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Research papers on Ocean acidification

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  1. Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

    Ove Hoegh‐Guldberg, Peter J. Mumby, Anthony J. Hooten, et al. · 2007 · Science · 5,962 citations

    Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is expected to exceed 500 parts per million and global temperatures to rise by at least 2 degrees C by 2050 to 2100, values that significantly exceed those of at least the past 420,000 years during which most extant marine organisms evolved. Under conditions expected in the 21st century, global warming and ocean acidification will compromise carbonate accretion, with corals becoming increasingly rare on reef systems. The result will be less diverse reef communities and carbonate reef structures that fail to be maintained. Climate change also exacerbates local stresses from declining water quality and overexploitation of key species, driving reefs incr

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  3. Ocean Acidification: The Other CO 2 Problem

    Scott C. Doney, Victoria J. Fabry, Richard A. Feely, et al. · 2008 · Annual Review of Marine Science · 4,266 citations

    Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), primarily from human fossil fuel combustion, reduces ocean pH and causes wholesale shifts in seawater carbonate chemistry. The process of ocean acidification is well documented in field data, and the rate will accelerate over this century unless future CO2 emissions are curbed dramatically. Acidification alters seawater chemical speciation and biogeochemical cycles of many elements and compounds. One well-known effect is the lowering of calcium carbonate saturation states, which impacts shell-forming marine organisms from plankton to benthic molluscs, echinoderms, and corals. Many calcifying species exhibit reduced calcification and growth rates in la

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  4. Climate Change Impacts on Marine Ecosystems

    Scott C. Doney, Mary Ruckelshaus, J. Emmett Duffy, et al. · 2011 · Annual Review of Marine Science · 3,025 citations

    In marine ecosystems, rising atmospheric CO2 and climate change are associated with concurrent shifts in temperature, circulation, stratification, nutrient input, oxygen content, and ocean acidification, with potentially wide-ranging biological effects. Population-level shifts are occurring because of physiological intolerance to new environments, altered dispersal patterns, and changes in species interactions. Together with local climate-driven invasion and extinction, these processes result in altered community structure and diversity, including possible emergence of novel ecosystems. Impacts are particularly striking for the poles and the tropics, because of the sensitivity of polar ecosy

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  5. Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes

    Victoria J. Fabry, Brad A. Seibel, Richard A. Feely, et al. · 2008 · ICES Journal of Marine Science · 2,099 citations

    Abstract Fabry, V. J., Seibel, B. A., Feely, R. A., and Orr, J. C. 2008. Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 414–432. Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) is altering the seawater chemistry of the world’s oceans with consequences for marine biota. Elevated partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) is causing the calcium carbonate saturation horizon to shoal in many regions, particularly in high latitudes and regions that intersect with pronounced hypoxic zones. The ability of marine animals, most importantly pteropod molluscs, foraminifera, and some benthic invertebrates, to produce calcareous skeletal structures

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  6. Meta‐analysis reveals negative yet variable effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms

    Kristy J. Kroeker, Rebecca L. Kordas, Ryan Crim, et al. · 2010 · Ecology Letters · 1,660 citations

    Ocean acidification is a pervasive stressor that could affect many marine organisms and cause profound ecological shifts. A variety of biological responses to ocean acidification have been measured across a range of taxa, but this information exists as case studies and has not been synthesized into meaningful comparisons amongst response variables and functional groups. We used meta-analytic techniques to explore the biological responses to ocean acidification, and found negative effects on survival, calcification, growth and reproduction. However, there was significant variation in the sensitivity of marine organisms. Calcifying organisms generally exhibited larger negative responses than n

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  8. Ocean Acidification and Its Potential Effects on Marine Ecosystems

    John Guinotte, Victoria J. Fabry · 2008 · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 710 citations

    Ocean acidification is rapidly changing the carbonate system of the world oceans. Past mass extinction events have been linked to ocean acidification, and the current rate of change in seawater chemistry is unprecedented. Evidence suggests that these changes will have significant consequences for marine taxa, particularly those that build skeletons, shells, and tests of biogenic calcium carbonate. Potential changes in species distributions and abundances could propagate through multiple trophic levels of marine food webs, though research into the long-term ecosystem impacts of ocean acidification is in its infancy. This review attempts to provide a general synthesis of known and/or hypothesi

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  9. The Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Ecosystems and Reliant Human Communities

    S. Doney, D. Busch, Sarah R. Cooley, et al. · 2020 · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · 697 citations

    Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, from fossil fuel combustion and deforestation, along with agriculture and land-use practices are causing wholesale increases in seawater CO2and inorganic carbon levels; reductions in pH; and alterations in acid-base chemistry of estuarine, coastal, and surface open-ocean waters. On the basis of laboratory experiments and field studies of naturally elevated CO2marine environments, widespread biological impacts of human-driven ocean acidification have been posited, ranging from changes in organism physiology and population dynamics to altered communities and ecosystems. Acidification, in conjunction with other climate change–related environmental

