Meeting Abstract
Because oysters can experience varied environmental salinity regimes between life stages, performance of juveniles and adults may be impacted by carry-over effects. Carry-over effects are potential mechanisms of acclimatization: adjustments that allow an individual to sustain physiological function across changing environmental conditions during its lifetime. Larval development under different salinity regimes requires varied amounts of osmoregulation, a basal metabolic process, causing shifts in energy budget allocation that may impact juvenile physiology, and conceivably stress tolerance, making this an important area of focus. Oyster larvae from a commercial oyster hatchery were exposed to three different salinities (13, 15, and ambient salinity at the commercial hatchery) from two days post-fertilization. Juveniles from each larval treatment were then placed in two Chesapeake Bay tributaries of differing salinity regimes. Temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and total alkalinity experienced during larval and juvenile phases were documented. To detect physiological mechanisms of carry-over effects, growth, total lipid, total protein, total antioxidant, and ratio of glutathione to glutathione disulfide were measured in both larval and juvenile stages. Larvae under the lowest salinity had faster growth, and assessments of juvenile performance show whether this success translates into better growth and stress tolerance under different environmental conditions. Studying how larval environmental experience might carry-over to effect juvenile performance will further understanding of potential acclimatization strategies for this species with future environmental change.
