Ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgae

Since the Industrial Revolution, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) has been increasing and global ocean surface waters have absorbed 30% of the anthropogenic CO2 released into the atmosphere. An increase in pCO2 in surface ocean waters causes an increase in bicarbonate ions (HCO3-) and p...

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Main Authors: LC Hofmann, K Bischof
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Inter-Research 2014-11-01
Series:Aquatic Biology
Online Access:https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v22/p261-279/
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author LC Hofmann
K Bischof
author_facet LC Hofmann
K Bischof
author_sort LC Hofmann
collection DOAJ
description Since the Industrial Revolution, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) has been increasing and global ocean surface waters have absorbed 30% of the anthropogenic CO2 released into the atmosphere. An increase in pCO2 in surface ocean waters causes an increase in bicarbonate ions (HCO3-) and protons (H+) and a decrease in carbonate ions (CO32-), thereby decreasing the pH and the saturation state of the seawater with respect to CO32-. These changes in ocean chemistry (termed ocean acidification) are expected to have negative impacts on marine calcifying organisms. Because calcifying marine primary producers are important to the carbon cycle and rocky shore habitat structure and stability, investigating how they will respond to future oceanic pCO2 levels is a relevant and important topic of research. Due to a recent strong increase in the number of studies investigating the responses of calcifying marine macroalgae to elevated pCO2, this review aims to present the state of knowledge on the response of calcifying macroalgae to ocean acidification alone and in combination with global and local stressors. We discuss the physiological responses of calcifying macroalgae to elevated pCO2 within the contexts biogeography, taxonomy, and calcification mechanisms. Generally, coralline algae that deposit high-Mg calcite are most susceptible to high pCO2, and polar species are particularly at risk. However, some dolomite-depositing species may be able to acclimate to high pCO2. Calcifiers generally show sensitivity to overgrowth and outcompetition by noncalcifying algae when grown under elevated CO2 conditions, and this trend could be amplified under conditions of high inorganic nutrients. However, it still remains unknown whether or not calcifiers will be able to adapt to their rapidly changing environments. We discuss the lack of research on this topic, and provide some suggestions for how this knowledge gap can be filled by future research.
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spelling doaj.art-849fe1f2cbee40a6b0e46fa07a0e03a92022-12-21T22:59:34ZengInter-ResearchAquatic Biology1864-77821864-77902014-11-012226127910.3354/ab00581Ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgaeLC Hofmann0K Bischof1Marine Botany, Bremen Marine Ecology Centre for Research and Education, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359 Bremen, GermanyMarine Botany, Bremen Marine Ecology Centre for Research and Education, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359 Bremen, GermanySince the Industrial Revolution, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) has been increasing and global ocean surface waters have absorbed 30% of the anthropogenic CO2 released into the atmosphere. An increase in pCO2 in surface ocean waters causes an increase in bicarbonate ions (HCO3-) and protons (H+) and a decrease in carbonate ions (CO32-), thereby decreasing the pH and the saturation state of the seawater with respect to CO32-. These changes in ocean chemistry (termed ocean acidification) are expected to have negative impacts on marine calcifying organisms. Because calcifying marine primary producers are important to the carbon cycle and rocky shore habitat structure and stability, investigating how they will respond to future oceanic pCO2 levels is a relevant and important topic of research. Due to a recent strong increase in the number of studies investigating the responses of calcifying marine macroalgae to elevated pCO2, this review aims to present the state of knowledge on the response of calcifying macroalgae to ocean acidification alone and in combination with global and local stressors. We discuss the physiological responses of calcifying macroalgae to elevated pCO2 within the contexts biogeography, taxonomy, and calcification mechanisms. Generally, coralline algae that deposit high-Mg calcite are most susceptible to high pCO2, and polar species are particularly at risk. However, some dolomite-depositing species may be able to acclimate to high pCO2. Calcifiers generally show sensitivity to overgrowth and outcompetition by noncalcifying algae when grown under elevated CO2 conditions, and this trend could be amplified under conditions of high inorganic nutrients. However, it still remains unknown whether or not calcifiers will be able to adapt to their rapidly changing environments. We discuss the lack of research on this topic, and provide some suggestions for how this knowledge gap can be filled by future research.https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v22/p261-279/
spellingShingle LC Hofmann
K Bischof
Ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgae
Aquatic Biology
title Ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgae
title_full Ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgae
title_fullStr Ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgae
title_full_unstemmed Ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgae
title_short Ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgae
title_sort ocean acidification effects on calcifying macroalgae
url https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v22/p261-279/
work_keys_str_mv AT lchofmann oceanacidificationeffectsoncalcifyingmacroalgae
AT kbischof oceanacidificationeffectsoncalcifyingmacroalgae