Larvae of marine calcifying organisms are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of elevated pCO₂ on shell formation because of their rapid calcification rates, reduced capacity to isolate calcifying fluid from seawater, and use of more soluble polymorphs of calcium carbonate. However, parental exposure to elevated pCO₂ could benefit larval shell formation through transgenerational plastic responses. We examined the capacity of intergenerational exposure to mitigate the adverse effects of elevated pCO₂ on Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) early larval shell growth, shell morphology, and survival. Adult oysters were exposed to control (572 ppm pCO₂) or elevated pCO₂ (2827 ppm pCO₂) conditions for 30 d during reproductive conditioning. Offspring from each parental treatment were produced using a partial North Carolina II cross design and grown under control and elevated pCO₂ conditions for 3 d. We found evidence of transgenerational plasticity in early larval shell growth and morphology, but not in survival, in response to the parental pCO₂ exposure. Larvae from parents exposed to elevated pCO₂ exhibited faster shell growth rates than larvae from control parents, with this effect being significantly larger when larvae were grown under elevated pCO₂ compared to control conditions. Parental exposure to elevated pCO₂, however, was insufficient to completely counteract the adverse effects of the prescribed elevated pCO₂ on early larval shell formation and survival. Nevertheless, these results suggest that oysters have some capacity to acclimate intergenerationally to ocean acidification.

中文翻译：

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东部牡蛎（Crassostrea virginica）亲代暴露于升高的 pCO2 可减轻其对早期幼体壳生长和形态的负面影响

海洋钙化生物的幼虫特别容易受到p CO ₂升高对壳形成的不利影响，因为它们的钙化速度快，从海水中分离钙化流体的能力降低，并且使用了更易溶解的碳酸钙多晶型物。然而，亲本暴露于升高的p CO ₂可能通过跨代塑料反应有利于幼虫壳的形成。我们检查了代际接触以减轻p CO ₂升高对东部牡蛎 ( Crassostrea virginica ) 早期幼虫壳生长、壳形态和存活的不利影响的能力。成年牡蛎暴露于对照（572 ppmp CO ₂ ) 或升高的p CO ₂ (2827 ppm p CO ₂ ) 条件在生殖调节期间持续 30 天。使用部分北卡罗来纳 II 杂交设计产生来自每个亲本处理的后代，并在控制和升高的p CO ₂条件下生长 3 天。我们在早期幼虫壳生长和形态中发现了跨代可塑性的证据，但在生存中没有发现，这是对亲代p CO ₂暴露的反应。亲本暴露于升高的p CO _2的幼虫表现出比来自对照亲本的幼虫更快的壳生长速率，与对照条件相比，当幼虫在升高的p CO _{2下生长时，这种效果明显更大。}然而，亲代暴露于升高的p CO ₂不足以完全抵消规定的升高的p CO ₂对早期幼虫壳形成和存活的不利影响。尽管如此，这些结果表明牡蛎具有一定的代际适应海洋酸化的能力。