New Research Published On Ecological Effects Of Ocean Acidication

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 09 Jun 2008 - 4:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Royal Society University Research Fellow, Jason Hall-Spencer, has conducted the very first eco-system scale study investigating the effects of ocean acidification on marine life the results are published in Nature (online) .

Ocean acidification, along with climate change, is the most important environmental issues facing the planet. It takes place when rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are absorbed by the ocean leading to lower pH levels in seawater. The affect that this rise of acidity in oceans will have on marine ecosystems has been uncertain. Seventy percent of the world is covered by the ocean. The only way to prevent ocean acidification is to constrain C02 concentrate in the atmosphere.

The research by the University of Plymouth monitored ecosystems that were close to volcanic carbon dioxide vents. The vents acted as large-scale natural experiment that could show the effects of man-made CO2 emissions.

Jason Hall-Spencer, from the University of Plymouth said: "Our field studies provide a window on the future of the oceans in a high CO2 world. We show the dramatic ecological consequences of ocean acidification including the removal of corals, snails and sea urchins and the proliferation of invasive alien algae.

"Our observations verify concerns, based on laboratory experiments and model predictions, that marine food webs will be severely disrupted and major ecological tipping points are likely if human CO2 emissions continue unabated."

The Royal Society

• Additional
• References
• Citations