Ocean acidification and hypoxia can have opposite effects on rockfish otolith growth

Abstract

Climate change is predicted to alter ocean chemistry through warming temperatures, increases in CO2 (i.e., ocean acidification), and reductions in dissolved oxygen (DO) (i.e., hypoxia). Past research has shown that early life stages of marine fishes are sensitive to all three stressors, but with sometimes different directions of response. In this study, we examined the separate effects of ocean acidification and hypoxia on otolith growth in two species of juvenile rockfish (copper rockfish, Sebastes caurinus, and blue rockfish, Sebastes mystinus). Fishes were collected at settlement stage from kelp forests on the central California coast and reared in the laboratory for up to 6 months in 4 separate pH treatments (pH = 7.3, 7.6, 7.8, and a control of 8.0), simulating the effects of ocean acidification through the addition of CO2, and 4 separate dissolved oxygen treatments (DO = 2.2, 4.1, 6.0, and a control of 8.7 mg/L), simulating the effects of hypoxia. For both species, otoliths were smaller for a given fish length in response to hypoxia but were larger (trend was non-significant for copper rockfish) in response to elevated CO2. The results suggest that otolith growth may respond differently to ocean acidification and hypoxia for some species, which has implications for sensory development, ecological performance, and interpretations of the permanent record of fish growth in hard parts such as otoliths.