Ocean acidification makes it harder for sea snails to escape from their sea star predators, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.
The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society B, suggest that by disturbing predator-prey interactions, ocean acidification could spur cascading consequences for food web systems in shoreline ecosystems.
For instance, black turban snails graze on algae. If more snails are eaten by predators, algae densities could increase.
“Ocean acidification can affect individual marine organisms along the Pacific coast, by changing the chemistry of the seawater,” said lead author Brittany Jellison, a Ph.D. student studying marine ecology at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory.
“But it can also alter how species interact, such as by impairing the ability of prey to avoid predators,” she said.
Sea star and snail interactions under ocean acidification
Jellison and colleagues from the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory collected ochre sea stars and black turban snails — two common species along the Pacific coastline — from tide pools on the Bodega Marine Reserve. In lab tanks, they explored interactions between the sea stars and snails under 16 different levels of seawater pH, or acidity, ranging from present levels to those expected for rocky intertidal pools by the year 2100.
The scientists found that lower pH levels, which indicate higher acidity, did not slow the snails’ movements or reduce their ability to sense the predatory sea stars. However, the more acidic waters did impair the snails’ escape response.
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Diver studying ocean acidification image via NOAA
