title: Defective skeletogenesis and oversized otoliths in fish early stages in a changing ocean.
abstract: Early life stages of many marine organisms are being challenged by rising seawater temperature and CO₂ concentrations, but their physiological responses to these environmental changes still remain unclear. In the present study, we show that future predictions of ocean warming (+4°C) and acidification (ΔpH=0.5 units) may compromise the development of early life stages of a highly commercial teleost fish, Solea senegalensis. Exposure to future conditions caused a decline in hatching success and larval survival. Growth, metabolic rates and thermal tolerance increased with temperature but decreased under acidified conditions. Hypercapnia and warming amplified the incidence of deformities by 31.5% (including severe deformities such as lordosis, scoliosis and kyphosis), while promoting the occurrence of oversized otoliths (109.3% increase). Smaller larvae with greater skeletal deformities and larger otoliths may face major ecophysiological challenges, which might potentiate substantial declines in adult fish populations, putting in jeopardy the species' fitness under a changing ocean.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Nossa Senhora do Cabo 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal Instituto Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Largo Prof. Abel Salazar 2, 4099-003 Porto, Portugal mcrsilva@fc.ul.pt.
authors.forename: Marta S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pimentel
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Nossa Senhora do Cabo 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal.
authors.forename: Filipa
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Faleiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Nossa Senhora do Cabo 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal Departamento de Biologia & CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dionísio
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Nossa Senhora do Cabo 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal.
authors.forename: Tiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Repolho
authors.affiliation: Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Av. 5 de Outubro s/n 8700-305, Olhão, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pousão-Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Instituto Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Largo Prof. Abel Salazar 2, 4099-003 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Nossa Senhora do Cabo 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D057231:Climate Change; D005412:Flatfishes / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008136:Longevity; D010037:Otolithic Membrane / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology*; D010313:Partial Pressure; D012098:Reproduction
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide
keywords: Acidification; Ecophysiology; Fish larvae; Ocean warming; Skeletal deformities