Stress physiology and weapon integrity of intertidal mantis shrimp under future ocean conditions.

Maya S Devries,Jenny Tu,Summer J Webb,Robert L Sah,Victoria Morgan,Dimitri D Deheyn,Jennifer R A Taylor,Esther Cory

doi:10.1038/srep38637

Abstract

Calcified marine organisms typically experience increased oxidative stress and changes in mineralization in response to ocean acidification and warming conditions. These effects could hinder the potency of animal weapons, such as the mantis shrimp’s raptorial appendage. The mechanical properties of this calcified weapon enable extremely powerful punches to be delivered to prey and aggressors. We examined oxidative stress and exoskeleton structure, mineral content, and mechanical properties of the raptorial appendage and the carapace under long-term ocean acidification and warming conditions. The predatory appendage had significantly higher % Mg under ocean acidification conditions, while oxidative stress levels as well as the % Ca and mechanical properties of the appendage remained unchanged. Thus, mantis shrimp tolerate expanded ranges of pH and temperature without experiencing oxidative stress or functional changes to their weapons. Our findings suggest that these powerful predators will not be hindered under future ocean conditions.

Highlights

Capture evasive prey[13,14,15,16], but they are used as weapons during ritualized fighting when animals compete for home cavities[17]
The variability in responses to ocean acidification is generally attributed to the physiology of calcification in crustaceans, as bicarbonate ions (HCO3−) and metabolic CO2 may be used in the process of calcification as opposed to carbonate ions[25,26,30,31,32], thereby making crustaceans more tolerant to low pH conditions
We only examined one individual per treatment, the mineral density regions that were quantified for each body segment did not appear to be different between these representative individuals (Table 3)

Summary

Introduction

Capture evasive prey (fishes)[13,14,15,16], but they are used as weapons during ritualized fighting when animals compete for home cavities[17]. Changes to mineralization patterns in response to ocean acidification can affect the mechanical properties and functioning of the crustacean exoskeleton in profound ways. How changes in mineralization affect the morphology and mechanical properties of the crustacean exoskeleton remains poorly studied despite their critical importance to animal function. This is true for other marine calcifiers as well. If forecasted changes in ocean carbon chemistry can alter the morphology and mechanical properties of the mantis shrimp exoskeleton, it could potentially affect the raptorial strike and other behaviors, causing cascading effects throughout the ecosystems that mantis shrimp inhabit. To date, no mantis shrimp, and relatively few crustaceans, have been focal in ocean acidification research

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