Stress tolerance of a subtropical Crassostrea virginica population to the combined effects of temperature and salinity

The combination of salinity and temperature has synergistic effects on virtually all aspects of the biology of estuarine organisms. Of interest were site-specific characteristics in the response of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, from the St. Lucie River Estuary to the interactive effects of temperature and salinity. This estuary, one of the largest on the central east coast of Florida, is strongly influenced by anthropogenic modifications due to management needs to control the patterns of freshwater flow in the St. Lucie River watershed. Crassostrea virginica is designated a valued ecosystem component for monitoring the health of this estuary. Our approach used a multidimensional response surface design to study the effects of temperature and salinity on sublethal measures of oyster performance: (1) body condition index as an overall indicator of bioenergetic status and (2) the RNA/DNA ratio as a biochemical indicator of cellular stress. The results showed that there was a greater ability to withstand extreme salinity conditions at lower temperatures. However, there were no site-specific attributes that differentiated the response of the St. Lucie Estuary population from populations along the distribution range. Condition index was a less variable response than the RNA/DNA ratio, and the final models for mean condition index and the RNA/DNA ratios explained 77.3 and 35.8% of the respective variances.