Energetic Plasticity Underlies a Variable Response to Ocean Acidification in the Pteropod, Limacina helicina antarctica
Figure 1
Oxygen consumption rates (MO2, µmoles O2 g−1 h−1) of the pteropod, Limacina helicina forma antarctica as a function of body mass (M).
A) In 2007, MO2 was significantly higher at low (380 + 180 µatm, blue; MO2 = 1.29 M−0.25) than at high (789 + 1000 µatm, red; MO2 = 0.78 M−0.32) CO2 partial pressure (PCO2). The individual CO2 treatment levels are separated in subsequent panels. MO2 was significantly higher in 2007 (closed circles) compared to 2008 at both low (panel B; open circles; MO2 = 0.14 M−0.58; closed circles180, blue and 380, black, equation above) and high (panel C; open circles, MO2 = 1.73 M−0.12; closed circles 790, red and 1000, black, equation above) CO2 partial pressures. D) In 2008, carbon dioxide (1000 ppm, red, equation above) had no effect on MO2 relative to control levels (380 ppm, blue, equation above). E) Food deprivation in the lab (4–6 days, open circles) caused a significant reduction in MO2 relative to field-caught specimens in 2007 (380 only, MO2 = 1.29 M−0.25, closed circles). Significant differences are at p = 0.05, ANCOVA.