Meeting Abstract
Antarctica is a model environment for the study of the effects of anthropogenic climate warming and ocean acidification. Only a small number of studies have investigated the prospective effects of warming and acidification on shells of Antarctic gastropods, and to date there have been no studies on the radula, a key component of feeding anatomy. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prospective impacts of increased seawater temperature and decreased pH on radula tooth condition (evidence of dissolution, erosion, or breakage) of two common benthic Antarctic gastropods, the limpet Nacella concinna and the topshell snail Margarella antarctica. We exposed individuals of both species over a 6-week period to combinations of pH and temperature based on current ambient conditions (pH 8.0, 1. 5oC) and those predicted for 2100 (pH 7.8, 3.5oC). Following exposure, the radulae were dissected and mounted for observation using light microscopy and SEM. The docoglossate radular teeth of the limpet N. concinna showed no significant differences in tooth condition among the pH/temperature treatments. An evaluation of rhipidoglossan radulae of M. antarctica from the different treatments is currently underway. Our results to date indicate that the radula of the most common Antarctic limpet, N. concinna, is resistant to near-future pH and elevated temperature.
