Meeting Abstract
Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are resulting in dramatic changes to oceanic carbonate chemistry, collectively known as ocean acidification (OA). The effects of OA are hypothesized to be wide ranging as the rate of environmental degradation is likely to outpace the ability of organisms to evolve. Instead, species resilience may depend largely on pre-existing physiological traits and phenotypic plasticity. Interestingly, many marine fish species utilize estuaries at various points of their lifecycle. These habitats have seasonally variable CO2 levels that routinely exceed future predictions, which leads to the hypothesis that these species may have pre-existing physiological traits that can defend against OA. Here we will use the economically important red drum as an estuarine-dependent model teleost to explore various aspects of acid-base physiology within the framework of OA. Specifically, we will discuss the implications of OA to acid-base physiology and the capacity of red drum to offset OA through plastic and non-plastic mechanisms. Furthermore, we will discuss new insights into the role of ventilation in defending against respiratory acidosis in marine fish, while also exploring the potential of plastic and non-plastic responses to result in deleterious physiological trade-offs at the whole animal level.
