Increasing atmospheric CO2 can decrease the seawater pH and carbonate ions, which may adversely affect the larval survival of calcareous animals. In this study, we simulated future atmospheric CO2 concentrations (800, 1500, 2000 and 3000 $μ$atm) and examined the effects of ocean acidification on the embryonic and larval stage of an infaunal clam Paphia undulate. Significant decrease of hatching of P.
Ocean acidification is expected to negatively impact many calcifying marine organisms by impairing their ability to build their protective shells and skeletons, and by causing dissolution and erosion. Here we investigated the large predatory “triton shell” gastropod Charonia lampas in acidified conditions near CO2 seeps off Shikine-jima (Japan) and compared them with individuals from an adjacent bay with seawater pH at present-day levels (outside the influence of the CO2 seep).
The pteropod Limacina helicina frequently experiences seasonal exposure to corrosive conditions ($Ømega$ar \textless 1) along the US West Coast and is recognized as one of the species most susceptible to ocean acidification (OA). Yet, little is known about their capacity to acclimatize to such conditions. We collected pteropods in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) that differed in the severity of exposure to $Ømega$ar conditions in the natural environment.
As the ocean undergoes acidification, marine organisms will become increasingly exposed to reduced pH, yet variability in many coastal settings complicates our ability to accurately estimate pH exposure for those organisms that are difficult to track. Here we present larval shell-based geochemical proxies that reflect pH exposure from laboratory and field settings in larvae of the mussels Mytilus californianus and M. galloprovincialis. Laboratory-based proxies were generated from shells precipitated at pH 7.51 to 8.04.
We tested the sensitivity of the vertical distributions and shell dissolution patterns of thecosome pteropods to spatial gradients associated with an eddy-associated front in the southern California Current System. The aragonite saturation horizon ($Ømega$arag = 1.0) shoaled from \textgreater200 to \textless75 m depth across the front. The vertical distribution of thecosome pteropods tracked these changes, with all 5 species showing reduced occurrence at depths below 100 m where waters were less saturated with respect to aragonite.
By the end of this century, anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are expected to decrease the surface ocean pH by as much as 0.3 unit. At the same time, the ocean is expected to warm with an associated expansion of the oxygen minimum layer (OML). Thus, there is a growing demand to understand the response of the marine biota to these global changes. We show that ocean acidification will substantially depress metabolic rates (31%) and activity levels (45%) in the jumbo squid, Dosidicus gigas, a top predator in the Eastern Pacific. This effect is exacerbated by high temperature.