Title: Crustaceans in a changing ocean: assessing the effects of environment on adhesion and biomineralization

Speaker: Dr. Gary H. Dickinson, Associate Professor, The College of New Jersey 

Abstract: Ocean acidification (OA) has been shown to adversely affect a broad range of marine calcifying organisms. Crustaceans, however, exhibit mixed responses to OA, and the current paradigm is that they are less susceptible than other invertebrate taxa to reduced seawater pH. Here, we question this paradigm by assessing functional consequences of OA in three ecologically and economically important crustaceans. Results of structural, mechanical, and compositional analyses of the exoskeleton of two Alaska king crabs (Paralithodes platypus and camtschaticus) and the semitropical intertidal barnacle Ampibalanus amphitrite will be presented. In all species, we found that OA led to compromised shell mechanical properties. Such changes have the potential to alter the survival of these animals in the field.