Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2020 May 18;10(1):8176. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65220-9.
The glass sponge Aphrocallistes vastus contributes to the formation of large reefs unique to the Northeast Pacific Ocean. These habitats have tremendous filtration capacity that facilitates flow of carbon between trophic levels. Their sensitivity and resilience to climate change, and thus persistence in the Anthropocene, is unknown. Here we show that ocean acidification and warming, alone and in combination have significant adverse effects on pumping capacity, contribute to irreversible tissue withdrawal, and weaken skeletal strength and stiffness of A. vastus. Within one month sponges exposed to warming (including combined treatment) ceased pumping (50-60%) and exhibited tissue withdrawal (10-25%). Thermal and acidification stress significantly reduced skeletal stiffness, and warming weakened it, potentially curtailing reef formation. Environmental data suggests conditions causing irreversible damage are possible in the field at +0.5 °C above current conditions, indicating that ongoing climate change is a serious and immediate threat to A. vastus, reef dependent communities, and potentially other glass sponges.
玻璃海绵 Aphrocallistes vastus 有助于形成东北太平洋特有的大型珊瑚礁。这些栖息地具有巨大的过滤能力，可促进营养级之间的碳流动。然而，人们对它们对气候变化的敏感性和恢复力，以及在人类世的持续存在情况还知之甚少。在这里，我们发现海洋酸化和变暖单独及联合作用对泵送能力有显著的不利影响，导致不可逆转的组织收缩，并削弱了 A. vastus 的骨骼强度和刚性。在一个月内，暴露于升温（包括联合处理）的海绵停止泵送（50-60%）并出现组织收缩（10-25%）。热和酸化应激显著降低了骨骼的刚性，而升温则削弱了它，可能会阻碍珊瑚礁的形成。环境数据表明，在当前条件下升高 0.5°C 以上的条件下，现场可能会导致不可逆转的损伤，这表明正在发生的气候变化对 A. vastus、依赖珊瑚礁的群落以及可能的其他玻璃海绵构成了严重且直接的威胁。
