Paternal heat exposure affects progeny larval development in green-lipped mussels Perna canaliculus

Abstract

The green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus is critically important to the New Zealand aquaculture industry. However, the rise in marine heatwave (MHW) events poses an emerging threat to this industry through summer mortality events. This study investigated the potential for paternally mediated transgenerational plasticity to improve offspring performance under heat stress. We simulated a week-long MHW event, exposing male P. canaliculus broodstock to elevated (22°C) or ambient (17.5°C) temperatures immediately prior to spawning, and evaluated the effects of paternal heat exposure on successful development, size and acute thermal tolerance of their larvae that were also reared under ambient or elevated (20°C) temperatures through to completion of the lecithotrophic trochophore stage. Elevated paternal and larval temperatures both increased incidence of abnormal development, reducing larval yield, while initial D-veliger shell length was predominantly influenced by developmental temperature, with longer shells formed at 20°C. Veligers from heat-exposed fathers raised under 20°C showed a small, but significant, elevation in lethal tolerance 50 (LT50), the temperature at which 50% of the larvae are predicted to die, when exposed to an additional 1 h heat-shock. These results indicate that paternal heat exposure over a relatively short period can influence offspring performance in this species. The paternal exposure investigated showed limited positive effects on offspring thermal tolerance, which may be outweighed by the negative impact on larval development. As MHWs are forecasted to continue accelerating, understanding transgenerational effects of heat stress will be critical for maintaining high-quality hatchery yields through broodstock selection and may inform wild population forecasting models.