Invertebrate calcification and behavior in seawater of decoupled carbonate chemistry

这项研究正在探索沿海生物应对由淡水输入和二氧化碳吸收进入世界海洋(海洋酸化)所引起的海水化学变化的能力。该项目专注于海岸动物在海水化学变化下的钙化反应和行为损害，并展示了一种常见的贻贝物种(加州贻贝)和一种常见的蜗牛(黑头巾蜗牛)，这两种蜗牛都大量分布在北美西海岸的岩石海岸上。目标物种作为模范生物，更广泛地描述海洋无脊椎动物的反应。方法包括对海水碳酸盐系统的多个成分进行实验去耦合，以分离出否则难以分离的驱动因素。更广泛的影响包括向包括立法者在内的政策制定者转让科学信息，以及培训和培养未来几代科学家和公民的技能。一名博士生得到支持，加州大学戴维斯分校的本科生进行指导研究。该项目还为当地社区大学(圣罗莎初级学院)的本科生提供研究实习机会，其中许多人来自代表性不足的群体。后一个项目组成部分极大地支持了博德加海洋实验室正在进行的一项计划，该计划包括在多样性、公平性和包容性方面的努力。该项目的数据和解释正在提供给一个现有的教育项目，该项目与当地的K-12学校联系在一起，每年接触到大约10,000名公众。总体而言，该项目的研究正在剖析关键海岸线无脊椎动物钙化和行为破坏的驱动因素，跨越目前和未来适合沿海海洋环境的碳酸盐系统条件。人们正在努力探索钙化作用在多大程度上取决于海水碳酸盐系统的一个参数与多个参数。特别是，现有的概念模型强调碳酸钙饱和状态(Ω)和/或碳酸氢盐与氢离子浓度的比率([HCO3-]/[H+])的重要性，该项目正在研究这些机制以及多个驱动因素同时行动的可能性。它在双壳类和腹足类中都是这样做的，以测试软体动物的共性。此外，该项目还在研究pH值是否是导致海洋无脊椎动物已知行为损害模式的唯一碳酸盐系统因素。对海洋酸化导致的衰弱行为的主要解释涉及离子通道功能的改变，但文献中的讨论仍在继续，明确分离碳酸盐系统的研究是必要的。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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 molluscs. 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.