This dataset contains data from a multi-faceted analysis of the sensitivity of Pacific cod larvae to elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels based on laboratory experiment studies. Fish behavior in a horizontal light gradient was used to evaluate the sensitivity of behavioral phototaxis in 4–5 week old cod larvae. Fish at elevated CO2 levels (~1500 and 2250 μatm) exhibited a stronger phototaxis (moved more quickly to regions of higher light levels) than fish at ambient CO2 levels (~600μatm). In an independent experiment, we examined the effects of elevated CO2 levels on growth of larval Pacific cod over the first 5 weeks of life under two different feeding treatments. Fish exposed to elevated CO2 levels (~1700μatm) were smaller and had lower lipid levels at 2 weeks of age than fish at low (ambient) CO2 levels (~500μatm). However, by 5 weeks of age, this effect had reversed: fish reared at elevated CO2 levels were slightly (but not significantly) larger and had higher total lipid levels and storage lipids than fish reared at low CO2. Fatty acid composition differed significantly between fish reared at high and low CO2 levels (p less than 0.01) after 2 weeks of feeding, but this effect diminished by week 5. Effects of CO2 on FA composition of the larvae differed between the two diets, an effect possibly related more to dietary equilibrium and differential lipid class storage than a fundamental effect of CO2 on fatty acid metabolism. These experiments point to a stage-specific sensitivity of Pacific cod to the effects of OA. Further understanding of these effects will be required to predict the impacts on production of Pacific cod fisheries.

This dataset contains data from manipulated experimental seawater chemistry conditions and Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) embryos and larvae growth and development impacts. The experiment took place from April 6-June 2, 2022 in the Alaska Fisheries Science Center laboratory research facilities at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. Embryos and larvae were reared in the laboratory, and were the offspring of strip spawned adults freshly caught near Kodiak Island, Alaska. Experiments occurred for up to 9 weeks at one of six combinations of three temperatures (3, 6, 10 °C) and two CO2 levels (ambient: ~360 µatm; high: ~1560 µatm) in a factorial design. This effort was conducted in support of the research objectives of the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP).

This dataset contains laboratory experimental data that were collected to examine the effects of elevated levels of carbon dioxide on the growth of Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima), a species that supports both commercial and recreational fisheries in the Northeast United States. Three levels of carbon dioxide enrichment (low, medium, and high) were delivered to surfclams in a 12-week exposure experiment. All treatments were done in 3 replicates (A, B, C). Approximately every 2 to 3 weeks, 12 individuals were removed from each treatment and measurements of length, width, height, dry tissue, and dry shell were recorded. Length was measured across the longest part of the shell, parallel to the hinge. Width was the thickness of the shell, and height was measured form the hinge to the outer edge of the shell. Dry tissue and dry shell samples were dried at 60°C until constant weight was achieved (~5 days). DIC measurements of carbon dioxide enrichment were taken and analyzed on an Apollo SciTech, while pH was measured weekly with a spectrophotometer. Values reported for DIC, pH, temperature, and salinity are the mean of each treatment during the 12-week experiment. The data indicated that increased carbon dioxide affected growth, tissue mass, and shell weight for Atlantic surfclam.

This dataset contains laboratory experiment data that were collected to examine the effects of elevated levels of CO2 on the growth, survival, otolith (ear bone) condition and the skeleton of juvenile scup, Stenotomus chrysops, a species that supports both commercial and recreational fisheries. Increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide from human industrial activities are causing changes in global ocean carbon chemistry resulting in a reduction in pH, a process termed ocean acidification. Studies have demonstrated adverse effects on calcifying organisms, particularly some invertebrates, corals, sea urchins, pteropods, and coccolithophores. It is important to determine which species are sensitive to elevated levels of CO2 because of the potential impacts to ecosystems, marine resources, biodiversity, food webs, populations and effects on human communities and economies. There have been few studies examining the effects of ocean acidification on marine fish, particularly the juvenile stages of species that support important fisheries. These data demonstrated that elevated levels of pCO2 (>1300 micro-atm) had no statistically significant effect on growth, survival, or otolith condition after 8 weeks of rearing. There was a trend towards a greater gain in weight and length in scup exposed to the mid-level (1726 micro-atm) and the high level (2614 micro-atm) treatments of pCO2 when compared to the fish in the control (1205 micro-atm) treatments, but these differences were not statistically significant. X-ray analysis of the fish revealed a slightly higher incidence of hyper-ossification in the vertebrae of a few scup from the highest treatments compared to fish from the control treatments. The study's results show that juvenile scup are tolerant to increases in levels of environmental pCO2, possibly due to conditions this species encounters in their naturally variable environment.

Juvenile red and blue king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus and P. platypus) were exposed to three pH levels: ambient (pH 8.1), pH 7.8, and pH 7.5 for three weeks. Oxygen consumption and feeding ration were determined immediately after exposure to treatment water and after three weeks exposure. Growth can be calculated from the wet mass observations.

