The Effect of Ocean Acidification on Calcifying Organisms in Marine Ecosystems: An Organism-to-Ecosystem Perspective

Ocean acidification (OA), a consequence of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, poses a serious threat to marine organisms in tropical, openocean, coastal, deep-sea, and high-latitude sea ecosystems. The diversity of taxonomic groups that precipitate calcium carbonate from seawater are at particu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
Main Authors: Hofmann, GE, Barry, JP, Edmunds, PJ, Gates, RD, Hutchins, DA, Klinger, T, Sewell, MA
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: ANNUAL REVIEWS 2010
Subjects:
acclimation
adaptation
calcification
carbon dioxide
climate change
synergistic stressors
COCCOLITHOPHORID EMILIANIA-HUXLEYI
CARBON-DIOXIDE CONCENTRATIONS
RAPID CLIMATE-CHANGE
DEEP-SEA
CORAL-REEF
SOUTHERN-OCEAN
SEAWATER ACIDIFICATION
PLANKTONIC-FORAMINIFERA
REDUCED CALCIFICATION
FERTILIZATION SUCCESS
Southern Ocean
Ocean acidification
Planktonic foraminifera
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2292/11742
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120227
Description
Summary:Ocean acidification (OA), a consequence of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, poses a serious threat to marine organisms in tropical, openocean, coastal, deep-sea, and high-latitude sea ecosystems. The diversity of taxonomic groups that precipitate calcium carbonate from seawater are at particularly high risk. Here we review the rapidly expanding literature concerning the biological and ecological impacts of OA on calcification, using a cross-scale, process-oriented approach. In comparison to calcification, we find that areas such as fertilization, early life-history stages, and interaction with synergistic stressors are understudied. Although understanding the long-term consequences ofOAare critical, available studies are largely shortterm experiments that do not allow for tests of long-term acclimatization or adaptation. Future research on the phenotypic plasticity of contemporary organisms and interpretations of performance in the context of current environmental heterogeneity of pCO2 will greatly aid in our understanding of how organisms will respond to OA in the future.

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