Vulnerability of marine biodiversity to ocean acidification: A meta-analysis

The ocean captures a large part of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. As a result of the increase in CO 2 partial pressure the ocean pH is lowered as compared to pre-industrial times and a further decline is expected. Ocean acidification has been proposed to pose a major thr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuarine, coastal and shelf science coastal and shelf science, 2010-01, Vol.86 (2), p.157-164
Main Authors: Hendriks, I.E., Duarte, C.M., Álvarez, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acidification
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Assessments
Biological and medical sciences
biological response
Brackish water ecosystems
Calcification
Carbon dioxide
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Marine
marine organisms
Oceans
Organisms
Sea water ecosystems
Synecology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The ocean captures a large part of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere. As a result of the increase in CO 2 partial pressure the ocean pH is lowered as compared to pre-industrial times and a further decline is expected. Ocean acidification has been proposed to pose a major threat for marine organisms, particularly shell-forming and calcifying organisms. Here we show, on the basis of meta-analysis of available experimental assessments, differences in organism responses to elevated pCO 2 and propose that marine biota may be more resistant to ocean acidification than expected. Calcification is most sensitive to ocean acidification while it is questionable if marine functional diversity is impacted significantly along the ranges of acidification predicted for the 21st century. Active biological processes and small-scale temporal and spatial variability in ocean pH may render marine biota far more resistant to ocean acidification than hitherto believed.
ISSN:0272-7714
1096-0015
DOI:10.1016/j.ecss.2009.11.022