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.
The global acidification of the earth's oceans is predicted to impact biodiversity via physiological effects impacting growth, survival, reproduction, and immunology, leading to changes in species abundances and global distributions. However, the degree to which these changes will play out critically depends on the evolutionary rate at which populations will respond to natural selection imposed by ocean acidification, which remains largely unquantified.
Variation in rates of herbivory may be driven by direct effects of the abiotic environment on grazers, as well as indirect effects mediated by their food. Disentangling these direct and indirect effects is of fundamental importance for ecological forecasts of changing climate on species interactions and their influence on biogenic habitat. Whilst elevated atmospheric CO2 may have direct effects on grazers with calcareous structures via ‘ocean acidification', it may also have indirect effects via changes caused to their food.
Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide results in a decrease in seawater pH, a process known as “ocean acidification”. The pearl oyster Pinctada fucata, the noble scallop Chlamys nobilis, and the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis are species of economic and ecological importance along the southern coast of China. We evaluated the effects of seawater acidification on clearance, respiration, and excretion rates in these three species. The ammals were reared in seawater at pH 8.1 (control), 7.7, or 7.4. The clearance rate was highest at pH 7.7 for P. fucata and at pH 8.1 for C.
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.
The ecological effects of ocean acidification (OA) from rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) on benthic marine communities are largely unknown. We investigated in situ the consequences of long-term exposure to high CO2 on coral-reef-associated macroinvertebrate communities around three shallow volcanic CO2 seeps in Papua New Guinea. The densities of many groups and the number of taxa (classes and phyla) of macroinvertebrates were significantly reduced at elevated CO2 (425–1100 µatm) compared with control sites.
There is growing concern that global environmental change might exacerbate the ecological impacts of invasive species by increasing their per capita effects on native species. However, the mechanisms underlying such shifts in interaction strength are poorly understood. Here, we test whether ocean acidification, driven by elevated seawater pCO2, increases the susceptibility of native Olympia oysters to predation by invasive snails. Oysters raised under elevated pCO2 experienced a 20% increase in drilling predation.
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.
It has been suggested that climate change may promote the outbreaks of diseases in the sea through altering the host susceptibility, the pathogen virulence, and the host-pathogen interaction. However, the impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on the pathogen components of bacterial community and the host-pathogen interaction of marine bivalves are still poorly understood.
Biomaterials connect organisms to their environments. Their function depends on biological, chemical and environmental factors, both at the time of creation and throughout the life of the material. Shifts in the chemistry of the oceans driven by anthropogenic CO2 (termed ocean acidification) have profound implications for the function of critical materials formed under these altered conditions.
Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations are causing ocean acidification by reducing seawater pH and carbonate saturation levels. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that many larval and juvenile marine invertebrates are vulnerable to these changes in surface ocean chemistry, but challenges remain in predicting effects at community and ecosystem levels. We investigated the effect of ocean acidification on invertebrate recruitment at two coral reef CO2 seeps in Papua New Guinea.