scholarly journals Technical Note: Approaches and software tools to investigate the impact of ocean acidification

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 2121-2133 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. Gattuso ◽  
H. Lavigne
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Biological Response ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
R Software ◽  
Seawater Chemistry ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Gas Bubbling ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Although future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry are well constrained, their impact on marine organisms and ecosystems remains poorly known. The biological response to ocean acidification is a recent field of research as most purposeful experiments have only been carried out in the late 1990s. The potentially dire consequences of ocean acidification attract scientists and students with a limited knowledge of the carbonate chemistry and its experimental manipulation. Hence, some guidelines on carbonate chemistry manipulations may be helpful for the growing ocean acidification community to maintain comparability. Perturbation experiments are one of the key approaches used to investigate the biological response to elevated pCO2. They are based on measurements of physiological or metabolic processes in organisms and communities exposed to seawater with normal or altered carbonate chemistry. Seawater chemistry can be manipulated in different ways depending on the facilities available and on the question being addressed. The goal of this paper is (1) to examine the benefits and drawbacks of various manipulation techniques and (2) to describe a new version of the R software package seacarb which includes new functions aimed at assisting the design of ocean acidification perturbation experiments. Three approaches closely mimic the on-going and future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry: gas bubbling, addition of high-CO2 seawater as well as combined additions of acid and bicarbonate and/or carbonate.

scholarly journals Perturbation experiments to investigate the impact of ocean acidification: approaches and software tools

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 4413-4439 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. Gattuso ◽  
H. Lavigne
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Software Package ◽  
Biological Response ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
R Software ◽  
Seawater Chemistry ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Gas Bubbling ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Although future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry are well constrained, their impact on marine organisms and ecosystems remains poorly known. The biological response to ocean acidification is a recent field of research as most purposeful experiments have only been carried out in the late 1990s. The potentially dire consequences of ocean acidification attract scientists and students with a limited knowledge of the carbonate chemistry and its experimental manipulation. Hence, some guidelines on carbonate chemistry manipulations may be helpful for the growing ocean acidification community to maintain comparability. Perturbation experiments are one of the key approaches used to investigate the biological response to elevated pCO2. They are based on measurements of physiological or metabolic processes in organisms and communities exposed to seawater with normal or altered carbonate chemistry. Seawater chemistry can be manipulated in different ways depending on the facilities available and on the question being addressed. The goal of this paper is (1) to examine the benefits and drawbacks of various manipulation techniques and (2) to describe a new version of the R software package seacarb which includes new functions aimed at assisting the design of ocean acidification perturbation experiments. Three approaches closely mimic the on-going and future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry: gas bubbling, addition of high-CO2 seawater as well as combined additions of acid and bicarbonate and/or carbonate.

scholarly journals Ocean pH fluctuations affect mussel larvae at key developmental transitions

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1893) ◽  
pp. 20182381 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Kapsenberg ◽  
A. Miglioli ◽  
M. C. Bitter ◽  
E. Tambutté ◽  
R. Dumollard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Larval Development ◽  
Shell Growth ◽  
Larval Shell ◽  
Abnormal Development ◽  
Life History Stage ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Developmental Processes ◽  
Seawater Chemistry ◽  
The Impact

Coastal marine ecosystems experience dynamic fluctuations in seawater carbonate chemistry. The importance of this variation in the context of ocean acidification requires knowing what aspect of variability biological processes respond to. We conducted four experiments (ranging from 3 to 22 days) with different variability regimes (pH T 7.4–8.1) assessing the impact of diel fluctuations in carbonate chemistry on the early development of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis . Larval shell growth was consistently correlated to mean exposures, regardless of variability regimes, indicating that calcification responds instantaneously to seawater chemistry. Larval development was impacted by timing of exposure, revealing sensitivity of two developmental processes: development of the shell field, and transition from the first to the second larval shell. Fluorescent staining revealed developmental delay of the shell field at low pH, and abnormal development thereof was correlated with hinge defects in D-veligers. This study shows, for the first time, that ocean acidification affects larval soft-tissue development, independent from calcification. Multiple developmental processes additively underpin the teratogenic effect of ocean acidification on bivalve larvae. These results explain why trochophores are the most sensitive life-history stage in marine bivalves and suggest that short-term variability in carbonate chemistry can impact early larval development.

