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Freshwater acidification: an example of an endangered crayfish species sensitive to pH

Hydrobiologia volume 813, pages 41–50 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere and dissolved in water leads to acidification. Relatively few studies have focused on fresh waters, where biocalcifying species are more readily impacted by changes in pH. Sensitivity to pH of an endangered calcium-demanding organism, the crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes, was investigated in the Pinail nature reserve, a natural system with 3000 permanent ponds, some inhabited by the crayfish and others not, originally due to human introduction. From the 14 chemical parameters measured in this study, the main limiting factor preventing crayfish establishment appears to be water acidity (pH < 6.8), which affects calcification, molting, growth and reproduction. We predict that 20% of the Pinail populations will disappear by 2060 due to freshwater acidification with the present level of fossil fuel consumption. Ongoing and future restoration projects for conservation of this heritage crustacean must select hard water with the highest water pH (> 7).

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the DREAL (Directions Régionales de l’Environnement, de l’Aménagement et du Logement) Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Communauté d’Agglomération de Grand Châtellerault, the Syndicat de rivière Vienne et Affluents (SyRVA) and the Agence de l’Eau Loire-Bretagne for financial contributions. We thank A. Zylinsky, D. Jeune, P. Dubech, B. Menard, B. Parinet for field contributions and anonymous reviewers for valuable suggestions. We are also indebted to Pr. Julian Reynolds, from Trinity College of Dublin (Ireland), for improving the English of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Réserve Naturelle Nationale du Pinail, GEREPI, Moulin de Chitré, 86210, Vouneuil sur Vienne, France

    David Beaune & Yann Sellier

  2. Biogéosciences, UMR 6282, CNRS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, 21000, Dijon, France

    David Beaune

  3. BOREA, Biologie des Organismes et des Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, UMR MNHN-CNRS 7208-UPMC-UCN-UA-IRD 207, Sorbonne Universités, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 75005, Paris, France

    Gilles Luquet

  4. Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, UMR CNRS 7267, Université de Poitiers, Equipe Ecologie, Evolution, Symbiose, 5 rue Albert Turpin, 86000, Poitiers, France

    Frédéric Grandjean

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  1. David Beaune
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  2. Yann Sellier
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  4. Frédéric Grandjean
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Correspondence to David Beaune.

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Beaune, D., Sellier, Y., Luquet, G. et al. Freshwater acidification: an example of an endangered crayfish species sensitive to pH. Hydrobiologia 813, 41–50 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3504-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3504-4

Keywords

  • Global change
  • Acidification
  • Austropotamobius pallipes
  • Decapoda
  • Freshwater
  • Biomineralization
  • Calcification
  • Molting
  • Ponds