Modelling ocean acidification effects with life stage-specific responses alters spatiotemporal patterns of catch and revenues of American lobster, Homarus americanus

Travis C Tai,William W L Cheung,Piero Calosi,Helen J Gurney-Smith

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02253-8

Travis C Tai, William W L Cheung + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02253-8

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Abstract

Ocean acidification (OA) affects marine organisms through various physiological and biological processes, yet our understanding of how these translate to large-scale population effects remains limited. Here, we integrated laboratory-based experimental results on the life history and physiological responses to OA of the American lobster, Homarus americanus, into a dynamic bioclimatic envelope model to project future climate change effects on species distribution, abundance, and fisheries catch potential. Ocean acidification effects on juvenile stages had the largest stage-specific impacts on the population, while cumulative effects across life stages significantly exerted the greatest impacts, albeit quite minimal. Reducing fishing pressure leads to overall increases in population abundance while setting minimum size limits also results in more higher-priced market-sized lobsters (> 1 lb), and could help mitigate the negative impacts of OA and concurrent stressors (warming, deoxygenation). However, the magnitude of increased effects of climate change overweighs any moderate population gains made by changes in fishing pressure and size limits, reinforcing that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is most pressing and that climate-adaptive fisheries management is necessary as a secondary role to ensure population resiliency. We suggest possible strategies to mitigate impacts by preserving important population demographics.

Highlights

Ocean acidification (OA) affects marine organisms through various physiological and biological processes, yet our understanding of how these translate to large-scale population effects remains limited
Global ocean changes are projected to have negative effects on the abundance and maximum catch potential (MCP) of the American lobster, with elevated impacts when climate change is accelerated (RCP 8.5; Fig. 1)
When considering the effects of OA on mortality for various life stages, the effects on the juvenile stages had the greatest impacts on mean body size at the population level, suggesting that population demographics are most sensitive to impacts on juveniles

Summary

Introduction

Ocean acidification (OA) affects marine organisms through various physiological and biological processes, yet our understanding of how these translate to large-scale population effects remains limited. Ocean acidification (OA) and climate change drivers are affecting marine environments, altering species’ performances, distribution and a bundance[1], and in turn the supply and access to marine resources that we depend on for food, livelihoods, and economic d evelopment[2,3,4] While these global changes pose risks to society’s dependence on marine fisheries resources, management strategies to reduce pressures on fisheries stocks could mitigate negative effects of global ocean changes[5,6,7,8]. Implications of OA and climate change present new and complex challenges for fisheries These phenomena together increase the uncertainty for fisheries as rapidly changing environmental conditions drastically affect seasonal recruitment of many stocks[22]. Many developing nations rely on invertebrates as an important ‘backup’ source of nutrition, and account for up to 50% of animal protein intake in some countries (e.g. Fiji)[28,29]

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