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  10. The Effect of Ocean Acidification on Calcifying Organisms in Marine Ecosystems: An Organism-to-Ecosystem Perspective

    Gretchen E. Hofmann, James Barry, Peter J. Edmunds, et al. · 2010 · Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics · 547 citations

    Ocean acidification (OA), a consequence of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, poses a serious threat to marine organisms in tropical, open-ocean, coastal, deep-sea, and high-latitude sea ecosystems. The diversity of taxonomic groups that precipitate calcium carbonate from seawater are at particularly high risk. Here we review the rapidly expanding literature concerning the biological and ecological impacts of OA on calcification, using a cross-scale, process-oriented approach. In comparison to calcification, we find that areas such as fertilization, early life-history stages, and interaction with synergistic stressors are understudied. Although understanding the long-term consequences o

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  11. Divergent ecosystem responses within a benthic marine community to ocean acidification

    Kristy J. Kroeker, Fiorenza Micheli, María Cristina Gambi, et al. · 2011 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 361 citations

    Ocean acidification is predicted to impact all areas of the oceans and affect a diversity of marine organisms. However, the diversity of responses among species prevents clear predictions about the impact of acidification at the ecosystem level. Here, we used shallow water CO(2) vents in the Mediterranean Sea as a model system to examine emergent ecosystem responses to ocean acidification in rocky reef communities. We assessed in situ benthic invertebrate communities in three distinct pH zones (ambient, low, and extreme low), which differed in both the mean and variability of seawater pH along a continuous gradient. We found fewer taxa, reduced taxonomic evenness, and lower biomass in the ex

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  12. Hypoxia and acidification in ocean ecosystems: coupled dynamics and effects on marine life

    Christopher J. Gobler, Hannes Baumann · 2016 · Biology Letters · 360 citations

    There is increasing recognition that low dissolved oxygen (DO) and low pH conditions co-occur in many coastal and open ocean environments. Within temperate ecosystems, these conditions not only develop seasonally as temperatures rise and metabolic rates accelerate, but can also display strong diurnal variability, especially in shallow systems where photosynthetic rates ameliorate hypoxia and acidification by day. Despite the widespread, global co-occurrence of low pH and low DO and the likelihood that these conditions may negatively impact marine life, very few studies have actually assessed the extent to which the combination of both stressors elicits additive, synergistic or antagonistic e

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  13. Effects of Ocean Acidification on Temperate Coastal Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries in the Northeast Pacific

    R. Haigh, D. Ianson, C. Holt, et al. · 2015 · PLoS ONE · 131 citations

    As the oceans absorb anthropogenic CO2 they become more acidic, a problem termed ocean acidification (OA). Since this increase in CO2 is occurring rapidly, OA may have profound implications for marine ecosystems. In the temperate northeast Pacific, fisheries play key economic and cultural roles and provide significant employment, especially in rural areas. In British Columbia (BC), sport (recreational) fishing generates more income than commercial fishing (including the expanding aquaculture industry). Salmon (fished recreationally and farmed) and Pacific Halibut are responsible for the majority of fishery-related income. This region naturally has relatively acidic (low pH) waters due to oce

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  14. Reviews and Syntheses: Ocean acidification and its potential impacts on marine ecosystems

    K. M. Mostofa, Cong-Qiang Liu, W. Zhai, et al. · 2015 · Biogeosciences · 122 citations

    Abstract. Ocean acidification, a complex phenomenon that lowers seawater pH, is the net outcome of several contributions. They include the dissolution of increasing atmospheric CO2 that adds up with dissolved inorganic carbon (dissolved CO2, H2CO3, HCO3−, and CO32−) generated upon mineralization of primary producers (PP) and dissolved organic matter (DOM). The aquatic processes leading to inorganic carbon are substantially affected by increased DOM and nutrients via terrestrial runoff, acidic rainfall, increased PP and algal blooms, nitrification, denitrification, sulfate reduction, global warming (GW), and by atmospheric CO2 itself through enhanced photosynthesis. They are consecutively ass

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  15. The Carbon Dioxide Vents of Ischia, Italy, A Natural System to Assess Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Ecosystems: An Overview of Research and Comparisons with Other Vent Systems

    S. Foo, M. Byrne, Elena Ricevuto, et al. · 2018 · Oceanography and Marine Biology · 89 citations

    As the ocean continues to take up carbon dioxide (CO2), it is difficult to predict the future of marine ecosystems. Natural CO2 vent sites, mainly of volcanic origin, that provide a pH gradient are useful as a proxy to investigate ecological effects of ocean acidification. The effects of decreased pH can be assessed at increasing levels of organisation, from the responses of individuals of a species up through populations and communities to whole ecosystems. As a natural laboratory, CO2 vent sites incorporate a range of environmental factors, such as gradients of nutrients, currents and species interactions that cannot be replicated in the laboratory or mesocosms, with the caveat that some v

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  16. Ocean Futures Under Ocean Acidification, Marine Protection, and Changing Fishing Pressures Explored Using a Worldwide Suite of Ecosystem Models

