Ocean acidification increases the accumulation of toxic phenolic compounds across trophic levels

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Jin, P, Wang, T, Liu, N, Dupont, S, Beardall, J, Boyd, PW, Riebensell, U, Gao, K
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2015
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences; Ecological Applications; Ecological Impacts of Climate Change; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9714; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26503801; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/106302

Increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations are causing ocean acidification (OA), altering carbonate chemistry with consequences for marine organisms. Here we show that OA increases by 46212 % the production of phenolic compounds in phytoplankton grown under the elevated CO 2 concentrations projected for the end of this century, compared with the ambient CO 2 level. At the same time, mitochondrial respiration rate is enhanced under elevated CO 2 concentrations by 130160 % in a single species or mixed phytoplankton assemblage. When fed with phytoplankton cells grown under OA, zooplankton assemblages have significantly higher phenolic compound content, by about 2848 % . The functional consequences of the increased accumulation of toxic phenolic compounds in primary and secondary producers have the potential to have profound consequences for marine ecosystem and seafood quality, with the possibility that fishery industries could be influenced as a result of progressive ocean changes.