Effects of multiple climatic stressors on behavioral and ecological response of abalone

Abstract

Carbon dioxide emission increased by human activity not only induces atmospheric warming but also accelerates ocean warming, hypoxia, and acidification. To understand the effects of multiple climatic stressors on abalones, their behavior and ecological responses were studied. First, the effect of changing temperature on foraging and hiding behavior of the Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) was explored. Hiding in response to light under the shelter at higher temperature (17℃) was much faster than hiding at lower temperature (11℃). Abalones climbed up more quickly on the foraging disk to feed at higher temperature than those at low temperature, and the total number of feeding abalones was higher at high temperature than that at lower temperature. When both temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) were regulated, temperature showed the similar beneficial effect on foraging and hiding, but low oxygen had a negative effect on the behavior. Second, whether coastal upwelling characterized by low pH and low DO influences the growth and mortality of red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) was explored. The population was intermittently exposed to low pH and low DO conditions. While low DO increased the mortality of abalone, low pH decreased the growth rate suggesting that DO and pH separately influence the physiology of red abalone. Given the results, we need to study more on the effect of multiple stressors on abalone populatd ecological responses were studied. First, the effect of changing temperature on foraging and hiding behavior of the Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) was explored. Hiding in response to light under the shelter at higher temperature (17℃) was much faster than hiding at lower temperature (11℃). Abalones climbed up more quickly on the foraging disk to feed at higher temperature than those at low temperature, and the total number of feeding abalones was higher at high temperature than that at lower temperature. When both temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) were regulated, temperature showed the similar beneficial effect on foraging and hiding, but low oxygen had a negative effect on the behavior. Second, whether coastal upwelling characterized by low pH and low DO influences the growth and mortality of red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) was explored. The population was intermittently exposed to low pH and low DO conditions. While low DO increased the mortality of abalone, low pH decreased the growth rate suggesting that DO and pH separately influence the physiology of red abalone. Given the results, we need to study more on the effect of multiple stressors on abalone populat