Effects of Anthropogenic Sound and Environmental Chemistry on Early Life Stage Aquatic Invertebrates in a Multiple Driver Context

Stenton, Craig A.

Abstract

Aquatic environments and the species therein are facing unprecedented pressures and challenges as a result of anthropogenic activities. These challenges often are considered and discussed individually, e.g. sound/noise, chemical pollution, nutrient availability, salinity etc., but in reality many pressures (drivers) are linked, with complex interplays and interactions often occurring across multiple levels of biological organisation. Given that aquatic sound levels from anthropogenic sources have increased substantially over the past century, and many marine ecosystems continue to be influenced by a wide range of physicochemical drivers, the aim of this thesis was to establish what, if any, interaction occurs between anthropogenic sound (as laboratory-based sound playbacks) and selected environmental drivers. Biological impacts of exposure to anthropogenic sound playbacks (pile driving and/or passenger ferry) were investigated across different chemical drivers characteristic of marine, brackish, and freshwater environments. Three respective model species were chosen (Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus, Pacific oyster Magallana gigas, great pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis), each enabling assessment of a different early developmental stage. Anthropogenic sound exposure had significant impacts on two of the three species examined. In N. norvegicus, piling playbacks led to concentration-dependent interactions with waterborne cadmium, demonstrating both antagonistic and synergistic interactions with respect to larval mortality. In L. stagnalis, ferry playbacks interacted with waterborne calcium availability, with detrimental impacts on embryonic developmental success, and postulated fecundity-related energetic partitioning. In M. gigas, no significant differences in fertilisation rates, or immediate larval development, were observed following acute exposure of gametes to either ferry- or piling playbacks at different salinities. This thesis evidences the need for wider, more integrated consideration of multiple drivers to environmental riskassessment. It also reflects upon the inherent challenges in undertaking and interpreting such complex studies, helping to inform experimental design of future multiple driver studies.

Citation

Stenton, C. A. Effects of Anthropogenic Sound and Environmental Chemistry on Early Life Stage Aquatic Invertebrates in a Multiple Driver Context. (Thesis). Edinburgh Napier University

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 21, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 21, 2023
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.17869/enu.2023.3175411
• Award Date: Jul 5, 2023