Ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants.
Rising atmospheric CO(2) often triggers the production of plant phenolics, including many that serve as herbivore deterrents, digestion reducers, antimicrobials, or ultraviolet sunscreens. Such responses are predicted by popular models of plant defense, especially resource availability models which...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:cd634931003c4d13af3b2cbddb16350a 2023-05-15T17:50:07+02:00 Ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants. Thomas Arnold Christopher Mealey Hannah Leahey A Whitman Miller Jason M Hall-Spencer Marco Milazzo Kelly Maers 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035107 https://doaj.org/article/cd634931003c4d13af3b2cbddb16350a EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3338829?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035107 https://doaj.org/article/cd634931003c4d13af3b2cbddb16350a PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 4, p e35107 (2012) Medicine R Science Q article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035107 2022-12-31T06:07:24Z Rising atmospheric CO(2) often triggers the production of plant phenolics, including many that serve as herbivore deterrents, digestion reducers, antimicrobials, or ultraviolet sunscreens. Such responses are predicted by popular models of plant defense, especially resource availability models which link carbon availability to phenolic biosynthesis. CO(2) availability is also increasing in the oceans, where anthropogenic emissions cause ocean acidification, decreasing seawater pH and shifting the carbonate system towards further CO(2) enrichment. Such conditions tend to increase seagrass productivity but may also increase rates of grazing on these marine plants. Here we show that high CO(2) / low pH conditions of OA decrease, rather than increase, concentrations of phenolic protective substances in seagrasses and eurysaline marine plants. We observed a loss of simple and polymeric phenolics in the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa near a volcanic CO(2) vent on the Island of Vulcano, Italy, where pH values decreased from 8.1 to 7.3 and pCO(2) concentrations increased ten-fold. We observed similar responses in two estuarine species, Ruppia maritima and Potamogeton perfoliatus, in in situ Free-Ocean-Carbon-Enrichment experiments conducted in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, USA. These responses are strikingly different than those exhibited by terrestrial plants. The loss of phenolic substances may explain the higher-than-usual rates of grazing observed near undersea CO(2) vents and suggests that ocean acidification may alter coastal carbon fluxes by affecting rates of decomposition, grazing, and disease. Our observations temper recent predictions that seagrasses would necessarily be "winners" in a high CO(2) world. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLoS ONE 7 4 e35107 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
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language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Thomas Arnold Christopher Mealey Hannah Leahey A Whitman Miller Jason M Hall-Spencer Marco Milazzo Kelly Maers Ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Rising atmospheric CO(2) often triggers the production of plant phenolics, including many that serve as herbivore deterrents, digestion reducers, antimicrobials, or ultraviolet sunscreens. Such responses are predicted by popular models of plant defense, especially resource availability models which link carbon availability to phenolic biosynthesis. CO(2) availability is also increasing in the oceans, where anthropogenic emissions cause ocean acidification, decreasing seawater pH and shifting the carbonate system towards further CO(2) enrichment. Such conditions tend to increase seagrass productivity but may also increase rates of grazing on these marine plants. Here we show that high CO(2) / low pH conditions of OA decrease, rather than increase, concentrations of phenolic protective substances in seagrasses and eurysaline marine plants. We observed a loss of simple and polymeric phenolics in the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa near a volcanic CO(2) vent on the Island of Vulcano, Italy, where pH values decreased from 8.1 to 7.3 and pCO(2) concentrations increased ten-fold. We observed similar responses in two estuarine species, Ruppia maritima and Potamogeton perfoliatus, in in situ Free-Ocean-Carbon-Enrichment experiments conducted in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, USA. These responses are strikingly different than those exhibited by terrestrial plants. The loss of phenolic substances may explain the higher-than-usual rates of grazing observed near undersea CO(2) vents and suggests that ocean acidification may alter coastal carbon fluxes by affecting rates of decomposition, grazing, and disease. Our observations temper recent predictions that seagrasses would necessarily be "winners" in a high CO(2) world. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas Arnold Christopher Mealey Hannah Leahey A Whitman Miller Jason M Hall-Spencer Marco Milazzo Kelly Maers |
author_facet |
Thomas Arnold Christopher Mealey Hannah Leahey A Whitman Miller Jason M Hall-Spencer Marco Milazzo Kelly Maers |
author_sort |
Thomas Arnold |
title |
Ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants. |
title_short |
Ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants. |
title_full |
Ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants. |
title_fullStr |
Ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants. |
title_sort |
ocean acidification and the loss of phenolic substances in marine plants. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035107 https://doaj.org/article/cd634931003c4d13af3b2cbddb16350a |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 4, p e35107 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3338829?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035107 https://doaj.org/article/cd634931003c4d13af3b2cbddb16350a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035107 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
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7 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
e35107 |
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