Meta-analyses reveal climate change impacts on an ecologically and economically significant oyster in Australia

Global oceans are warming and acidifying because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions that are anticipated to have cascading impacts on marine ecosystems and organisms, especially those essential for biodiversity and food security. Despite this concern, there remains some skepticism about the reproducibility and reliability of research done to predict future climate change impacts on marine organisms. Here, we present meta-analyses of over two decades of research on the climate change impacts on an ecologically and economically valuable Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata. We confirm with high confidence that ocean acidification (OA) has a significant impact on the size and mortality of offspring of S. glomerata, ocean warming (OW) impacts size, and transgenerational exposure of adults to OA has positive benefits for offspring. These meta-analyses reveal gaps in understanding of OW and transgenerational plasticity on an ecologically and economically significant oyster species to ensure sustainability of this iconic oyster in Australia. [Display omitted] •Meta-analyses indicate significant ocean acidification (OA) and warming (OW) impacts•OA and OW negatively impact the offspring size and mortality of Saccostrea glomerata•Transgenerational plasticity (TGP) to OA positively benefits offspring size•Research gaps include presence and persistence of TGP response to OA and OW Molluscum; Environmental science; Aquatic science; Aquaculture