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Elevated temperature has adverse effects on GABA-mediated avoidance behaviour to sediment acidification in a wide-ranging marine bivalve

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Abstract

Sediment acidification is known to influence the burrowing behaviour of juvenile marine bivalves. Unlike the alteration of behaviour by ocean acidification (OA) observed in many marine organisms, this burrowing response to present-day variation in sediment pH is likely adaptive in that it allows these organisms to avoid shell dissolution and mortality. However, the consequences of global climate stressors on these burrowing responses have yet to be tested. Further, while neurotransmitter interference appears to be linked to the alteration of behaviour by OA in marine vertebrates, the mechanism(s) controlling the burrowing responses of juvenile bivalves in response to present-day variation in sediment acidification remain unknown. We tested the interactive effects of elevated seawater temperature and sediment acidification on juvenile soft-shell clam burrowing behaviour (measured as the proportion of clams burrowed into sediment) to test for effects of elevated temperature on bivalve burrowing responses to sediment acidification. We also examined whether GABAA-like receptor interference could act as a potential biological mechanism underpinning the burrowing responses of these clams to present-day variation in sediment acidification. Results showed that both elevated temperature and gabazine administration reduced the proportion of clams that avoided burrowing into low pH sediment. These results suggest that CO2 effects on neurophysiology (GABAA receptors) can act to mediate adaptive behaviours in juvenile marine bivalves to elevated CO2, but that these behaviours may be adversely affected by elevated temperature.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Trevor Hamilton for lending gabazine expertise, as well as Dr. George Waldbusser and his lab group at Oregon State University for constructive feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript. In the same capacity, we also wish to thank Dr. Bruce MacDonald, Dr. Chris Gray, Dr. Jim Kieffer, and Dr. Keith Dewar at the University of New Brunswick, along with Dr. Chris Harley at the University of British Columbia, and two anonymous reviewers who helped to substantially improve this manuscript. We also thank Dr. Daniel Small at St. Francis Xavier University for advice regarding Q 10 metabolic rate mechanisms. Finally, we thank Jenna MacQuarrie for her assistance in collecting clams and mud, and Marie-Josée Maltais for her assistance in the lab.

Author contributions

JCC conceived the original idea, helped design, set-up and conduct both experiments, analyzed data, and wrote/revised the manuscript. MMB helped design, set-up and conduct Experiment 2, helped analyze data for Experiment 2, and revised the manuscript. HLH helped design both experiments and revised the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada

    Jeff C. Clements

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Brunswick, 100 Tucker Park Road, P.O. Box 5050, Saint John, NB, E2L 4L5, Canada

    Jeff C. Clements, Melanie M. Bishop & Heather L. Hunt

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  1. Jeff C. Clements
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Correspondence to Jeff C. Clements.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Funding

This project was funded by a NSERC Discovery Grant to HLH, a NSERC USRA to MMB, and NBIF and UNB graduate scholarships to JCC.

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We have no competing interests.

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Clements, J.C., Bishop, M.M. & Hunt, H.L. Elevated temperature has adverse effects on GABA-mediated avoidance behaviour to sediment acidification in a wide-ranging marine bivalve. Mar Biol 164, 56 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3085-1

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