Experiments on ocean acidification effects on mussel calcification ...

• Main Authors: Wahl, Martin, Schneider Covachã, Sabrina, Saderne, Vincent, Hiebenthal, Claas, Müller, Jens Daniel, Pansch, Christian, Sawall, Yvonne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2020
• Subjects: Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.911128; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.911128

Ocean acidification (OA) is generally assumed to negatively impact calcification rates of marine organisms. At a local scale however, biological activity of macrophytes may generate pH fluctuations with rates of change that are orders of magnitude larger than the long-term trend predicted for the open ocean. These fluctuations may in turn impact benthic calcifiers in the vicinity. Combining laboratory, mesocosm and field studies, such interactions between OA, the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus, the sea grass Zostera marina and the blue mussel Mytilus edulis were investigated at spatial scales from decimetres to 100s of meters in the western Baltic. Macrophytes increased the overall mean pH of the habitat by up to 0.3 units relative to macrophyte- free, but otherwise similar, habitats and imposed diurnal pH fluctuations with amplitudes ranging from 0.3 to more than 1 pH unit. These amplitudes and their impact on mussel calcification tended to increase with increasing macrophyte biomass to bulk water ratio. At ... : Supplement to: Wahl, Martin; Schneider Covachã, Sabrina; Saderne, Vincent; Hiebenthal, Claas; Müller, Jens Daniel; Pansch, Christian; Sawall, Yvonne (2018): Macroalgae may mitigate ocean acidification effects on mussel calcification by increasing pH and its fluctuations. Limnology and Oceanography, 63(1), 3-21 ...