title: Mineralogical Plasticity Acts as a Compensatory Mechanism to the Impacts of Ocean Acidification.
abstract: Calcifying organisms are considered particularly susceptible to the future impacts of ocean acidification (OA), but recent evidence suggests that they may be able to maintain calcification and overall fitness. The underlying mechanism remains unclear but may be attributed to mineralogical plasticity, which modifies the energetic cost of calcification. To test the hypothesis that mineralogical plasticity enables the maintenance of shell growth and functionality under OA conditions, we assessed the biological performance of a gastropod (respiration rate, feeding rate, somatic growth, and shell growth of Austrocochlea constricta) and analyzed its shell mechanical and geochemical properties (shell hardness, elastic modulus, amorphous calcium carbonate, calcite to aragonite ratio, and magnesium to calcium ratio). Despite minor metabolic depression and no increase in feeding rate, shell growth was faster under OA conditions, probably due to increased precipitation of calcite and trade-offs against inner shell density. In addition, the resulting shell was functionally suitable for increasingly "corrosive" oceans, i.e., harder and less soluble shells. We conclude that mineralogical plasticity may act as a compensatory mechanism to maintain overall performance of calcifying organisms under OA conditions and could be a cornerstone of calcifying organisms to acclimate to and maintain their ecological functions in acidifying oceans.
authors.affiliation: Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide , Adelaide 5005, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Jonathan Y S
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide , Adelaide 5005, South Australia, Australia.|The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Bayden D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide , Adelaide 5005, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Sean D
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5350-6852
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Connell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000737:chemistry*; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000378:metabolism; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002119:Calcium Carbonate