Respiration and Calcification of Crassostrea gigas: Contribution of an Intertidal Invasive Species to Coastal Ecosystem CO2 Fluxes

Respiration and calcification rates of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas were measured in a laboratory experiment in the air and underwater, accounting for seasonal variations and individual size, to estimate the effects of this exotic species on annual carbon budgets in the Bay of Brest, France. Respiration and calcification rates changed significantly with season and size. Mean underwater respiration rates, deducted from changes in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), were 11.4 ?mol DIC g?1 ash-free dry weight (AFDW)?h?1 (standard deviation (SD), 4.6) and 32.3 ?mol DIC g?1 AFDW h?1 (SD 4.1) for adults (80-110 mm shell length) and juveniles (30-60 mm), respectively. The mean daily contribution of C. gigas underwater respiration (with 14 h per day of immersion on average) to DIC averaged over the Bay of Brest population was 7.0 mmol DIC m?2 day?1 (SD 8.1). Mean aerial CO2 respiration rate, estimated using an infrared gas analyzer, was 0.7 ?mol CO2?g?1 AFDW h?1 (SD 0.1) for adults and 1.1 ?mol CO2?g?1 AFDW h?1 (SD 0.2) for juveniles, corresponding to a mean daily contribution of 0.4 mmol CO2?m?2 day?1 (SD 0.50) averaged over the Bay of Brest population (with 10 h per day of emersion on average). Mean CaCO3 uptake rates for adults and juveniles were 4.5 ?mol CaCO3?g?1 AFDW h?1 (SD 1.7) and 46.9 ?mol CaCO3?g?1 AFDW h?1 (SD 29.2), respectively. The mean daily contribution of net calcification in the Bay of Brest C. gigas population to CO2 fluxes during immersion was estimated to be 2.5 mmol CO2?m?2 day?1 (SD 2.9). Total carbon release by this C. gigas population was 39 g?C m?2 year?1 and reached 334 g?C m?2 year?1 for densely colonized areas with relative contributions by underwater respiration, net calcification, and aerial respiration of 71%, 25%, and 4%, respectively. These observations emphasize the substantial influence of this invasive species on the carbon cycle, including biogenic carbonate production, in coastal ecosystems.