Effects of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Shallow
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Effects of ocean acidification and warming on shallow subtidal temperate seaweed assemblages in eastern Tasmania, Australia: implications for the blacklip abalone (Haliotis rubra) Damon Britton BMarSc (First Class Honours) Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) University of Tasmania November 2020 Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Science i Declaration of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Signed: (Damon Britton) Date: 25/03/2020 ii Statement of Authority of Access The publishers of the papers comprising Chapters 3 and 4 hold the copyright for that content and access to the material should be sought from the respective journals. The remaining unpublished content of the thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. A version of Chapter 3 has been published as: Britton, D., Mundy, C. N., McGraw, C. M., Revill, A. T., & Hurd, C. L. (2019). Responses of seaweeds that use CO2 as their sole inorganic carbon source to ocean acidification: differential effects of fluctuating pH but little benefit of CO2 enrichment. ICES Journal of Marine Science. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsz070 A version of Chapter 4 has been published as: Britton, D., Schmid, M., Noisette, F., Havenhand, J.N., Paine, E.R., McGraw, C.M. et al. (2020). Adjustments in fatty acid composition is a mechanism that can explain resilience to marine heatwaves and future ocean conditions in the habitat-forming seaweed Phyllospora comosa (Labillardière) C.Agardh. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15052 Signed: (Damon Britton) Date: 25/03/2020 iii Statement of co-authorship Chapters 2 – 5 of this thesis has been prepared as submissions, have been submitted to or are published in peer-reviewed journals. The design and implementation of experiments and surveys, the development of methods, data analysis, interpretation of results and the preparation of manuscripts for submission was the responsibility of the candidate but was carried out in collaboration with supervisors and other co-authors. The following people and institutions contributed to the publication of work undertaken as part of this thesis. Candidate: Damon Britton (candidate), Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Author 1: Prof. Catriona Hurd, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Author 2: Dr. Craig Mundy, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Author 3: Dr. Matthias Schmid, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Author 4: Dr. Fanny Noisette, Université du Québec à Rimouski Author 5: Dr. Christina McGraw, University of Otago Author 6: Dr. Andrew Revill, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Author 7: Dr. Patti Virtue, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Author 8: Dr. Peter Nichols, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Author 9: Prof. Jonathan Havenhand, University of Gothenburg Author 10: Ms. Ellie Paine, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies iv Chapter 2: Seasonal and site-specific variation in the nutritional quality of temperate seaweed assemblages: implications for grazing invertebrates and the commercial exploitation of seaweeds. Craig Mundy and Catriona Hurd contributed to the design of the study. Matthias Schmid conducted the fatty acid extractions and analysis. Andrew Revill conducted the analysis of nitrogen content. Peter Nichols, Patti Virtue and Matthias Schmid assisted with the interpretation of the fatty acid data. Craig Mundy and Catriona Hurd contributed to the data analysis. All authors provided comments on the manuscript. Chapter 3: Responses of seaweeds that use CO2 as their sole inorganic carbon source to ocean acidification: differential effects of fluctuating pH but little benefit of CO2 enrichment. Craig Mundy and Catriona Hurd contributed to the design the study. Christina McGraw designed and built the automated culture system. Christina McGraw and Andrew Revill assisted in post-experiment data and sample processing. Craig Mundy and Catriona Hurd assisted with the data analysis. All authors provided comments on the manuscript. Chapter 4: Adjustments in fatty acid composition is a mechanism that can explain resilience to marine heatwaves and future ocean conditions in the habitat-forming seaweed Phyllospora comosa (Labillardière) C.Agardh. Craig Mundy, Catriona Hurd, Jonathan Havenhand and Fanny Noisette contributed to the design of the experiment. Matthias Schmid undertook the fatty acid extraction and analysis and assisted with interpretation of the data. Andrew Revill conducted the stable isotope analysis and assisted in interpretation. Christina McGraw designed the experimental system and assisted with post-experiment processing of experimental data. Fanny Noisette and Ellie v Paine assisted with the field and laboratory components of the study and interpretation of results. Peter Nichols, Patti Virtue and Matthias Schmid assisted with the interpretation of the fatty acid data. Craig Mundy, Catriona Hurd, Jonathan Havenhand and Fanny Noisette assisted with data analysis. All authors provided comments on the manuscript. Chapter 5: Crustose coralline algae are sensitive to near-future global ocean change scenarios. Craig Mundy, Catriona Hurd and Fanny Noisette contributed to the design of the study. Christina McGraw designed the experimental system and assisted with post-experimental processing of chemical data. Fanny Noisette undertook analysis of samples for total alkalinity and assisted with the calculation and interpretation of calcification rates. Catriona Hurd and Craig Mundy assisted with the data analysis. All authors provided comments on the manuscript. We the undersigned agree with the above stated “proportion of work undertaken” for each of the above published (or submitted/in preparation) peer-reviewed manuscripts contributing to this thesis: Damon Britton Candidate Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Ecology and Biodiversity University of Tasmania November 2020 vi Professor Catriona Hurd Primary Supervisor Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Ecology and Biodiversity University of Tasmania March 2020 Professor Catriona MacLeod Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Centre Head – Ecology and Biodiversity University of Tasmania March 2020 vii Acknowledgements I would like to extend a thank you to my research organisation, the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and the University of Tasmania, without which the preparation and submission of this thesis would not have been possible. I am grateful to the assistance and encouragement given to me by numerous people throughout the course of my PhD and would like to extend a thank you to the following people in particular: To my supervisors Catriona Hurd and Craig Mundy, I am extremely grateful to both of you for the opportunity to undertake this project and providing me with the guidance, support, knowledge and funding to successfully complete the research. The skills I have learnt from you will prove invaluable over the course of my career and I would like to extend a special thank you for your patience and enthusiasm throughout my PhD. Thank you to Jonathan Havenhand, Matthias Schmid, Fanny Noisette and Cayne Layton. All four of you have provided substantial support and advice to me over the course of this thesis and I feel very privileged to have been able to access your help when required. Thankyou also to all members of the Hurd lab group over the last few years, in particular Ellie Paine, Pamela Fernandez, Joanna Smart, Pablo Leal and our visiting collaborators Christina McGraw and Louise Kregting. I would also like to thank Victor Shelamoff for numerous discussions about results and marine science in general and providing me with an alternative viewpoint. The fieldwork conducted in these experiments would not have been possible without the assistance of numerous people. I would like to thank Sarah Pyke, David Faloon, Ruari Colquhoun, Jaime McAllister, Jane Ruckert, Kylie Cahill and Graeme Ewing for helping me undertake the fieldwork and teaching me a range of practical skills along the way. Additionally, I would like to thank Camille White, Sam Kruimink, Simon Talbot, Vallorie Hodges and all volunteers who helped complete the fieldwork, Kathryn Willis in particular. viii To all the other students at IMAS and the University of Tasmania more broadly, thank you for your support and good humour. Thank you also to both of my parents, Helen and Glenn for your endless support. Lastly, I would like to thank Ella for your unlimited support and patience throughout this thesis. You have truly made the entire journey far more manageable and enjoyable. ix Contents Introduction 1 Global ocean change 2 Impacts of ocean acidification of seaweeds 3 Fluctuating pH in coastal systems: influences on responses to ocean acidification 5 Impacts of elevated temperature on seaweeds 6 Interactive effects of global ocean change stressors 7 Reliance of abalone on seaweeds 7 Thesis structure 10 Chapter 2: Seasonal and site-specific variation in the nutritional quality of temperate seaweed assemblages: implications for