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 juvenile Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) sensory and gene impacts. The experiment took place from April 5-July 16, 2019 in the Alaska Fisheries Science Center laboratory research facilities at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. Juveniles were reared in the laboratory, and were the offspring of naturally spawning, laboratory-acclimated broodstock adults. Experiments occurred on juveniles for up to 16 weeks at ambient (~616 µatm) and elevated (~2565 µatm) CO2 levels. This effort was conducted in support of the research objectives of the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP).

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 experiment data that were collected to examine the effects of temperature and elevated pCO2 on the developmental and physiological responses of larval Arctic cod (Boregogadus saida). High-latitude ecosystems are simultaneously warming and acidifying under ongoing climate change. Arctic cod are a key species in the Arctic Ocean and have demonstrated sensitivity to ocean warming and acidification as adults and embryos, but their larval sensitivity to the combined stressors is unknown. In a laboratory multi-stressor experiment, larval Arctic cod were exposed to a combination of three temperatures (1.8, 5 and 7.3°C) and two carbon dioxide (pCO2) levels (ambient: 330 μatm, high: 1470 μatm) from hatching to 6-weeks of growth. Mortality rates were highest at 7.3°C (5% day-1); however, both growth and morphometric-based condition were also highest at this temperature. When these metrics were assessed via a mortality: growth (M:G) ratio, 5°C appeared to be an optimal temperature for net population biomass, as faster growth at 7.3°C did not fully compensate for higher mortality. In contrast, although morphometric-based condition was lowest at 1.8°C, lipid-based condition was highest, which may reflect prioritization of lipid storage at cold temperatures. The capacity of larval Arctic cod to acclimate to a range of temperatures was exhibited by two lipid-based indicators of membrane fluidity, including a ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids and a ratio of polar lipids to sterols. The effects of elevated pCO2 were subtle, as well as temperature- and metric dependent. When exposed to elevated pCO2 levels, Arctic cod at 1.8°C exhibited signs of lipid dysregulation, suggesting potential interference with membrane acclimation; larvae at 5°C were in lower morphometric-based condition; and larvae at 7.3°C had higher activity eicosanoid substrates, indicating possible physiological stress. Overall, Arctic cod physiological response to temperature variation was more pronounced than their response to elevated pCO2. Future projections of pCO2 effects on Arctic cod health in a warming ecosystem will need to consider the complexity of temperature-dependence and the specificity of multiple physiological responses.

This dataset contains laboratory experiment data that were collected to examine the effects of ocean acidification and altered prey fatty acids on the early development of northern rock sole, Lepidopsetta polyxystra. Ocean acidification (OA) is predicted to affect the physiological rates of larval fish and invertebrates and is also expected to significantly impact marine fisheries through alteration of food webs. We examined whether mortality rates, body size, and condition of first-feeding larval northern rock sole were synergistically influenced by prey quality (essential fatty acids, EFAs) and high carbon dioxide (CO2) exposure. Larvae were exposed to ambient and high CO2 levels (~ 330 vs. 1020 µatm) and were fed diets with balanced or unbalanced EFA ratios for 7 weeks immediately following hatch. After 2 weeks, significant effects from CO2 and diet were observed, with the largest larvae occurring in the high CO2 exposure group that received a balanced EFA diet. After 5 weeks of exposure, the effects of elevated CO2 had a diminished impact on larval size, but larvae reared on the balanced EFA diet maintained higher lipid-based condition metrics than those fed an unbalanced EFA diet. Survival was variable across replicate tanks and not significantly different between treatments. This study suggests that L. polyxystra larvae are most vulnerable to OA and food web change at different points in their development. Further understanding of these ecosystem effects will be required to predict the impacts of OA on northern rock sole fisheries.

