The long-lived deep-sea bivalve Acesta excavata is sensitive to the dual stressors of sediment and warming

Scanes, Elliot; Kutti, Tina; Fang, James K.H.; Johnston, Emma L.; Ross, Pauline M.; Bannister, Raymond

The long-lived deep-sea bivalve Acesta excavata is sensitive to the dual stressors of sediment and warming | The long-lived deep-sea bivalve Acesta excavata is sensitive to the dual stressors of sediment and warming

2024

Human influence in the deep-sea is increasing as mining and drilling operations expand, and waters warm because of climate change. Here, we investigate how the long-lived deep-sea bivalve, Acesta excavata responds to sediment pollution and/or acute elevated temperatures. A. excavata were exposed to suspended sediment, acute warming, and a combination of the two treatments for 40 days. We measured O2 consumption, NH4+ release, Total Organic Carbon (TOC), and lysosomal membrane stability (LMS). We found suspended sediment and warming interacted to decrease O:N ratios, while sediment as a single stressor increased the release of TOC and warming increased NH4+ release in A. excavata. Warming also increased levels of LMS. We found A. excavata used protein catabolism to meet elevated energetic demands indicating a low tolerance to stress. A. excavata has limited capacity for physiological responses to the stressors of warming and sediment which may lead to decreased fitness of A. excavata.

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