    E. Olsen, I. Kaplan, C. Ainsworth, et al. · 2018 · Frontiers in Marine Science · 65 citations

    Ecosystem-based management (EBM) of the ocean considers all impacts on and uses of marine and coastal systems. In recent years, there has been a heightened interest in EBM tools that allow testing of alternative management options and help identify tradeoffs among human uses. End-to-end ecosystem modelling frameworks that consider a wide range of management options are a means to provide integrated solutions to the complex ocean management problems encountered in EBM. Here, we leverage the global advances in ecosystem modelling to explore common opportunities and challenges for ecosystem-based management, including changes in ocean acidification, spatial management, and fishing pressure acro

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  17. Simplification, not “tropicalization”, of temperate marine ecosystems under ocean warming and acidification

    S. Agostini, Ben P. Harvey, M. Milazzo, et al. · 2021 · Global Change Biology · 55 citations

    Ocean warming is altering the biogeographical distribution of marine organisms. In the tropics, rising sea surface temperatures are restructuring coral reef communities with sensitive species being lost. At the biogeographical divide between temperate and tropical communities, warming is causing macroalgal forest loss and the spread of tropical corals, fishes and other species, termed “tropicalization”. A lack of field research into the combined effects of warming and ocean acidification means there is a gap in our ability to understand and plan for changes in coastal ecosystems. Here, we focus on the tropicalization trajectory of temperate marine ecosystems becoming coral‐dominated systems.

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  18. Hidden impacts of ocean warming and acidification on biological responses of marine animals revealed through meta-analysis

    K. Alter, J. Jacquemont, J. Claudet, et al. · 2024 · Nature Communications · 55 citations

    Conflicting results remain on the impacts of climate change on marine organisms, hindering our capacity to predict the future state of marine ecosystems. To account for species-specific responses and for the ambiguous relation of most metrics to fitness, we develop a meta-analytical approach based on the deviation of responses from reference values (absolute change) to complement meta-analyses of directional (relative) changes in responses. Using this approach, we evaluate responses of fish and invertebrates to warming and acidification. We find that climate drivers induce directional changes in calcification, survival, and metabolism, and significant deviations in twice as many biological r

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  19. The challenges of detecting and attributing ocean acidification impacts on marine ecosystems

    S. Doo, A. Kealoha, A. Andersson, et al. · 2020 · Ices Journal of Marine Science · 44 citations

    Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA Geoecology and Carbonate Sedimentology Group, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Bremen, Germany Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Hawai’i, Maui College, HI, USA Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA Marine Laboratory and Biology Department, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, USA Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti

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  21. Upwelling Amplifies Ocean Acidification on the East Australian Shelf: Implications for Marine Ecosystems

    K. Schulz, Simon Hartley, B. Eyre · 2019 · Frontiers in Marine Science · 34 citations

    Frequent upwelling of cold deep water rich in dissolved inorganic nutrients but low in oxygen concentrations and pH is well documented in so-called Eastern-boundary systems. As a consequence vast areas of the continental shelf can turn corrosive to the mineral aragonite, vital to a number of marine organisms. This phenomenon is projected to become more severe with ongoing ocean acidification. Although upwelling is also known to occur in Western-boundary systems, the impact on present day aragonite saturation state (Ω arag ) is virtually unknown, let alone for the decades to come. Here we identified 37 events during 18 weeks of continuous measurements in Cape Byron Marine Park, Australia, by

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  22. Impact of Ocean Acidification on Ecosystem Functioning and Services in Habitat-Forming Species and Marine Ecosystems

    Serena Zunino, S. Libralato, Donata Melaku Canu, et al. · 2021 · Ecosystems · 29 citations

    Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to impact habitat-forming species (HFS), with cascading effects on the whole marine ecosystem and related services that are seldom quantified. Here, the changes in HFSs biomass due to OA are modeled using a food web ecosystem model, and the trophic and non-trophic cascading effects on the marine community are investigated. The food web model represents a well-studied coastal marine protected area in the NW Mediterranean Sea where coralligenous reefs and Posidonia oceanica meadows constitute important HFS. The model is used to implement 5 scenarios of habitat degradation, that is, reduction of HFS biomass, induced by increasing OA and to quantify the poten

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  24. Characterization factors for ocean acidification impacts on marine biodiversity

    L. Scherer, İrem Gürdal, P. V. van Bodegom · 2022 · Journal of Industrial Ecology · 20 citations

    Rising greenhouse gas emissions do not only accelerate climate change but also make the ocean more acidic. This applies above all to carbon dioxide (CO2). Lower ocean pH levels threaten marine ecosystems and especially strongly calcifying species. Impacts on marine ecosystem quality are currently underrepresented in life cycle assessments (LCAs). Here, we developed characterization factors for the life cycle impact assessment of ocean acidification. Our main contribution was developing new species sensitivity distributions (SSDs), from which we derived effect factors for different impact perspectives: Marginal, linear, and average changes for both the past and four future emission scenarios

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