Elevated CO2 Enhances Otolith Growth in Young Fish (Supplementary Data)

A large fraction of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by human activity enters the sea, causing ocean acidification. We show that otoliths (aragonitic ear bones) of young fish grown under high CO2 (low pH) conditions are larger than normal, contrary to expectation. We hypothesize that CO2 m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Checkley, David M Jr., Dickson, Andrew G, Takahashi, Motomitsu, Radich, J Adam, Eisenkolb, Nadine, Asch, Rebecca
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: eScholarship, University of California 2009
Subjects:
Ocean acidification
Online Access:http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/9g05d19w
Description
Summary:A large fraction of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by human activity enters the sea, causing ocean acidification. We show that otoliths (aragonitic ear bones) of young fish grown under high CO2 (low pH) conditions are larger than normal, contrary to expectation. We hypothesize that CO2 moves freely through the epithelium around the otoliths in young fish, accelerating otolith growth while the local pH is controlled. This is the converse of the effect reported for structural biominerals.

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