You are here:
The Effect of Elevated CO2 on the Growth and Food Consumption of Juvenile Winter Flounder Pseudopleuronectes Americanus
Citation:
BUMPUS, C. M., J. A. NYE, J. S. GREAR, D. B. HOROWITZ, AND J. MELENDEZ. The Effect of Elevated CO2 on the Growth and Food Consumption of Juvenile Winter Flounder Pseudopleuronectes Americanus. Presented at American Fisheries Society Southern New England Chapter Winter Meeting, Narragansett, RI, January 26, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this work was to evaluate whether juvenile winter flounder exhibited any response to elevated levels of CO2 that may inhibit their growth or predatory ability.
Description:
Increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are causing changes in seawater chemistry in the world’s oceans. In estuarine waters, atmospheric CO2 exacerbates already declining pH due to high productivity and respiration caused by cultural eutrophication. These two sources of CO2 in estuarine waters may even reduce the buffering capacity of seawater to further increasing levels of CO2. The effects of reduced pH on estuarine-dependent organisms may be as severe or as variable as those seen in marine organisms, but few estuarine species have been studied. Winter flounder is a commercially important fish species whose landings in Southern New England are at their lowest levels in history and declines in recruitment have been observed in estuaries coastwide. Adult winter flounder spawn in bays and estuaries where their offspring may be exposed to low pH waters. In this study, we exposed juvenile winter flounder to levels of CO2 projected to occur within this century, to determine its effects on growth and food consumption. Over a 14-day experiment, growth and consumption were reduced in the CO2-treated fish. However, we detected no difference in their ability to capture live prey in simple predator-prey experiments. Slower growth could affect juvenile survival and adult condition through a variety of mechanisms, suggesting that increases in CO2 could indirectly impact the winter flounder population.