Effects of Estuarine Acidification on an Oyster-Associated Community in New South Wales, Australia

ABSTRACT Many of the features that make estuaries among the most productive natural systems on earth also make them prone to acidification. Understanding the effects of estuarine acidification on different components of an ecological community is an important step in identifying indicators of ecosystem degradation. This study examined the impact of estuarine acidification, as a result of acid sulfate soil runoff, on wild Sydney rock oysters Saccostrea glomerata and their associated epifaunal communities in estuaries experiencing acid sulfate soil runoff in New South Wales, Australia. The responses of oysters and their invertebrate epifaunal communities to chronic acidification (greater than 6 mo; represented by oyster source site conditions) were assessed by examining the differences in oyster communities associated with moderate acidification (3.5 km from the source of acidification) or low acidification (8.2 km from the source). Oysters from moderate- or low-acidification sites were transplanted to a si...