scholarly journals The role of ocean acidification in <i>Emiliania huxleyi</i> coccolith thinning in the Mediterranean Sea

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2857-2869 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. S. Meier ◽  
L. Beaufort ◽  
S. Heussner ◽  
P. Ziveri
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Emiliania Huxleyi ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Surface Ocean ◽  
Nw Mediterranean ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry

Abstract. Ocean acidification is a result of the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere into the ocean and has been identified as a major environmental and economic threat. The release of several thousands of petagrams of carbon over a few hundred years will have an overwhelming effect on surface ocean carbon reservoirs. The recorded and anticipated changes in seawater carbonate chemistry will presumably affect global oceanic carbonate production. Coccolithophores as the primary calcifying phytoplankton group, and especially Emiliania huxleyi as the most abundant species have shown a reduction of calcification at increased CO2 concentrations for the majority of strains tested in culture experiments. A reduction of calcification is associated with a decrease in coccolith weight. However, the effect in monoclonal cultures is relatively small compared to the strong variability displayed in natural E. huxleyi communities, as these are a mix of genetically and sometimes morphologically distinct types. Average coccolith weight is likely influenced by the variability in seawater carbonate chemistry in different parts of the world's oceans and on glacial/interglacial time scales due to both physiological effects and morphotype selectivity. An effect of the ongoing ocean acidification on E. huxleyi calcification has so far not been documented in situ. Here, we analyze E. huxleyi coccolith weight from the NW Mediterranean Sea in a 12-year sediment trap series, and surface sediment and sediment core samples using an automated recognition and analyzing software. Our findings clearly show (1) a continuous decrease in the average coccolith weight of E. huxleyi from 1993 to 2005, reaching levels below pre-industrial (Holocene) and industrial (20th century) values recorded in the sedimentary record and (2) seasonal variability in coccolith weight that is linked to the coccolithophore productivity. The observed long-term decrease in coccolith weight is most likely a result of the changes in the surface ocean carbonate system. Our results provide the first indications of an in situ impact of ocean acidification on coccolithophore weight in a natural E. huxleyi population, even in the highly alkaline Mediterranean Sea.

scholarly journals CO2 sensitivity experiments are not sufficient to show an effect of ocean acidification

2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 926-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul McElhany
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Population Abundance ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Species Sensitivity ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Marine Carbonate ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Experimental Treatments ◽  
Level Effect

The ocean acidification (OA) literature is replete with laboratory studies that report species sensitivity to seawater carbonate chemistry in experimental treatments as an “effect of OA”. I argue that this is unintentionally misleading, since these studies do not actually demonstrate an effect of OA but rather show sensitivity to CO2. Documenting an effect of OA involves showing a change in a species (e.g. population abundance or distribution) as a consequence of anthropogenic changes in marine carbonate chemistry. To date, there have been no unambiguous demonstrations of a population level effect of anthropogenic OA, as that term is defined by the IPCC.

scholarly journals Technical Note: A minimally invasive experimental system for <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> manipulation in plankton cultures using passive gas exchange (atmospheric carbon control simulator)

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2675-2684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke A. Love ◽  
M. Brady Olson ◽  
Tristen Wuori
Keyword(s):  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Gas Mixing ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Culture Methods ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon ◽  
Carbon Control

Abstract. As research into the biotic effects of ocean acidification has increased, the methods for simulating these environmental changes in the laboratory have multiplied. Here we describe the atmospheric carbon control simulator (ACCS) for the maintenance of plankton under controlled pCO2 conditions, designed for species sensitive to the physical disturbance introduced by the bubbling of cultures and for studies involving trophic interaction. The system consists of gas mixing and equilibration components coupled with large-volume atmospheric simulation chambers. These chambers allow gas exchange to counteract the changes in carbonate chemistry induced by the metabolic activity of the organisms. The system is relatively low cost, very flexible, and when used in conjunction with semi-continuous culture methods, it increases the density of organisms kept under realistic conditions, increases the allowable time interval between dilutions, and/or decreases the metabolically driven change in carbonate chemistry during these intervals. It accommodates a large number of culture vessels, which facilitate multi-trophic level studies and allow the tracking of variable responses within and across plankton populations to ocean acidification. It also includes components that increase the reliability of gas mixing systems using mass flow controllers.

