Over the past 50 years, the oceans have absorbed over 90% of global warming heat, leading to warming, acidification and declining oxygen levels that are disrupting marine ecosystems and altering species distributions and productivity. The vulnerability of marine organisms to these changes depends on their biological traits, habitat conditions and adaptive capacity, influencing their growth, behaviour and overall population health. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) has been previously used for studying the morphological traits of marine invertebrates, which provide important insights into species functionality and responses to climate change and ocean acidification. Micro-CT enables non-destructive, high-resolution 3D analysis of internal and external structures, allowing precise measurement of traits such as density, porosity and morphology that are valuable for climate change research. The present manuscript describes micro-CT imaging datasets generated to investigate the effects of climate change on the morphological structure of two benthic marine invertebrates: the low-motility gastropod Hexaplex trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758) and the sessile sponge Chondrilla nucula Schmidt, 1862. Both species are considered particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors. To date, no study has investigated the effects of ocean warming and acidification on sponges using micro-CT technology. Using a common garden experimental design, individuals from geographically distinct populations exposed to different natural environmental regimes were subjected to combined warming and acidification scenarios to assess their morphological responses and adaptive capacity.
Chatzinikolaou et al. (Tue,) studied this question.