Vulnerability of marine biodiversity to ocean acidification: A meta-analysis
The ocean captures a large part of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. As a result of the increase in CO2 partial pressure the ocean pH is lowered as compared to pre-industrial times and a further decline is expected. Ocean acidification has been proposed to pose a major thre...
| Published in: | Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Academic Press
2010
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/60426 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2009.11.022 |
| Summary: | The ocean captures a large part of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. As a result of the increase in CO2 partial pressure the ocean pH is lowered as compared to pre-industrial times and a further decline is expected. Ocean acidification has been proposed to pose a major threat for marine organisms, particularly shell-forming and calcifying organisms. Here we show, on the basis of meta-analysis of available experimental assessments, differences in organism responses to elevated pCO2 and propose that marine biota may be more resistant to ocean acidification than expected. Calcification is most sensitive to ocean acidification while it is questionable if marine functional diversity is impacted significantly along the ranges of acidification predicted for the 21st century. Active biological processes and small-scale temporal and spatial variability in ocean pH may render marine biota far more resistant to ocean acidification than hitherto believed. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is a contribution to the ATP and Malaspina-2010 projects, funded by the CE (contract number FP7- 226248) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, respectively. M.A. was funded from grant RYC-2006-001836 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology. Peer Reviewed |
|---|