scholarly journals Key Arctic pelagic mollusc (<i>Limacina helicina</i>) threatened by ocean acidification

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 2523-2537 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Comeau ◽  
G. Gorsky ◽  
R. Jeffree ◽  
J.-L. Teyssié ◽  
J.-P. Gattuso
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Ph Value ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
High Co2 ◽  
Key Species ◽  
Limacina Helicina ◽  
Ph Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Thecosome pteropods (shelled pelagic molluscs) can play an important role in the food web of various ecosystems and play a key role in the cycling of carbon and carbonate. Since they harbor an aragonitic shell, they could be very sensitive to ocean acidification driven by the increase of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The impact of changes in the carbonate chemistry was investigated on Limacina helicina, a key species of Arctic ecosystems. Pteropods were kept in culture under controlled pH conditions corresponding to pCO2 levels of 350 and 760 μatm. Calcification was estimated using a fluorochrome and the radioisotope 45Ca. It exhibits a 28% decrease at the pH value expected for 2100 compared to the present pH value. This result supports the concern for the future of pteropods in a high-CO2 world, as well as of those species dependent upon them as a food resource. A decline of their populations would likely cause dramatic changes to the structure, function and services of polar ecosystems.

scholarly journals Seagrass beds as ocean acidification refuges for mussels? High resolution measurements of <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> and O<sub>2</sub> in a <i>Zostera marina</i> and <i>Mytilus edulis</i> mosaic habitat

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 11423-11461 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Saderne ◽  
P. Fietzek ◽  
S. Aßmann ◽  
A. Körtzinger ◽  
C. Hiebenthal
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
High Pco2 ◽  
Seagrass Beds ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Calcium Carbonates ◽  
Positive Side ◽  
Chemical Conditions ◽  
Technological Limitations ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. It has been speculated that macrophytes beds might act as a refuge for calcifiers from ocean acidification. In the shallow nearshores of the western Kiel Bay (Baltic Sea), mussel and seagrass beds are interlacing, forming a mosaic habitat. Naturally, the diverse physiological activities of seagrasses and mussels are affected by seawater carbonate chemistry and they locally modify it in return. Calcification by shellfishes is sensitive to seawater acidity; therefore the photosynthetic activity of seagrasses in confined shallow waters creates favorable chemical conditions to calcification at daytime but turn the habitat less favorable or even corrosive to shells at night. In contrast, mussel respiration releases CO2, turning the environment more favorable for photosynthesis by adjacent seagrasses. At the end of summer, these dynamics are altered by the invasion of high pCO2/low O2 coming from the deep water of the Bay. However, it is in summer that mussel spats settle on the leaves of seagrasses until migrating to the permanent habitat where they will grow adult. These early life phases (larvae/spats) are considered as most sensitive with regard to seawater acidity. So far, the dynamics of CO2 have never been continuously measured during this key period of the year, mostly due to the technological limitations. In this project we used a combination of state-of-the-art technologies and discrete sampling to obtain high-resolution time-series of pCO2 and O2 at the interface between a seagrass and a mussel patch in Kiel Bay in August and September 2013. From these, we derive the entire carbonate chemistry using statistical models. We found the monthly average pCO2 more than 50 % (approx. 640 μatm for August and September) above atmospheric equilibrium right above the mussel patch together with large diel variations of pCO2 within 24 h: 887 ± 331 μatm in August and 742 ± 281 μatm in September (mean ± SD). We observed important daily corrosiveness for calcium carbonates (Ωarag and Ωcalc < 1) centered on sunrise. On the positive side, the investigated habitat never suffered from hypoxia during the study period. We emphasize the need for more experiments on the impact of these acidic conditions on (juvenile) mussels with a focus on the distinct day-night variations observed.

scholarly journals Revisiting four scientific debates in ocean acidification research

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 893-905 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Andersson ◽  
F. T. Mackenzie
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Seawater Chemistry ◽  
Co2 Gas ◽  
Scientific Investigations ◽  
Scientific Debates

