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Volume 8
Journal of Ecosystem & Ecography
ISSN: 2157-7625
Ecology 2018
March 19-20, 2018
March 19-20, 2018 | Berlin, Germany
World Conference on Ecology
How does decreasing pH affect the anti-predator response in two species of intertidal snails?
Shelby C Bacus
University of California-Davis, USA
P
redator-prey interactions are often complex and seemingly small disruptions in the system can
have large consequences.
As anthropogenic CO2 emissions continue to increase and the ocean acidifies in a process called ocean acidification, many
marine organisms are documented showing maladaptive behavioral responses. This paper studies the effect of decreasing pH
on the response of two important intertidal snails, T. funebralis and T. brunnea, when exposed to predator-conditioned water.
Both species live at different heights in the intertidal and are exposed to distinctly different pH conditions. Five discrete pH levels
were assessed in this experiment ranging from 7.7-6.5. The results demonstrate that T. funebralis and T. brunnea both exhibit a
degraded anti-predator response at low pH, and that their responses do not significantly vary between species. This study suggests
that T. brunnea is more tolerant to low pH conditions than previously predicted, and that both species are at risk in a projected
acidified ocean.
Biography
Shelby Bacus is currently finishing her B.S in Marine and Coastal Science at the University of California-Davis. She has spent the majority of her last year at
university conducting research at Bodega Marine Laboratory investigating how physical and biological stressors affect marine invertebrates. After graduating she
plans on pursuing her Ph.D. in marine ecology and biological oceanography.
scbacus@ucdavis.eduShelby C Bacus, J Ecosyst Ecography 2018, Volume 8
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7625-C1-032