1 / 11

Effects of Hypoxia on Survival and Growth of Barnacle Larvae Off the Oregon Coast

Effects of Hypoxia on Survival and Growth of Barnacle Larvae Off the Oregon Coast Amanda Amstutz Department of Zoology Dr. Bruce Menge Dafne Eerkes-Medrano Department of Zoology HYPOXIA: Dissolved oxygen concentrations of less than 1.4 ml /L

bernad
Download Presentation

Effects of Hypoxia on Survival and Growth of Barnacle Larvae Off the Oregon Coast

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Effects of Hypoxia on Survival and Growth of Barnacle Larvae Off the Oregon Coast Amanda Amstutz Department of Zoology Dr. Bruce Menge Dafne Eerkes-Medrano Department of Zoology

  2. HYPOXIA: Dissolved oxygen concentrations of less than 1.4 ml /L • Hypoxia can cause mass die offs of marine life in areas known as DEAD ZONES

  3. Hypoxia off the Oregon Coast • Hypoxia in shallow waters • (50m or less) was first documented • in the summer of 2002 and has • occurred every summer from 2002-2007

  4. A healthy rockfish reef before 2006 anoxia (left) and after 2006 anoxia (right). Hypoxia off the Oregon Coast

  5. Barnacles! • Barnacles are found on hard substrata in coastal regions • They are filter feeders • Barnacles have a total of eight life stages • Seven of these life stages are open-ocean larval forms www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/imgjan99/naup.jpg

  6. Barnacles are important as: Ecological engineers Prey Because barnacles are ecologically important species, fluctuations in barnacle populations effect entire ecosystems. Photos courtesy Dr. Mark Hixon

  7. Research Goals:1. Determine mortality of larvae at increasingly severe levels of hypoxia for a given exposure period2. Determine if exposure to hypoxic conditions effects growth of larvae Rear barnacle larvae in the laboratory Expose larvae to hypoxia Measure survival Monitor growth and development

  8. Predictions: • Due to the historical lack of hypoxia close to shore, barnacle larvae are predicted to experience high mortality when exposed to hypoxia • Larvae are predicted to experience increased mortality with increasing severity of hypoxia and duration of exposure • Larvae are predicted to have slower growth rates when they have been exposed to hypoxia

  9. Preliminary Results Cumulative mortality of Balanus glandula mixed stage larvae through a six day period after exposure to microxia (0.5 mg/l dissolved oxygen) or normoxia (5 mg/L dissolved oxygen) for 24 hours. (Means ±SD; normoxia n=3; microxia n=3 )

  10. What’s Next • Ensure errors in system have been corrected • Perform 48 and 72 hour trials • Monitor development and growth

  11. Acknowledgements • Howard Hughes Medical Institute • OSU University Honors College • Dr. Kevin Ahern • Dr. Bruce Menge and Dafne Eerkes-Medrano • Hatfield Marine Science Center • Dr. Chris Langdon

More Related