Meeting Abstract
Due to the global rise in Earth’s average temperature and increased nutrient input, marine ecosystems in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama face increasing stress from seasonal marine hypoxic zones. Hypoxic conditions are well known to stress adult organisms, but little is known about their effect on the planktonic larval stages that sustain these adult populations. We collected weekly plankton samples and water quality data from three sites in Almirante Bay, Bocas del Toro in order to assess larval tolerance to low oxygen in three major marine clades (echinoderms, decapods, and mollusks; here on collectively referred to as “focal taxa”). Samples were collected at 10 and 20 m depth via water pump starting in January 2017. The focal taxa were isolated and counted, and counts were compared to oxygen data to determine if larvae were reduced or absent from layers of hypoxic water. Additional laboratory experiments were conducted on example species from focal taxa (urchin: Echinometra viridis; snail: Littoraria angulifera; and crab: Armases ricordi) to assess larval survival when exposed to low oxygen conditions over 48 hours. Overall, the project aims to identify potential ecological imbalances caused in Caribbean ecosystems by marine hypoxia.
