Community shifts at volcanic CO2 seeps, an eDNA prospective

Mr Michael Izumiyama¹, Dr  Roger Huerlimann¹, Professor Timothy Ravasi¹

¹Okinawa Institute Of Science And Technology Graduate University, , Japan

Abstract:

Understanding if and how fish communities will change under climate change is essential to understanding the future of fish populations. Laboratory experiments show that predicted future CO₂ levels can affect various physiological and behavioral traits and processes in reef fishes. However, the underlying mechanisms remain uncertain with considerable variation among species. Natural CO₂ seeps provide a unique opportunity to investigate the fundamental responses of reef fishes to long-term exposure to elevated CO₂ which can inform us about how reefs may look in the future. CO₂ seep sites worldwide provide a natural analog to predicted future ocean conditions under climate change and offer the opportunity to examine how the ecology of coral reefs may be affected by climate change. Our project utilized two subtropic CO₂ seep sites in Japan and compared the reefs in the seep to nearby control reefs to determine if the fish assemblage differed with eDNA. Previous work suggested that climate change driven by ocean acidification (OA) will simplify habitat, leading to loss of resources and fish diversity. Our result provides further evidence to support shifts in fish assemblage due to climate change and provides insight into what future reefs may look like under OA.

Biography:

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