Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture
This article summarises the sometimes controversial contributions made by the different sciences to predict the path of ocean acidification impacts on the diversity of coral reefs during the present century. Although the seawater carbonate system has been known for a long time, the understanding of...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:faf245404d624678b1f2abfcf270b292 2023-05-15T17:49:07+02:00 Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture John E. N. Veron 2011-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/d3020262 https://doaj.org/article/faf245404d624678b1f2abfcf270b292 EN eng MDPI AG http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/3/2/262/ https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818 doi:10.3390/d3020262 1424-2818 https://doaj.org/article/faf245404d624678b1f2abfcf270b292 Diversity, Vol 3, Iss 2, Pp 262-274 (2011) ocean acidification coral reefs climate change coral Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2011 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/d3020262 2022-12-30T20:40:38Z This article summarises the sometimes controversial contributions made by the different sciences to predict the path of ocean acidification impacts on the diversity of coral reefs during the present century. Although the seawater carbonate system has been known for a long time, the understanding of acidification impacts on marine biota is in its infancy. Most publications about ocean acidification are less than a decade old and over half are about coral reefs. Contributions from physiological studies, particularly of coral calcification, have covered such a wide spectrum of variables that no cohesive picture of the mechanisms involved has yet emerged. To date, these studies show that coral calcification varies with carbonate ion availability which, in turn controls aragonite saturation. They also reveal synergies between acidification and the better understood role of elevated temperature. Ecological studies are unlikely to reveal much detail except for the observations of the effects of carbon dioxide springs in reefs. Although ocean acidification events are not well constrained in the geological record, recent studies show that they are clearly linked to extinction events including four of the five greatest crises in the history of coral reefs. However, as ocean acidification is now occurring faster than at any know time in the past, future predictions based on past events are in unchartered waters. Pooled evidence to date indicates that ocean acidification will be severely affecting reefs by mid century and will have reduced them to ecologically collapsed carbonate platforms by the century’s end. This review concludes that most impacts will be synergistic and that the primary outcome will be a progressive reduction of species diversity correlated with habitat loss and widespread extinctions in most metazoan phyla. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Diversity 3 2 262 274 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
ocean acidification coral reefs climate change coral Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
ocean acidification coral reefs climate change coral Biology (General) QH301-705.5 John E. N. Veron Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture |
topic_facet |
ocean acidification coral reefs climate change coral Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
This article summarises the sometimes controversial contributions made by the different sciences to predict the path of ocean acidification impacts on the diversity of coral reefs during the present century. Although the seawater carbonate system has been known for a long time, the understanding of acidification impacts on marine biota is in its infancy. Most publications about ocean acidification are less than a decade old and over half are about coral reefs. Contributions from physiological studies, particularly of coral calcification, have covered such a wide spectrum of variables that no cohesive picture of the mechanisms involved has yet emerged. To date, these studies show that coral calcification varies with carbonate ion availability which, in turn controls aragonite saturation. They also reveal synergies between acidification and the better understood role of elevated temperature. Ecological studies are unlikely to reveal much detail except for the observations of the effects of carbon dioxide springs in reefs. Although ocean acidification events are not well constrained in the geological record, recent studies show that they are clearly linked to extinction events including four of the five greatest crises in the history of coral reefs. However, as ocean acidification is now occurring faster than at any know time in the past, future predictions based on past events are in unchartered waters. Pooled evidence to date indicates that ocean acidification will be severely affecting reefs by mid century and will have reduced them to ecologically collapsed carbonate platforms by the century’s end. This review concludes that most impacts will be synergistic and that the primary outcome will be a progressive reduction of species diversity correlated with habitat loss and widespread extinctions in most metazoan phyla. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
John E. N. Veron |
author_facet |
John E. N. Veron |
author_sort |
John E. N. Veron |
title |
Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture |
title_short |
Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture |
title_full |
Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture |
title_fullStr |
Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: An Emerging Big Picture |
title_sort |
ocean acidification and coral reefs: an emerging big picture |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d3020262 https://doaj.org/article/faf245404d624678b1f2abfcf270b292 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Diversity, Vol 3, Iss 2, Pp 262-274 (2011) |
op_relation |
http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/3/2/262/ https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818 doi:10.3390/d3020262 1424-2818 https://doaj.org/article/faf245404d624678b1f2abfcf270b292 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d3020262 |
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Diversity |
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3 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
262 |
op_container_end_page |
274 |
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1766155337870606336 |