Impacts of elevated carbon dioxide on marine ecosystems depend on physiological responses to consequential decreased pH and increased temperature. Responses to these environmental factors vary among species and life stages, and interactive effects can be significant. To study effects of decreased pH and increased temperature on juvenile red king crab (RKC, Paralithodes camtschaticus) we exposed individuals to three levels of temperature: 11 degrees Celsius (ambient), 13 degrees Celsius, and 14 degrees Celsius, crossed with three levels of pH: 8.0, 7.8 and 7.5, for a total of nine treatments. To better understand the effect of these environmental changes at the level of genome regulation, we analyzed total RNA of whole crabs using Illumina-based RNA-seq whole-transcriptome sequencing. We assembled a RKC transcriptome using Trinity, annotated the transcriptome using Trinotate, and estimated expression levels using bowtie2, samtools and eXpress. Differentially expressed genes were identified using EdgeR. Genes were clustered by expression patterns. Interactive effects were determined by comparing sets of differentially expressed genes using three statistical models to examine the effect of temperature, the effect of pH, and the interaction between temperature and pH in EdgeR. The largest set of differentially expressed genes encoded proteins involved in regulation of extracellular and cuticular structures, including chitin-binding and calcification related proteins.

This dataset contains data from manipulated experimental seawater chemistry conditions and walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) larval development, swimming behavior, and lipid composition responses. The experiment took place from April 4-May 17, 2018 in the Alaska Fisheries Science Center laboratory research facilities at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. Larvae were obtained from natural spawning of laboratory-acclimated broodstock adults. Experiments occurred from fertilization to 4 weeks post-hatch at ambient (~ 425 µatm) and elevated (~ 1230 µatm) CO2 levels. This effort was conducted in support of the research objectives of the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP).

This dataset contains the biological response for Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) exposed to three different levels of carbon dioxide enrichment (low, medium, high). The experiment took place from October 23, 2019 to December 19, 2019 (8 weeks). Salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, chlorophyll-a, and seston counts are reported for the seawater during the 8 week exposure. Physiological measurements (feeding, respiration, and excretion rates) were taken 4 times during the experiment at the following temperatures (13.1C, 9.4C, 7.4C, and 6.1C). For feeding rates, the clearance rate, organic ingestion rate, assimilation rate, and assimilation efficiency are reported. From the respiration rate and excretion rate the atomic oxygen to nitrogen ratio is also reported. Scope for growth (the amount of energy available to grow) is calculated from the assimilated energy minus the energy for catabolic processes. Growth parameters were also taken during the 8 week experiment every 2 weeks. For growth parameters, dry tissue weight, dry shell weight, length, width, and thickness are reported.

Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) approaches are under development to mitigate the effects of climate change by sequestering carbon in stable reservoirs, with potential co-benefits of local reduction of coastal acidification impacts. One such method is ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE). A specific OAE method is the generation of aqueous alkalinity via electrochemistry to enhance the alkalinity of the receiving water by the extraction of acid from seawater, thereby avoiding issues of solid dissolution kinetics and the release of impurities into the ocean from alkaline minerals. While electrochemical acid extraction is a promising method for increasing the carbon dioxide sequestration potential of the ocean, the biological effects of increasing seawater alkalinity and pH within an OAE project site are relatively unknown. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by testing the effects of increased pH and alkalinity, delivered in the form of aqueous NaOH, on two eelgrass epifauna in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Taylor’s sea hare (Phyllaplysia taylori) and eelgrass isopod (Idotea resecata), chosen for their ecological importance as salmon prey and for their roles in eelgrass ecosystems. Four-day experiments were conducted in closed bottles to allow measurements of the evolution of carbonate species throughout the experiment with water refreshed twice daily to maintain elevated pH, across pHNBS treatments ranging from 7.8 to 9.3. Sea hares experienced mortality in all pH treatments, ranging from 37% mortality at pHNBS 7.8 to 100% mortality at pHNBS 9.3. Isopods experienced lower mortality rates in all treatment groups, ranging from 13% at pHNBS 7.8 to 21% at pHNBS 9.3, which did not significantly increase with higher pH treatments. These experiments represent an extreme of constant exposure to elevated pH and alkalinity, which should be considered in the context of both the natural variation and the dilution of alkalinity experienced by marine communities across an OAE project site. Different invertebrate species will likely have different responses to increased pH and alkalinity, depending on their physiological vulnerabilities. Investigation of the potential vulnerabilities of local marine species will help inform the decision-making process regarding mCDR planning and permitting.

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.