These data build off of experimental incubations described in Dataset 1 and 2. To contextualize laboratory incubations, we measured periostracum cover of live California mussels from multiple microhabitats (relative tidal height and degree of sun exposure) in our focal sample population. This dataset represents periostracum cover measurements of California Mussels, Mytilus californianus, conducted at Marshall Gulch Beach, CA in July and August 2022. Dataset 1: Lab incubations of mussels (Mytilus californianus) examining the influence of periostracum cover and pH on external shell dissolution at Marshall Gulch Beach, CA from August 2021 to March 2022 (see BCO-DMO related dataset) Dataset 2: Lab incubations of mussels (Mytilus californianus) examining the influence of periostracum cover and pH on external shell dissolution at Marshall Gulch Beach, CA from August 2021 to March 2022 (see BCO-DMO related dataset)

Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
  • BCO-DMO Processing Description
• Data Files
• Supplemental Files
• Related Publications
• Related Datasets
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Project Information
• Funding

Data analysis:

We performed computations with R statistical software, RStudio version 2023.06.2. We used a two-way ANOVA to compare average periostracum cover in adult mussels collected from the field at two relative tidal heights and three levels of sun exposure. We omitted the interaction term between the treatments after confirming it failed to explain significant variability in the model. Using tidal height and sun exposure as categorical predictors to explain periostracum cover, we then ran a TukeyHSD test (95% confidence) to identify which microhabitat types differed from one another via post-hoc, pairwise comparisons.

1) Processed the submitted file named ave.field_PUB.csv with the BCO-DMO tool Laminar.

BCO-DMO parameter naming convention is for names to only include alphanumeric characters and underscores. Periods in the parameter names have been replaced with underscores.

peri.sa renamed to peri_percent to clarify it represents a percent.

shell.l renamed to shell_L_avg to clarify it's an average

sa.tot renamed to shell_A_avg to clarify it's an average

Saved dataset to primary data file named 935484_v1_measurements_of_mussels_periostracum_cover.csv

2) Checked species taxonomy of mussel collected, Mytilus californianus, and created a taxonomy file using information from the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS: marinespecies.org) with columns: ScientificName, AphiaID, LSID, Authority, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Coverage: California coast, USA

NSF Award Abstract:
This research is exploring the capacity of coastal organisms to cope with alterations in seawater chemistry driven by both freshwater inputs and absorption of carbon dioxide into the world's oceans (ocean acidification). The project focuses on calcification responses and behavioral impairments of shoreline animals under altered seawater chemistry, and forefronts a common mussel species (the California mussel), and a common snail (the black turban snail), each abundant on rocky shores along the west coast of North America. The target species operate as exemplar organisms for characterizing the responses of marine invertebrates more generally. Methods involve experimental decoupling of multiple components of the carbonate system of seawater to isolate drivers that are difficult to separate otherwise. Broader impacts include transfer of scientific information to policy-makers, including legislators, as well as training and skill-set development of future generations of scientists and citizens. One Ph.D. student is supported, as are UC Davis undergraduates conducting mentored research. The project also provides research internships for undergraduates from a local community college (Santa Rosa Junior College), many of whom are from underrepresented groups. The latter project component substantially bolsters an ongoing program at Bodega Marine Laboratory that includes efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Data and interpretations from the project are feeding into an existing educational program that links to local K-12 schools and reaches ~10,000 members of the public each year.

Overall, the research of the project is dissecting drivers of calcification and behavioral disruption in key shoreline invertebrates, across present-day and future carbonate system conditions appropriate to coastal marine environments. Efforts are exploring the extent to which calcification depends on one versus multiple parameters of the seawater carbonate system. In particular, existing conceptual models emphasize the importance of calcium carbonate saturation state (Ω) and/or the ratio of bicarbonate to hydrogen ion concentrations ([HCO3-]/[H+]), and the project is examining these mechanisms as well as the possibility that more than one driver acts simultaneously. It is doing so both in bivalves and in gastropods to test for generality across mollusks. The project is additionally examining whether pH is the only carbonate system factor contributing to known patterns of behavioral impairment in marine invertebrates. Leading explanations for debilitating behaviors induced by ocean acidification involve altered ion channel function, but discussion in the literature continues, and studies that explicitly decouple the carbonate system are necessary.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.