Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Project Information
• Funding

Daily water chemistry measurements from a larval growth experiment culturing Olympia oysters in 50 unique combinations of temperature, salinity, and pCO2 over up to 17 days of larval life.

We cultured Olympia oyster larvae in 50 unique combinations of temperature, salinity, and pCO2. Larval methods are described in growth experiment dataset, but to collect water samples, we measured water temperature and salinity with an Orion Star A329 conductivity meter every two days prior to water changes. We collected pH samples in 20ml plastic scintillation vials, poisoned them 10 µl of mercuric chloride, and stored at room temperature. Roughly one month later, we measured samples for pH using a diode array spectrophotometer (Agilent 8453A UV-VUS) and DIC with a DIC analyzer (Appolo SciTech AS-C3). We then used all parameters collected to calculate pCO2 and Aragonite Saturation with CO2SYS.

BCO-DMO Processing Notes:
- added conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date
- modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions
- re-formatted date from mdyy to yyyy-mm-dd
- reduced number of significant digits of pH, pCO2, and Ar to reflect sampling precision methods

In the face of climate change, future distribution of animals will depend not only on whether they adjust to new conditions in their current habitat, but also on whether a species can spread to suitable locations in a changing habitat landscape. In the ocean, where most species have tiny drifting larval stages, dispersal between habitats is impacted by more than just ocean currents alone; the swimming behavior of larvae, the flow environment the larvae encounter, and the length of time the larvae spend in the water column all interact to impact the distance and direction of larval dispersal. The effects of climate change, especially ocean acidification, are already evident in shellfish species along the Pacific coast, where hatchery managers have noticed shellfish cultures with 'lazy larvae syndrome.' Under conditions of increased acidification, these 'lazy larvae' simply stop swimming; yet, larval swimming behavior is rarely incorporated into studies of ocean acidification. Furthermore, how ocean warming interacts with the effects of acidification on larvae and their swimming behaviors remains unexplored; indeed, warming could reverse 'lazy larvae syndrome.' This project uses a combination of manipulative laboratory experiments, computer modeling, and a real case study to examine whether the impacts of ocean warming and acidification on individual larvae may affect the distribution and restoration of populations of native oysters in the Salish Sea. The project will tightly couple research with undergraduate education at Western Washington University, a primarily undergraduate university, by employing student researchers, incorporating materials into undergraduate courses, and pairing marine science student interns with art student interns to develop art projects aimed at communicating the effects of climate change to public audiences

As studies of the effects of climate stress in the marine environment progress, impacts on individual-level performance must be placed in a larger ecological context. While future climate-induced circulation changes certainly will affect larval dispersal, the effects of climate-change stressors on individual larval traits alone may have equally important impacts, significantly altering larval transport and, ultimately, species distribution. This study will experimentally examine the relationship between combined climate stressors (warming and acidification) on planktonic larval duration, morphology, and swimming behavior; create models to generate testable hypotheses about the effects of these factors on larval dispersal that can be applied across systems; and, finally, use a bio-physically coupled larval transport model to examine whether climate-impacted larvae may affect the distribution and restoration of populations of native oysters in the Salish Sea.