The marine organisms which inhabit the coastline are exposed to a number of anthropogenic pressures that may interact. For instance, the accumulation of toxic metals present in coastal waters is expected to be modified by ocean acidification through e.g. changes in physiological performance and/or elements availability. Changes in bioaccumulation due to lowering pH are likely to be differently affected depending on the nature (essential vs. non-essential) and speciation of each element. The Mediterranean is of high concern for possible cumulative effects due to strong human influences on the coastline.The aim of this study was to determine the effect of ocean acidification (from pH 8.1 down to −1.0 pH units) on the incorporation kinetics of six trace metals (Mn, Co, Zn, Se, Ag, Cd, Cs) and one radionuclide (241Am) in the larvae of an economically- and ecologically-relevant sea urchin of the Mediterranean coastline: Paracentrotus lividus. The radiolabelled metals and radionuclides added in trace concentrations allowed precise tracing of their incorporation in larvae during the first 74 h of their development.Independently of the expected indirect effect of pH on larval size/developmental rates, Paracentrotus lividus larvae exposed to decreasing pHs incorporated significantly more Mn and Ag and slightly less Cd. The incorporation of Co, Cs and 241Am was unchanged, and Zn and Se exhibited complex incorporation behaviors. Studies such as this are necessary prerequisites to the implementation of metal toxicity mitigation policies for the future ocean. We discuss possible reasons and mechanisms for the specific effect of pH on each metals.

In order to allow full comparability with other ocean acidification data sets, the R package seacarb (Gattuso et al, 2016) was used to compute a complete and consistent set of carbonate system variables, as described by Nisumaa et al. (2010). In this dataset the original values were archived in addition with the recalculated parameters (see related PI). The date of carbonate chemistry calculation by seacarb is 2019-03-21.

Supplement to: Dorey, Narimane; Martin, Sophie; Oberhänsli, F; Teyssié, Jean-Louis; Jeffree, Ross; Lacoue-Labarthe, Thomas (2018): Ocean acidification modulates the incorporation of radio-labeled heavy metals in the larvae of the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 190-191, 20-30