Abstract. In recent years, ocean acidification has gained continuously increasing attention from scientists and a number of stakeholders and has raised serious concerns about its effects on marine organisms and ecosystems. With the increase in interest, funding resources, and the number of scientific investigations focusing on this environmental problem, increasing amounts of data and results have been produced, and a progressively growing and more rigorous understanding of this problem has begun to develop. Nevertheless, there are still a number of scientific debates, and in some cases misconceptions, that keep reoccurring at a number of forums in various contexts. In this article, we revisit four of these topics that we think require further thoughtful consideration including: (1) surface seawater CO2 chemistry in shallow water coastal areas, (2) experimental manipulation of marine systems using CO2 gas or by acid addition, (3) net versus gross calcification and dissolution, and (4) CaCO3 mineral dissolution and seawater buffering. As a summation of these topics, we emphasize that: (1) many coastal environments experience seawater pCO2 that is significantly higher than expected from equilibrium with the atmosphere and is strongly linked to biological processes; (2) addition of acid, base or CO2 gas to seawater can all be useful techniques to manipulate seawater chemistry in ocean acidification experiments; (3) estimates of calcification or CaCO3 dissolution based on present techniques are measuring the net of gross calcification and dissolution; and (4) dissolution of metastable carbonate mineral phases will not produce sufficient alkalinity to buffer the pH and carbonate saturation state of shallow water environments on timescales of decades to hundreds of years to the extent that any potential negative effects on marine calcifiers will be avoided.

scholarly journals Physiological responses of coastal and oceanic diatoms to diurnal fluctuations in seawater carbonate chemistry under two CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 6247-6259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Futian Li ◽  
Yaping Wu ◽  
David A. Hutchins ◽  
Feixue Fu ◽  
Kunshan Gao
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Dark Respiration ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Buffer System ◽  
Photosynthetic Oxygen Evolution ◽  
Diurnal Changes ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Carbonate Buffer ◽  
Coastal Species ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry

Abstract. Diel and seasonal fluctuations in seawater carbonate chemistry are common in coastal waters, while in the open-ocean carbonate chemistry is much less variable. In both of these environments, ongoing ocean acidification is being superimposed on the natural dynamics of the carbonate buffer system to influence the physiology of phytoplankton. Here, we show that a coastal Thalassiosira weissflogii isolate and an oceanic diatom, Thalassiosira oceanica, respond differentially to diurnal fluctuating carbonate chemistry in current and ocean acidification (OA) scenarios. A fluctuating carbonate chemistry regime showed positive or negligible effects on physiological performance of the coastal species. In contrast, the oceanic species was significantly negatively affected. The fluctuating regime reduced photosynthetic oxygen evolution rates and enhanced dark respiration rates of T. oceanica under ambient CO2 concentration, while in the OA scenario the fluctuating regime depressed its growth rate, chlorophyll a content, and elemental production rates. These contrasting physiological performances of coastal and oceanic diatoms indicate that they differ in the ability to cope with dynamic pCO2. We propose that, in addition to the ability to cope with light, nutrient, and predation pressure, the ability to acclimate to dynamic carbonate chemistry may act as one determinant of the spatial distribution of diatom species. Habitat-relevant diurnal changes in seawater carbonate chemistry can interact with OA to differentially affect diatoms in coastal and pelagic waters.

scholarly journals Impact of ocean acidification on a key Arctic pelagic mollusc (<i>Limacina helicina</i>)

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 1877-1882 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Comeau ◽  
G. Gorsky ◽  
R. Jeffree ◽  
J.-L. Teyssié ◽  
J.-P. Gattuso
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Ph Value ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
High Co2 ◽  
Key Species ◽  
Limacina Helicina ◽  
Ph Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Thecosome pteropods (shelled pelagic molluscs) can play an important role in the food web of various ecosystems and play a key role in the cycling of carbon and carbonate. Since they harbor an aragonitic shell, they could be very sensitive to ocean acidification driven by the increase of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The impact of changes in the carbonate chemistry was investigated on Limacina helicina, a key species of Arctic ecosystems. Pteropods were kept in culture under controlled pH conditions corresponding to pCO2 levels of 350 and 760 μatm. Calcification was estimated using a fluorochrome and the radioisotope 45Ca. It exhibits a 28% decrease at the pH value expected for 2100 compared to the present pH value. This result supports the concern for the future of pteropods in a high-CO2 world, as well as of those species dependent upon them as a food resource. A decline of their populations would likely cause dramatic changes to the structure, function and services of polar ecosystems.

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