlie Leea, Adam Hartlanda, Chris Battershilla, Craig Caryb aSchool of Science, University of Waikato bInstitute of Applied Ecology, Auckland University of Technology
We have recently embarked on a three-year project that will address the near-absence of OA studies that assess impacts on microbial nutrient processing, a critical ecosystem service of which the majority (> 50%) occurs in the coastal seabed. This essential ecosystem service releases inorganic nutrients supporting the primary production that sustains coastal food webs, including fisheries and aquaculture. Significantly, the coastal seabed also contains the only biological pathway that provides resilience to eutrophication resulting from excess nutrient inputs. The unique biogeochemistry of coastal sediments facilitates a microbial community that converts bioavailable nitrogen to inert nitrogen gas (via denitrification), which is unavailable to primary producers. Where seabed nutrient processing has been severely compromised, a tipping point is passed, causing the collapse of food webs with serious consequences for society. We aim to investigate how changes in carbonate chemistry and pH affect intimately-linked coastal ecosystem components that underpin water column primary production. Sediment mesocosms, in conjunction with quantitative geochemical and molecular genomic techniques, will be used to assess the responses of the microbial community and associated nutrient processing to projected ocean acidification scenarios. To fully assess the impacts of OA on the critical ecosystem service of nutrient processing, we will also determine how the responses to OA are modulated by interactions with other stressors (e.g., eutrophication, biodiversity loss). This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview the project including the intended methodology.
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Assessment of the genetic basis of resilience to ocean acidification in the New Zealand Greenshell mussel, Perna canaliculus Norman Ragga Samantha Galea, Zoë Hiltona, Nick Kinga, Emily Frostb, Carol Peychersa, Veronica Beuzenberga, Graeme Covella, Bridget Finniea, Caitlin Fieldera, Joanna Copedoa, Thalassa Kawachia aCawthron Institute, Nelson, New Zealand bUniversity of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
An integral component of the Coastal Acidification, Rate, Impacts and Management (CARIM) programme is the assessment of capacity for rapid evolution as a strategy to accommodate declining pH. Animals from the Cawthron Greenshell Mussel selective breeding programme were used to quantify phenotypic vulnerability across 96 full-sib families of New Zealand’s most valuable aquaculture export species. The families were created from single parent matings over two spawnings of 48 full-sib families. Initially, two female parents were selected from each broodstock family and each produced one progeny family, while one male parent was selected and sired two progeny families. Reciprocal parents were used in the second spawning (e.g. where a family initially provided females, it supplied a male to the second spawning). This design was chosen to maximise genetic variability, but with sufficient genetic linkage to allow for partitioning of variance across spawnings and estimation of genetic parameters. Preliminary trials suggested that the first 48h of life would be the most pH-sensitive, with fertilized eggs undergoing embryogenesis and calcification of the prodissoconch I shell. An in vitro challenge was therefore developed where ~180 fertilized eggs were added to 4mL seawater + 12µM EDTA in 12-well culture dishes incubated in air (control) or ~1250-1300µatm CO2 (acidified treatment) at 17±2°C. Larval cultures were fixed after 48h and survival, development stage, viability and shell length assessed. The presentation will therefore outline the implications of near-future ocean acidification upon mussel recruitment to the feeding veliger stage and will specifically describe the extent to which recruitment is influenced by genetic origin.
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Bacterioplankton community response to elevated CO2 and/or temperature in the South Pacific Francie Rudminat1, Cliff Law2, Linn Hoffmann1, Tina Summerfield1 1Department of Botany, University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ 2NIWA, Evans Bay Parade, Kilbirnie, Wellington, NZ
Bacterioplankton communities play a key role in marine ecosystems as they constitute a crucial part in marine biogeochemical cycling. However, it is not clear if the microbial community will be affected by ocean acidification as there are many variables to consider, e.g. contemporary evolution due to naturally variable pH exposure or potentially synergistic interactions with other effects, such as ocean warming. The high bacterial diversity across global oceans suggests that the community will be able to adapt to future changes, with no overall effect on biogeochemical processes. Research to date shows opposing results. Several mesocosm studies confirm the null hypothesis with elevated pCO2 having no effect on microbial community structure. However, a few studies do find some influence on bacterial community composition. Studies on bacterioplankton responses upon ocean acidification in the South Pacific are scarce. In June 2011 two manipulation experiments were performed during a voyage along a transect of the South Pacific gyre (at ~32°S). These manipulation experiments enabled examination of the effect of elevated pCO2 and temperature on the natural surface mixed layer plankton community under trace metal clean conditions. In the high CO2 treatment pH was adjusted to 0.2 below ambient, using 750 ppmv CO2. A second treatment additionally increased temperature to 3 ºC above ambient. Here I will present the bacterioplankton community response based on 16S amplicon sequencing data.
