Short- and long-term impacts of variable hypoxia exposures on kelp forest sea urchins

摘要: Climate change is altering the intensity and variability of environmental stress that organisms ecosystems experience, but effects changing regimes are not well understood. We examined impacts constant variable sublethal hypoxia exposures on multiple biological processes in sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, a key grazer California Current kelp forests, which experience high physical conditions. quantified metabolic rates, grazing, growth, calcification, spine regeneration, gonad production under constant, 3-hour variable, 6-hour to hypoxia, compared responses for each regime normoxic Sea urchins maintained baseline metabolic rates, had lower development, calcification rates than those ambient The differed among processes. Spine regrowth was reduced all treatments, were intermediate between normoxia correlated negatively with continuous time hypoxia. Therefore, exposure can differentially modulate may impact populations via feeding reproduction. Addressing realistic, multifaceted stressor crucial understanding climate species ecosystems.