Data from: Brood chamber carbonate chemistry is dynamically shaped by warming, acidification, and maternal ventilation in the brooding oyster Ostrea edulis
Data files
Jul 29, 2026 version files 38.64 MB
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1._Treatments_1_4_FINAL.csv
38.64 MB
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README.md
4.26 KB
Abstract
Brooding organisms can modify the chemical environment experienced by developing offspring, potentially altering their exposure to climate change. In marine systems, however, the carbonate chemistry of brood chambers, and the mechanisms governing it, remain poorly resolved. Here, we combine high- resolution measurements of brood chamber pH, CO2, and valve gape in the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) to quantify how warming, ocean acidification, and maternal ventilation interact to shape the internal environment experienced by brooded larvae. Brood chamber pH was consistently lower than that of the surrounding seawater and responded to external conditions in a state- dependent manner governed by maternal ventilation and respiration. When oysters were actively ventilating, brood chamber chemistry tracked ambient seawater with a persistent offset, whereas valve closure led to rapid CO2 accumulation and pronounced declines in pH. These dynamics generated highly variable and behaviorally mediated exposure regimes, in which metabolic processes distorted ambient chemical signals over short timescales. Paired pH and CO2 measurements provided preliminary constraints on aragonite saturation state (Ωₐᵣ), revealing that undersaturated conditions (Ωₐᵣ < 1) can occur within brood chambers even when overlying seawater remains favorable. Together, these results demonstrate that brood chambers function as dynamic microenvironments in which larval exposure to ocean acidification is governed not only by external conditions, but also by maternal behavior. Because warming enhances metabolic CO2 production and intensifies acidification within the chamber, future climate change is likely to amplify both the magnitude and variability of larval exposure. These findings help explain the apparent resilience of brooding species to ocean acidification, while also highlighting potential limits as environmental conditions move beyond historical bounds.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.cvdncjtkh
Description of the data and file structure
This dataset contains the raw observational data supporting the study "Brood Chamber Carbonate Chemistry Is Dynamically Shaped by Warming, Acidification, and Maternal Ventilation in the Brooding Oyster Ostrea edulis" (Gray et al., 2026, Global Change Biology). The data were collected from controlled laboratory experiments conducted at Tjärnö Marine Laboratory (Strömstad, Sweden) between October 2024 and February 2025.
Files and variables
File: 1._Treatments_1_4_FINAL.csv
Description: This file contains the complete raw observational dataset collected during laboratory experiments investigating brood chamber pH in the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) under controlled temperature and seawater pH conditions. Measurements were recorded approximately once per second during individual experimental trials.
The dataset includes observations from the following experimental treatments:
- Treatment 1: Ambient temperature (18°C), ambient seawater pH.
- Treatment 2: Elevated temperature (23°C), ambient seawater pH.
- Treatment 3: Ambient temperature (18°C), reduced seawater pH (~7.5).
- Treatment 4: Elevated temperature (23°C), reduced seawater pH (~7.5).
- Treatment 1.1: Oysters experimentally forced into prolonged valve closure to quantify brood chamber acidification during isolation from ambient seawater.
Each row represents a single observation collected during an individual experimental trial.
Variables
- Trial: Experimental trial identification number.
- Treatment: Experimental treatment (1–4; see treatment definitions above).
- Date: Date on which the experiment was conducted (MM/DD/YY).
- Time: Time of day when the observation was recorded (HH:MM:SS).
- T_Time: Elapsed time since the beginning of the trial (seconds).
- Frame: Video frame number corresponding to the synchronized valve gape measurements.
- Brood_Chamber_pH: pH measured inside the oyster brood chamber using a microelectrode (NBS scale).
- Ambient_pH: pH of the surrounding experimental seawater (NBS scale).
- Temp_C: Temperature of the experimental seawater (°C).
- Oyster_ID: Unique identification number assigned to each oyster.
- Size_mm: Shell height of the oyster (mm).
- Shell_Gape_mm: Distance between shell valves estimated from synchronized video using the TrackMate plugin in FIJI/ImageJ (mm).
- Oyster_Closed: Indicates whether the oyster was classified as closed ("Yes") or open ("No") at the time of the observation.
Missing Values
Missing values are recorded as NA.
NA values indicate that a measurement was unavailable or could not be reliably obtained for that observation (for example, valve gape could not be determined from the synchronized video).
Code/software
The deposited data file is a comma-separated values file (.csv) and can be opened in any spreadsheet program or text editor, including Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc, or plain text editors. No code or scripts are included with this submission. In the associated study, the raw observations were processed and analyzed in R, and valve gape measurements were derived from synchronized video using FIJI/ImageJ with the TrackMate plugin. No special software is required to view the deposited file beyond a CSV-compatible viewer.
Access information
The data in this repository are the original observations collected by the authors and are not derived from any previously published datasets. No additional external datasets are required to interpret or use these data. The associated publication is:
Gray, M., Van Acker, L., Carmele-Rescant, D., Havenhand, J., Kinnby, A., & De Wit, P. (2026). Brood Chamber Carbonate Chemistry Is Dynamically Shaped by Warming, Acidification, and Maternal Ventilation in the Brooding Oyster Ostrea edulis. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.71007