This dataset contains data for a study of the effect of ocean acidification (OA) on the behavioral responses of a coastal flatfish. In laboratory experiments, we first characterized speckled sanddab (Citharichthys stigmaeus) behavioral responses to potential predation cues (predator odor, damaged skin cues from injured conspecifics, and sight of a predator) under ambient CO2 levels (~400 uatm). Sanddab reduced conspicuousness and foraging at the sight of a predator, but increased activity and conspicuousness when exposed to damaged skin cues. We then examined the effects of elevated CO2 levels (~900 uatm and ~1500 uatm) on posture, activity, and foraging of sanddab, and the behavioral responses to damaged skin cues. Sanddab behavior appeared generally resilient to the effects of elevated CO2 levels, but there were non-significant trends of fish from the medium CO2 treatment exhibiting lower posture and activity scores, and reduced feeding activity. The resiliency of speckled sanddab to OA conditions may be related to their distribution in a coastal upwelling region with seasonally elevated CO2 levels. Alternatively, prolonged acclimation to elevated CO2 may have mitigated the effects observed in other fishes following shorter-term exposures. Additional studies of ecologically relevant behaviors across diverse species assemblages are necessary to evaluate the impact of ocean acidification on marine food webs.

This dataset contains laboratory experiment data that were collected to examine the effects of ocean acidification on the Atlantic surfclam, Spisula solidissima, a species worth $31 million in 2009. Ocean acidification has negatively impacted growth and survival of multiple bivalve species, but because each species and developmental stage can show different responses, these studies were designed to determine potential impacts of increased CO2 on the larvae of the commercially important surfclam. Additionally, the role of nutrition (i.e., phytoplankton concentration) was included in a portion of these experiments because food availability may be able to mitigate the stress of ocean acidification and because ocean acidification has the potential to impact marine phytoplankton communities. During the summer of 2011, three different experiments were conducted at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution examining the effects of three different pCO2 concentrations on larval surf clams. Two short term experiments (~70h) examined the effect of food availability on early shell development (fed vs unfed). One long term experiment (~21d) was conducted to examine the effects of pCO2 on shell development and metamorphic success (all animals well fed). Carbonate data is reported from these preliminary short-term experiments, and survival and shell length data is reported, in addition to carbonate data, from the long-term experiment. During 2012, one 6 day experiment was conducted examining the role and potential interactive effects of high and low food availability (400 and 40,000 cells ml-1 Tiso) and differential CO2 concentrations (ambient, ~1200 ppm and ~2200ppm). From these experiments, carbonate data, shell length, mass and biochemical compositions are reported. In 2013, two additional experiments were conducted to confirm results obtained in 2012. Unfortunately we observed stunted larval growth, no feeding effect on growth, high mortalities and a general failure to thrive. Given this, we infer poor gamete quality may have been the cause, and have chosen not to interpret these data as results are suspect. Therefore, 2013 data are therefore not included in this data submission.

The effects of elevated levels of CO2 on black sea bass, especially during the early life stages when fish tend to be more sensitive to OA effects, was investigated. In this study, we exposed fertilized eggs to a range of CO2 levels (182.7 μatm- 2252.6 μatm) and measured % hatch, unhatch, and skeletal abnormalities after 48 hours of exposure. Adult male and female black sea bass were held in flowing seawater at ambient temperatures during the winters of 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015. Once fish came out of torpor, adults were fed squid during conditioning and spawning. Gamete development in fish occurred naturally and spawning took place in holding tanks in late July of all three years. Fertilized eggs were collected in screens placed at the seawater outflow and exposed to different levels of CO2.

Black sea bass (Centropristis striata) and scup (Stenotomus chrysops) compose important recreational and commercial fisheries along the United States Atlantic coast. Black sea bass is a temperate species, associated with reef habitat. Wild stocks and landings have been decreasong in recent decades. The demand for black sea bass exceeds supply, and the high market value has prompted research to evaluate their potential for commercial aquaculture. Recent studies conducted at the National Marine Fisheries Service, Milford, CT laboratory examined growth rates of juvenile scup fed commercial diets. This and other on-going studies at Milford have shown scup to acclimate quickly to tank conditions in the laboratory, and to exhibit rapid growth rates. These studies indicate the possibility that scup have potential as a candidiate species for commercial aquaculture. Studies with both fish species suggest they are interesting species for studies of the effects of ocean acidification because of their economic importance as fisheries species. These studies focused on laboratory-based experiments to measure the biological effects of elevated levels of CO2 on embryos of these important marine finfish. Adult black sea bass were naturally conditioned and spawned in the laboratory by photo-thermal manipulation. Adult scup were strip-spawned at sea and their eggs were fertilized at sea. The fertilized eggs of both species of fish were exposed to two treatment levels of pCO2 and one control level, with three replicates per treatment and the controls. Measurements of biological effects included percent hatch, viable embryos, abnormal embryos, and dead embryos. Measurements of dissolved oxygen concentration, percent oxygen saturation, temperature, salinity and pH were taken daily in each treatment container and the controls. Samples of seawater were taken at the time of intial experimental setup and at the time of hatching from each container for analyses of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and analyses of pH by spectrometry.

The effects of food supply on bivalves under long-term ocean acidification exposure remains incompletely understood. In this study, juvenile northern bay scallops (50 days post fertilization), Argopecten irradians, that had been reared since 4 hours post-fertilization under one of two ocean acidification conditions (~500-600 or ~750-850 µatm pCO2; ~1.37-1.5 or ~1.0-1.2 Ωaragonite), were subjected to two food levels for 42-days (low food = ~400 and high food = ~1,400 chlorophyll cells mL-1). Standard metabolic rate (SMR) and clearance rate (CR) were measured at day 0 and standard metabolic rate, clearance rate, growth, and survivorship were measured at 14 and 42 days of exposure to two food levels for each of the ocean acidification treatments. This data archive contains (i) seawater carbonate chemistry and discrete seawater chemistry records throughout the experiment (ii) standard metabolic rates, (iii) clearance rates, (iv) survival, (v) shell length, (vi) shell and tissue dry weights ,(vii) and experiment metadata.