Ocean acidification reduces sperm flagellar motility in broadcast spawning reef invertebrates.
Ocean acidification is now recognized as a threat to marine ecosystems; however, the effect of ocean acidification on fertilization in marine organisms is still largely unknown. In this study, we focused on sperm flagellar motility in broadcast spawning reef invertebrates (a coral and a sea cucumber). Below pH 7.7, the pH predicted to occur within the next 100 years, sperm flagellar motility was seriously impaired in these organisms. Considering that sperm flagellar motility is indispensable for transporting the paternal haploid genome for fertilization, fertilization taking place in seawater may decline in the not too distant future. Urgent surveys are necessary for a better understanding of the physiological consequences of ocean acidification on sperm flagellar motility in a wide range of marine invertebrates.
Morita
Masaya
M
Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 905-0227, Japan.
Suwa
Ryota
R
Iguchi
Akira
A
Nakamura
Masako
M
Shimada
Kazuaki
K
Sakai
Kazuhiko
K
Suzuki
Atsushi
A
D000143:Acids; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005407:Flagella / Q000502:physiology*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012616:Sea Cucumbers / Q000502:physiology*; D012623:Seawater; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical
D000143:Acids