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Trans-generational Plasticity among Antarctic sea stars (Odontaster validus) in response to combined ocean acidification and warming
Kate Sparksa and Prof. Miles Lamarea aDepartment of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin NZ
Understanding how plastic and phenotypic responses to environmental change will interact with evolutionary trends may enhance our understanding of the responses of marine populations to acidification and warming. In this study, two generations (adults and F1 offspring) of Antarctic cushion stars (Odontaster validus) from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica were exposed to combinations of high temperature (+3.5°C) and acidification (-0.3 pH units) and hypothesized that 12-month acclimated adults would be able to modify the phenotype of their offspring in order to increase fitness in the specific environment to which they were acclimated (Anticipatory Parental Effects). F1 generation offspring of acclimated adults were raised to the gastrula stage (6 d) and survival-correlated traits examined. Offspring of mothers acclimated to high temperatures developed on average 15 % better (% normality) than offspring of adults kept in ambient temperatures regardless of pCO2 level, indicating that parent environment is important for offspring survival. Specific genotypes were favoured in each scenario, as there were significant differences in the normal development of offspring of different mothers in each [temperature x pCO2] environment. It is thought that mothers of this species may adopt a ‘bet-hedging’ strategy in response to a rapidly changing environment in which parents produce offspring with a range of phenotypes to maximize the fitness of a subset of their offspring. This type of Anticipatory Parental Effect (APE) is thought of as a pre-cursor to natural selection and evolutionary adaptation to combined ocean warming and acidification.
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Interactions of oxygen depletion, pH depression and nutrient runoff in a mesotrophic coastal embayment John Zeldisa and Kim Currieb a NIWA, P.O. Box 8602, Riccarton, Christchurch 8011, New Zealand b NIWA, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
The propensity of coastal waters to produce or consume dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) is related to ‘net ecosystem metabolism’ (NEM): whether the system is net autotrophic (DIC consuming) or net heterotrophic (DIC producing). In the coastal zone this is important because NEM is controlled by the supply of nutrients to the system, which can fuel organic matter fixation and its subsequent respiration (DIC production and oxygen consumption). Where terrestrial loading of nutrients is high, potentially serious consequences are excessive evolution of DIC and consumption of O2 which lower pH (acidification) and produce anoxia. Here we describe the nutrient, carbon and oxygen systems of the Firth of Thames, a sub-bay of the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. The Firth has been nutrient-enriched historically by land-use intensification, and has evolved from an oligotrophic to mesotrophic system. We describe the consequences for the carbonate and oxygen systems, using two approaches: direct sampling of the nutrient, DIC and O2 systems, and two nutrient mass-balance analyses conducted for the Firth 12 years apart. The results show high seasonal NEM variation related to the productivity cycle, including significantly depressed pH and oxygen in late summer to early winter. Temporal and spatial deviations from expected DIC:O2 stoichiometry are seen, important for interpretation of field data and biogeochemical models. Time-series sampling over the last 17 years shows that nutrient enrichment is continuing to the present day, in spite of stasis in terrestrial nutrient loading. Explanations for these observations are given by comparing results of the two sampling approaches.
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List of Workshop Participants Surname Name Institution Email
Achilleos Katerina Otago [email protected]
Allen Ro Otago [email protected]
Armstrong Evelyn Otago [email protected]
Brooks David F&B [email protected]
Carson Sally Otago [email protected]
Chin Jennifer Otago [email protected]
Crosbie Anna MPI [email protected]
Cumming Rebecca Otago [email protected]
Cummings Vonda NIWA [email protected]
Currie Kim NIWA [email protected]
Cutler Steve Otago [email protected]
Deans Fenella Otago [email protected]
Dillingham Peter Otago [email protected]
Dillon Wayne UNE, Oz [email protected]
Espinel Velasco
Nadjejda Otago [email protected]
Frost Emily Auckland [email protected]
Hawes Nicola Auckland/SPATNZ [email protected]
Hilton Zoë Cawthron [email protected]
Hoffmann Linn Otago [email protected]
Hofmann Gretchen USA [email protected]
Hunter Keith Otago [email protected]
Hurd Catriona Utas [email protected]
Kahui-McConnell
Richelle Tikapa Moana [email protected]
Karelitz Sam Otago [email protected]
Kluibenschedl Anna Otago [email protected]
Lamare Miles Otago [email protected]
Law Cliff NIWA [email protected]
Livingston Mary MPI [email protected]
McCowan Tom Paua Industry Council
McGraw Christina Otago [email protected]
Metcalf Victoria Curious Minds [email protected]
Morris Jaz Otago [email protected]
Murdoch Judith NIWA [email protected]
Nelson Wendy NIWA [email protected]
Peebles Bryce Otago [email protected]
Peychers Carol Cawthron [email protected]
Pilditch Conrad Waikato [email protected]
Ragg Norman Cawthron [email protected]
Riding Tim MfE [email protected]
Rudminat Francie Otago [email protected]
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Sander Sylvia Otago [email protected]
Sewall Mary Auckland [email protected]
Smith Abby Otago [email protected]
Sparks Kate Otago [email protected]
Spencer Hamish Otago [email protected]
Cary Craig Waikato [email protected]
Summerfield Tina Otago [email protected]
Tellier Pierre MFE [email protected]
Zeldis John NIWA [email protected]
Zitoun Rebecca Otago [email protected]
THANKS! To the Otago Research Committee and Division of Sciences for funding that allowed this workshop to take place.