• Energy Research

Organisms in intertidal zones experience fluctuations in environmental stressors such as hypoxia and temperature. These stressors and their fluctuations often appear in combination. Combination of stressors can have different effects compared to single stressors. In this study, we investigate the physiological effects of intermittent hypoxia in combination with different temperature regimes on the Pacific Oyster Crassostrea (Magallana) gigas. The oysters were exposed to hypoxic cycles (12h hypoxia by emersion/12h submersion) at normal (15°C), elevated (30°C) or fluctuating (15°C submersion/30°C emersion) temperature for 10 days. After the last submersion phase, the gills and digestive gland were sampled. We measured markers for bioenergetics and redox-balance in the gills and digestive gland using colorimetric methods as well as a set of metabolites (predominantly amino acids, osmolytes, anaerobic end products and energetic metabolites) in the gills using LC-MS/MS. Oysters kept submerged for up to 10 days were used as controls.

AbstractGlobal climate change (GCC) can negatively affect freshwater ecosystems. However, the degree to which freshwater populations can acclimate to long-term warming and the underlying molecular mechanisms are not yet fully understood. We used the cooling water discharge (CWD) area of a power plant as a model for long-term warming. Survival and molecular stress responses (expression of molecular chaperones, antioxidants, bioenergetic and protein synthesis biomarkers) to experimental warming (20–41 °C, +1.5 °C per day) were assessed in invasive clams Corbicula fluminea from two pristine populations and a CWD population. CWD clams had considerably higher (by ~8–12 °C) lethal temperature thresholds than clams from the pristine areas. High thermal tolerance of CWD clams was associated with overexpression of heat shock proteins HSP70, HSP90 and HSP60 and activation of protein synthesis at 38 °C. Heat shock response was prioritized over the oxidative stress response resulting in accumulation of oxidative lesions and ubiquitinated proteins during heat stress in CWD clams. Future studies should determine whether the increase in thermal tolerance in CWD clams are due to genetic adaptation and/or phenotypic plasticity. Overall, our findings indicate that C. fluminea has potential to survive and increase its invasive range during warming such as expected during GCC.

In global climate change scenarios, seawater warming acts in concert with multiple stress sources, which may enhance the susceptibility of marine biota to thermal stress. Here, the responsiveness to seasonal gradual warming was investigated in temperate mussels from a chronically stressed population in comparison with a healthy one. Stressed and healthy mussels were subjected to gradual temperature elevation for 8 days (1°C per day; fall: 16-24°C, winter: 12-20°C, summer: 20-28°C) and kept at elevated temperature for 3 weeks. Healthy mussels experienced thermal stress and entered the time-limited survival period in the fall, became acclimated in winter and exhibited sublethal damage in summer. In stressed mussels, thermal stress and subsequent health deterioration were elicited in the fall but no transition into the critical period of time-limited survival was observed. Stressed mussels did not become acclimated to 20°C in winter, when they experienced low-to-moderate thermal stress, and did not experience sublethal damage at 28°C in summer, showing instead signs of metabolic rate depression. Overall, although the thermal threshold was lowered in chronically stressed mussels, they exhibited enhanced tolerance to seasonal gradual warming, especially in summer. These results challenge current assumptions on the susceptibility of marine biota to the interactive effects of seawater warming and pollution.

Benthic organisms are subject to prolonged seasonal food limitation in the temperate shallow coastal waters that can cause energetic stress and affect their performance. Sediment-dwelling marine bivalves cope with prolonged food limitation by adjusting different physiological processes that might cause trade-offs between maintenance and other fitness-related functions. We investigated the effects of prolonged (42 days) food deprivation on bioenergetics, burrowing performance and amino acid profiles in a common marine bivalve, Mya arenaria collected in winter and spring. Food limitation of >15 days decreased respiration of the clams by 80%. Total tissue energy content was higher in spring-collected clams (reflecting higher lipid content) than in their winter counterparts. Prolonged food deprivation decreased the tissue energy content of clams, especially in winter. The levels of free amino acids transiently increased during the early phase of food deprivation possibly reflecting suppression of the protein synthesis or enhanced protein degradation. The levels of amino acids considered essential for bivalves were more tightly conserved than those of non-essential amino acids during starvation. The burrowing capacity of clams was negatively affected by food deprivation so that the time required for a burial cycle increased by 35-50% after 22-42 days of starvation. During the early phase of starvation, clams preferentially used lipids as fuel for burrowing, whereas carbohydrates were used at the later phase. These findings suggest that although M. arenaria can withstand prolonged food deprivation by lowering their basal maintenance costs and switching their fuel usage, their ecological functions (e.g. bioturbation and the energy transferable to the next trophic level) could be negatively impacted by starvation.

The time dependence of the nonlinear optical properties of the films prepared from silicon-containing poly(o-hydroxyamide) with a covalently bound 4-nitroazobenzene-based chromophore in a side chain is investigated in isothermal and thermally stimulated modes. It is revealed that, when the onium salt, i.e., triphenylsulfonium hexafluorophosphate, is added to a polymer solution, the second harmonic generation signal is characterized by an unusual time dependence. The assumption is made that the introduction of the onium salt favors the formation of the benzoxazole structure during the process of polarization (poling). This structure facilitates the orientation of nonlinear optical fragments and, hence, leads to an improvement of the nonlinear optical properties of the polymer film.

Increased ZnO nanoparticles (nZnO) from multiple sources have raised concerns about the potential toxic effects on the marine organisms living in estuarine and coastal environments. The toxicity of nZnO and its interaction by common abiotic stressors (such as elevated temperature) are not well understood for marine organisms. Therefore, we examined the Input of ZnO nanoparticles (nZnO) from multiple sources have raised concerns about the potential toxic effects on the marine organisms in estuarine and coastal environments. The toxicity of nZnO and its interaction with common abiotic stressors (such as elevated temperature) are not well understood in marine organisms. Therefore, we examined the bioenergetics and oxidative stress responses of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis exposed for 21 days to different concentrations of nZnO or dissolved zinc (Zn2+) (0, 10, 100 ug l-1) and two temperatures (normal and high temperature) in winter and summer. In this data set, we measured the tissue levels of energy reserves (including proteins, lipids and carbohydrates), electron transport system (ETS) activity, cellular energy allocation (CEA) as a integrative index of energy balance, and the accumulation of Zn and levels of the metal-binding proteins (metallothioneins) as markers for intracellular Zn accumulation in the mussels. Our study provides new insights into the bioenergetics mechanisms underlying the combined effects of elevated temperature and nZnO of M. edulis and has important implications for understanding the effects of warming on the mussels' populations from polluted estuaries and coastal zones