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Larval Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) exhibit stronger developmental and physiological responses to temperature than to elevated pCO2 in laboratory experiment studies from 2023-03-09 to 2023-05-15 (NCEI Accession 0306528)

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: January 26, 2026 | Last Modified: 2025-07-24T00:00:00.000+00:00
This dataset contains laboratory experiment data that were collected to examine the effects of temperature and elevated pCO2 on the developmental and physiological responses of larval Arctic cod (Boregogadus saida). High-latitude ecosystems are simultaneously warming and acidifying under ongoing climate change. Arctic cod are a key species in the Arctic Ocean and have demonstrated sensitivity to ocean warming and acidification as adults and embryos, but their larval sensitivity to the combined stressors is unknown. In a laboratory multi-stressor experiment, larval Arctic cod were exposed to a combination of three temperatures (1.8, 5 and 7.3°C) and two carbon dioxide (pCO2) levels (ambient: 330 μatm, high: 1470 μatm) from hatching to 6-weeks of growth. Mortality rates were highest at 7.3°C (5% day-1); however, both growth and morphometric-based condition were also highest at this temperature. When these metrics were assessed via a mortality: growth (M:G) ratio, 5°C appeared to be an optimal temperature for net population biomass, as faster growth at 7.3°C did not fully compensate for higher mortality. In contrast, although morphometric-based condition was lowest at 1.8°C, lipid-based condition was highest, which may reflect prioritization of lipid storage at cold temperatures. The capacity of larval Arctic cod to acclimate to a range of temperatures was exhibited by two lipid-based indicators of membrane fluidity, including a ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids and a ratio of polar lipids to sterols. The effects of elevated pCO2 were subtle, as well as temperature- and metric dependent. When exposed to elevated pCO2 levels, Arctic cod at 1.8°C exhibited signs of lipid dysregulation, suggesting potential interference with membrane acclimation; larvae at 5°C were in lower morphometric-based condition; and larvae at 7.3°C had higher activity eicosanoid substrates, indicating possible physiological stress. Overall, Arctic cod physiological response to temperature variation was more pronounced than their response to elevated pCO2. Future projections of pCO2 effects on Arctic cod health in a warming ecosystem will need to consider the complexity of temperature-dependence and the specificity of multiple physiological responses.

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0306528 DISSOLVED INORGANIC CARBON (DIC) DISSOLVED OXYGEN lipids mortality rate partial pressure of carbon dioxide - water pH SALINITY SPECIES IDENTIFICATION - DRY WEIGHT total alkalinity TOTAL DRY MASS WATER TEMPERATURE carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyzer chromatograph conductivity sensor oxygen sensor temperature sensor biological chemical laboratory experiments physical survey - biological NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center Oregon State University NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center Ocean Carbon and Acidification Data System (OCADS) US DOC; NOAA; Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) North Pacific Ocean oceanography DOC/NOAA/NMFS/AFSC > Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) Ocean Carbon and Acidification Data System (OCADS) Project EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > ALKALINITY EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > CARBON DIOXIDE EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > INORGANIC CARBON EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > OXYGEN EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > PH EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN TEMPERATURE > WATER TEMPERATURE EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > SALINITY/DENSITY > SALINITY Laboratory experiment 14:00 16:00 16:1w7 18:00 18:1w7 18:1w9 18:2w6 20:1w9 20:2w6 20:4w6 20:5w3 22:5w3 22:5w6 22:6w3 CO2.Treat DATE DIC DO DPH DW.m DW.se FFA KDW.m KDW.se KMH.m KMH.se LEN.m LEN.se MH.m MH.se MORT MUFA PUFA Polar_lip SFA ST Salinity TA TAG TAG:ST Tank Temp Temp.Treat n pCO2 pH.Meter pH.calc CO2 ANALYZERS > CO2 ANALYZERS CONDUCTIVITY METERS > CONDUCTIVITY METERS GAS CHROMATOGRAPHS > GAS CHROMATOGRAPHS OXYGEN METERS > OXYGEN METERS TEMPERATURE SENSORS > TEMPERATURE SENSORS OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN NOAA AFSC Laboratory Newport Oregon

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