Single and combined effects of the "Deadly trio" hypoxia, hypercapnia and warming on the cellular metabolism of the great scallop Pecten maximus

Abstract

In the ocean the main climate drivers affecting marine organisms are warming, hypercapnia, and hypoxia. We investigated the acute effects of warming (W), warming plus hypercapnia (WHc, ~1800 μatm CO₂), warming plus hypoxia (WHo, ~12.1 kPa O₂), and a combined exposure of all three drivers (Deadly Trio, DT) on king scallops (Pecten maximus). All exposures started at 14 °C and temperature was increased by 2 °C once every 48 h until the lethal temperature was reached (28 °C). Gill samples were taken at 14 °C, 18 °C, 22 °C, and 26 °C and analyzed for their metabolic response by ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Scallops were most tolerant to WHc and most susceptible to oxygen reduction (WHo and DT). In particular under DT, scallops' mitochondrial energy metabolism was affected. Changes became apparent at 22 °C and 26 °C involving significant accumulation of glycogenic amino acids (e.g. glycine and valine) and anaerobic end-products (e.g. acetic acid and succinate). In line with these observations the LT₅₀ was lower under the exposure to DT (22.5 °C) than to W alone (~ 25 °C) indicating a narrowing of the thermal niche due to an imbalance between oxygen demand and supply.

Keywords: (1)H NMR; Metabolic pathways; Metabolomics; Ocean climate change; Palaeo-physiology.