Data from: Additive effects of pCO2 and temperature on respiration rates of the Antarctic pteropod Limacina helicina antarctica

The Antarctic pteropod, Limacina helicina antarctica, is a dominant member
of the zooplankton in the Ross Sea and supports the vast diversity of
marine megafauna that designates this region as an internationally
protected area. Here, we observed the response of respiration rate to
abiotic stressors associated with global change – environmentally relevant
temperature (-0.8˚C, 4˚C) and pH treatments reflecting current-day and
future modeled extremes. Sampling repeatedly over a 14-day period in
laboratory experiments and using microplate respirometry techniques, we
found that the metabolic rate of juvenile pteropods increased in response
to high pCO2 exposure (920 µatm) at -0.8˚C, a near-ambient temperature.
Similarly, metabolic rate increased when pteropods were exposed
simultaneously to multiple stressors, elevated pCO2 conditions (960 µatm)
and a high temperature (+4˚C). Overall, the results showed that pCO2 and
temperature interact additively to affect metabolic rates in pteropods.
Furthermore, we found that L. h. antarctica can tolerate acute exposure to
temperatures far beyond its maximal habitat temperature. Overall, L. h.
antarctica appears to be susceptible to pH and temperature stress, two
abiotic stressors which are expected to be especially deleterious for
ectothermic marine metazoans in polar seas.