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 is from laboratory experiments that examined the direct effects of projected levels of ocean acidification on the eggs and larvae of walleye pollock.

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.

This dataset contains a laboratory experiment study with the goal of understanding the effects of ocean acidification on the embryos and larvae of red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus. The effects of the decline in ocean pH, known as ocean acidification, on marine species are not well understood. To test the effects on embryos and larvae of red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, ovigerous crab and their larvae were held in CO2-acidified (pH 7.7) and control (ambient; pH 8.0) seawater during development. Morphometrics, hatch duration, fecundity, survival, mineral content, and condition were measured. Acidified embryos had 4% larger eyes and 5% smaller yolks, while mean hatch duration was 33% longer and female fecundity was unaffected. Acidified embryos also resulted in 4% longer larvae while acidified larvae had lower survival. Calcium content of both larvae and female carapaces after molting increased by 5% and 19%, respectively. Although ocean acidification may increase larval size and calcium content, the implications of this are unclear and decreased survival is likely to harm red king crab populations.

This dataset contains laboratory experiment results of the effect of ocean acidification (OA) and prey availability on the growth of larval northern rock sole. Multiple aspects of climate change are expected to co-occur such that ocean acidification will take place in conjunction with warming and a range of trophic changes. Previous studies have demonstrated that nutritional condition plays a significant role in the responses of invertebrates to ocean acidification, but similar studies have yet to be conducted with marine fishes. In this study, we examined the potential interactive effects of elevated CO2 levels and nutritional stress on the growth and development of northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra). Separate experiments examined the effects of these two environmental stressors during the pre-flexion (3-31 days) and post-flexion (31-87 days) larval stages. In both stages, larval feeding regime has a much larger impact on growth rates than did CO2 level, and there was no observed interaction between stressors. By 31 days post-hatch, larvae in the high feeding treatment were 84.2% heavier than the fish in the low feeding treatments, but there was no significant effect of CO2 level on body size or condition. While overall growth rates were faster during the pre-flexion stage, the effects of food limitation were greater for post-flexion larvae undergoing metamorphosis, with high feeding treatment fish being 3.3 times as heavy as fish in the low feeding treatments. These results have important implications for understanding the impacts of the multi-faceted nature of climate change on population productivity of commercial fish species in the North Pacific.

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).

These data include a field study of the sediment hardness and fish egg density (walleye [Sander vitreus] and lake whitefish [Coregonus clupeaformis]) after sediment cleaning treatments (propulsion sled or hydro-jet sled) conducted at two reef locations in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, during 2018 and 2019. The data includes the year, species, reef, treatment type (jet, fan, control), number of eggs, and egg density in the treatment area. Relative sediment hardness for the treatment areas assessed before and after sediment cleaning experiments is provided. Additionally, walleye eggs were collected from Brookville Reservoir, Indiana, and incubated at the aquaculture research laboratory at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana) to determine the effect of sediment cover on egg hatching success rate. The incubated eggs were exposed to different sediment types and levels of sediment coverage intensity. The data contains the year, treatment, parental female length (2019 only), number of walleye hatched, and egg diameter (2019 only) collected in the laboratory study.

These data include a field study of the sediment hardness and fish egg density (walleye [Sander vitreus] and lake whitefish [Coregonus clupeaformis]) after sediment cleaning treatments (propulsion sled or hydro-jet sled) conducted at two reef locations in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, during 2018 and 2019. The data includes the year, species, reef, treatment type (jet, fan, control), number of eggs, and egg density in the treatment area. Relative sediment hardness for the treatment areas assessed before and after sediment cleaning experiments is provided. Additionally, walleye eggs were collected from Brookville Reservoir, Indiana, and incubated at the aquaculture research laboratory at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana) to determine the effect of sediment cover on egg hatching success rate. The incubated eggs were exposed to different sediment types and levels of sediment coverage intensity. The data contains the year, treatment, parental female length (2019 only), number of walleye hatched, and egg diameter (2019 only) collected in the laboratory study.

In this study, we examined how CO2-driven acidification affected the growth and survival of juvenile golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus), an important fishery species in Alaska. Juveniles were reared from larvae in surface ambient pH seawater at the Kodiak Laboratory. Newly molted early benthic instar crabs were randomly assigned to one of three pH treatments: (1) surface ambient pH ~ 8.2, (2) likely in situ ambient pH 7.8, and (3) pH 7.5. Thirty crabs were held in individual inserts in each treatment for 127 days and checked daily for molting or death. The complete methods, which should be read and understood prior to using this data, are published as: Long, W. C., Swiney, K. M., & Foy, R. J. (2021). Effects of ocean acidification on young of the year golden king crab (Lithodes aequispinus) survival and growth. Marine Biology, 168(8), 126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03930-y.

This dataset is from a study examining the growth responses of juvenile walleye pollock at ambient and 3 elevated CO2 levels.