Temperature-dependent hypoxia tolerance of purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus across biogeography and ontogeny
Publication Date
1-1-2024
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Marine Ecology Progress Series
Volume
739
DOI
10.3354/meps14602
First Page
129
Last Page
146
Abstract
Ocean warming is increasing organismal oxygen demand, yet at the same time the ocean’s oxygen supply is decreasing. For a patch of habitat to remain viable, there must be a minimum level of environmental oxygen available for an organism to fuel its metabolic demand — quantified as its critical oxygen partial pressure (pO2crit). The temperature-dependence of pO2crit sets an absolute lower boundary on aerobically viable ocean space for a species, yet whether certain life stages or geographically distant populations differ in their temperature-dependent hypoxia tolerance remains largely unknown. To address these questions, we used the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus as a model species and measured pO2crit for 3 populations of adult urchins (Clallam Bay, WA [n = 39], Monterey Bay, CA [91], San Diego, CA [34]) spanning 5–22°C and for key embryonic and larval developmental phases (blastula [n = 11], gastrula [21], prism [31], early-pluteus [21], late-pluteus [14], settled [12]) at temperatures of 10–19°C. We found that temperature-dependent hypoxia tolerance is consistent among adult populations exposed to different temperature and oxygen regimes, despite variable basal oxygen demands, suggesting differential capacity to provision oxygen. Moreover, we did not detect evidence for a hypoxia tolerance bottleneck for any developmental phase. Earlier larval phases are associated with higher hypoxia tolerance and greater temperature sensitivity, while this pattern shifts towards lower hypoxia tolerance and reduced temperature sensitivity as larvae develop. Our results indicate that, at least for S. purpuratus, models quantifying aerobically viable habitat based on pO2crit–temperature relationships from a single adult population will conservatively estimate viable habitat.
Funding Number
2108566
Funding Sponsor
Stanford University
Keywords
Climate change, Deoxygenation, Hypoxia tolerance, Purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, Warming threshold
Department
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Recommended Citation
Murray I. Duncan, Fiorenza Micheli, J. Andres Marquez, Christopher J. Lowe, Scott L. Hamilton, and Erik A. Sperling. "Temperature-dependent hypoxia tolerance of purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus across biogeography and ontogeny" Marine Ecology Progress Series (2024): 129-146. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14602
