Survival and osmoregulation of the purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum) at varying salinity and PH

Ciarán A. Shaughnessy; E. C. Anderson; M. Kasparian; J. M. LaMontagne; J. S. Bystriansky

doi:10.1139/cjz-2016-0199

Survival and osmoregulation of the purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum) at varying salinity and PH

Ciarán A. Shaughnessy^*, E. C. Anderson, M. Kasparian, J. M. LaMontagne, J. S. Bystriansky

^*Corresponding author for this work

Environmental Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Overfishing of top predators along the western Atlantic coastline has led to a trophic cascade in salt marshes, with increases in herbivorous purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum (Say, 1817)) abundances in North American estuaries leading to overgrazing of cordgrass (Spartina alternifloraLoisel.) and shoreline erosion. To evaluate potential physiological limits on the range of S. reticulatum within an estuary, we evaluated survival and physiological tolerance of S. reticulatumfrom the Ashepoo-Combhee-Edisto (ACE) River Basin in South Carolina, USA, to combinations of salinity (5‰ and 30‰) and pH (pH 6.6, 7.6, and 8.6) challenges, representative of estuarine extremes. Survival, haemolymph ion concentrations, and gill Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase (NKA) and vacuolar-type H⁺-ATPase (VHA) activity were measured after a 48 h exposure to each experimental condition. Survival was nearly 100% and osmoregulatory control was maintained across estuarine salinity and pH ranges. Sesarma reticulatum appeared to be robust to all potential combinations of salinity and pH stressors examined in this study, and therefore are likely unrestricted in their fundamental niche based on these stressors throughout an estuary.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	985-989
Number of pages	5
Journal	Canadian Journal of Zoology
Volume	95
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2016-0199
State	Published - 2017

Funding

Funding for this project was provided though DePaul University grants to J.M.L. and J.S.B. and the DePaul University Department of Biological Sciences. Research space and accommodation were provided by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. We thank A. Segars for his support, advice, and valuable insight while in South Carolina. Additionally, we thank G. Einhorn, L. Younes, R. Wenkus, K. Hermann, and D. Moore for their support and assistance with collecting and processing samples.

Keywords

Estuary
Osmoregulation
PH
Purple marsh crab
Salinity
Sesarma reticulatum

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Animal Science and Zoology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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abstract = "Overfishing of top predators along the western Atlantic coastline has led to a trophic cascade in salt marshes, with increases in herbivorous purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum (Say, 1817)) abundances in North American estuaries leading to overgrazing of cordgrass (Spartina alternifloraLoisel.) and shoreline erosion. To evaluate potential physiological limits on the range of S. reticulatum within an estuary, we evaluated survival and physiological tolerance of S. reticulatumfrom the Ashepoo-Combhee-Edisto (ACE) River Basin in South Carolina, USA, to combinations of salinity (5‰ and 30‰) and pH (pH 6.6, 7.6, and 8.6) challenges, representative of estuarine extremes. Survival, haemolymph ion concentrations, and gill Na+, K+-ATPase (NKA) and vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (VHA) activity were measured after a 48 h exposure to each experimental condition. Survival was nearly 100% and osmoregulatory control was maintained across estuarine salinity and pH ranges. Sesarma reticulatum appeared to be robust to all potential combinations of salinity and pH stressors examined in this study, and therefore are likely unrestricted in their fundamental niche based on these stressors throughout an estuary.",

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Survival and osmoregulation of the purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum) at varying salinity and PH

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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