Evaluation of the acclimation of an Antarctic marine invertebrate, the spirorbid polychaete Romanchella perrieri under in situ warming using heated settlement panels. Acclimation of Romanchella perrieri

Heated settlement panels were deployed for a period of 18 months in Ryder Bay near Rothera research station on the Antarctic Peninsula. This timescale is well above that required for acclimation in Antarctic marine invertebrates (Peck et al., 2014). The panels were set to heat a thin layer of water overlying the surface to 1°C or 2°C above ambient temperature, thus mimicking oceanic warming predictions in the natural environment and yet maintaining natural cycles of temperature variation, light regime, food supply etc. This is the first study to evaluate the acclimation of an Antarctic marine invertebrate, the spirorbid polychaete Romanchella perrieri under in situ warming using heated settlement panels. I measured the upper thermal limit (UTL) and conducted Q-PCR of Hsps (HSP90, HSP70, HSP90 and HSP60) to determine acclimation success at +1°C and +2°C above ambient conditions over a period of 18 months. Two main questions were asked: 1) Have the organisms acclimated to the experimental temperatures or are they physiologically resisting the change? 2) Does Romanchella perrieri have a heat shock response and if so, how does it differ between treatments?