Effects of ocean acidification on growth and otolith condition of juvenile scup, Stenotomus chrysops from laboratory experiment studies from 2011-08-24 to 2011-10-19 (NCEI Accession 0117506)

This dataset contains laboratory experiment data that were collected to examine the effects of elevated levels of CO2 on the growth, survival, otolith (ear bone) condition and the skeleton of juvenile scup, Stenotomus chrysops, a species that supports both commercial and recreational fisheries. Increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide from human industrial activities are causing changes in global ocean carbon chemistry resulting in a reduction in pH, a process termed ocean acidification. Studies have demonstrated adverse effects on calcifying organisms, particularly some invertebrates, corals, sea urchins, pteropods, and coccolithophores. It is important to determine which species are sensitive to elevated levels of CO2 because of the potential impacts to ecosystems, marine resources, biodiversity, food webs, populations and effects on human communities and economies. There have been few studies examining the effects of ocean acidification on marine fish, particularly the juvenile stages of species that support important fisheries. These data demonstrated that elevated levels of pCO2 (>1300 micro-atm) had no statistically significant effect on growth, survival, or otolith condition after 8 weeks of rearing. There was a trend towards a greater gain in weight and length in scup exposed to the mid-level (1726 micro-atm) and the high level (2614 micro-atm) treatments of pCO2 when compared to the fish in the control (1205 micro-atm) treatments, but these differences were not statistically significant. X-ray analysis of the fish revealed a slightly higher incidence of hyper-ossification in the vertebrae of a few scup from the highest treatments compared to fish from the control treatments. The study's results show that juvenile scup are tolerant to increases in levels of environmental pCO2, possibly due to conditions this species encounters in their naturally variable environment.本数据集收录了用于探究二氧化碳浓度升高对幼体石首鱼（Stenotomus chrysops，一种兼具商业捕捞与休闲垂钓价值的鱼种）的生长、存活率、耳石（otolith）状况及骨骼的影响的实验室实验数据。人类工业活动导致大气二氧化碳含量持续攀升，引发全球海洋碳化学过程改变，造成海水pH值下降，这一过程被称为海洋酸化（ocean acidification）。已有研究证实，海洋酸化对钙化生物存在不利影响，尤其波及部分无脊椎动物、珊瑚、海胆、翼足类（pteropods）及颗石藻（coccolithophores）。鉴于其可能对生态系统、海洋资源、生物多样性、食物网、种群结构以及人类社会与经济产生潜在影响，明确对二氧化碳浓度升高敏感的物种具有重要研究价值。目前针对海洋酸化对海水鱼类的影响，尤其是对具有重要渔业价值的鱼种幼体阶段的相关研究仍较为匮乏。本数据集配套的实验结果显示：在经过8周的养殖周期后，二氧化碳分压（pCO2）浓度升高（>1300微大气压）对幼体石首鱼的生长、存活率及耳石状况均无统计学意义上的显著影响。与对照组（1205微大气压）相比，暴露于中等浓度（1726微大气压）与高浓度（2614微大气压）pCO2环境的幼体石首鱼，其体重与体长均呈现出更高的增长趋势，但该差异未达到统计学显著性水平。X光骨骼分析结果显示，相较于对照组个体，极少数来自最高浓度处理组的幼体石首鱼，其椎骨出现过度骨化的概率略高。本研究结果表明，幼体石首鱼对环境pCO2浓度升高具有耐受性，这一特性可能与其自然栖息环境中碳化学条件的天然波动特性相关。