Marine Biology Commons^™

The Shellfish Corner -- Shellfish And The Problem Of Ocean Acidification, Michael A. Rice

Michael A Rice

The acidification of the world's oceans due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is creating a problem in the dissolution of larval shells of mollusks and creating problems for shellfish hatcheries. Hatcheries can mitigate the problem by treating incoming seawater with alkaline sodium carbonate, but there is evidence that acidic sediments in some locations are a source of considerable post-settlement loss of newly set juveniles.

Shell Condition And Survival Of Puget Sound Pteropods Are Impaired By Ocean Acidification Conditions, D. Shallin Busch, Michael Maher, Patricia Thibodeau, Paul Mcelhany

VIMS Articles

We tested whether the thecosome pteropod Limacina helicina from Puget Sound, an urbanized estuary in the northwest continental US, experiences shell dissolution and altered mortality rates when exposed to the high CO₂, low aragonite saturation state (Ω_a) conditions that occur in Puget Sound and the northeast Pacific Ocean. Five, week-long experiments were conducted in which we incubated pteropods collected from Puget Sound in four carbon chemistry conditions: current summer surface (∼460–500 µatm CO₂, Ω_a≈1.59), current deep water or surface conditions during upwelling (∼760 and ∼1600–1700 µatm CO₂, Ω_a≈1.17 …

Enhanced Acidification Of Global Coral Reefs Driven By Regional Biogeochemical Feedbacks, Tyler Cyronak, Kai G. Schulz, Isaac R. Santos, Bradley D. Eyre

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Physical uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ is the dominant driver of ocean acidification (OA) in the open ocean. Due to expected decreases in calcification and increased dissolution of CaCO₃ framework, coral reefs are thought to be highly susceptible to OA. However, biogeochemical processes can influence the pCO₂ and pH of coastal ecosystems on diel and seasonal time scales, potentially modifying the long‐term effects of increasing atmospheric CO₂. By compiling data from the literature and removing the effects of short‐term variability, we show that the average pCO₂ of coral reefs throughout the globe has increased ~3.5‐fold …

Drivers Of Pco2 Variability In Two Contrasting Coral Reef Lagoons: The Influence Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge, Tyler Cyronak, Isaac R. Santos, Dirk V. Erler, Damien T. Maher, Bradley D. Eyre

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The impact of groundwater on pCO₂ variability was assessed in two coral reef lagoons with distinct drivers of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Diel variability of pCO₂ in the two ecosystems was explained by a combination of biological drivers and SGD inputs. In Rarotonga, a South Pacific volcanic island, ²²²Rn‐derived SGD was driven primarily by a steep terrestrial hydraulic gradient, and the water column was influenced by the high pCO₂ (5501 µatm) of the fresh groundwater. In Heron Island, a Great Barrier Reef coral cay, SGD was dominated by seawater recirculation through the sediments …

Growth Of The Marine Fish-Killing Phytoflagellate, Heterosigma Akashiwo Under Emerging Coastal Regimes: Temperature, Eutrophication And Ocean Acidification, Cayla M. Bronicheski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Coastal oceans are fundamental to human economies, nutrition and recreation. Anthropogenic stressors have led to the acceleration of the nitrogen cycle, the accumulation of inorganic carbon in the earth’s atmosphere, the loss of UV-scavenging upper atmospheric ozone and the overall accumulation of deep elements from the earth’s crust to surface exposure. These changes have caused ocean acidification and eutrophication events in coastal waters and the impacts of these events on primary production and ocean biodiversity are not yet fully understood.

This study examined the effects of predicted future ocean conditions (salinity, temperature, reduced seawater pH and modified nitrogen supplies), on …