Tag Archives: ocean acidification

Genetic Patterns of Deep-Sea Coral Provide Insights into Evolution of Marine Life

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2012Environment, Natureancient, barnacles, biodiversity, biogeography, bivalves, bryozoans, bubblegum coral, canyons, circulation model, climate change, continental slopes, coral, cryptic species, csiro, deep sea coral, early pliocene, eastern north pacific, Epoch, fjords, gastropods, gene flow, genetic diversity pattern, geological features, global warming, historical pattern, hypothesis, juan sanchez, late-miocene, marine life, marine organism, migration, migration pattern, moss animals, niwa, north atlantic, ocean acidification, oceanic circulation, organism, paragorga arborea, pattern, period, ph, red algae, santiago herrera, sea stars, seagrass, seamounts, South Pacific, southern indian, species, spiny dogfishes, timothy shank, trans arctic interchange, western north pacific, whoi

Patterns Also Shed Light on How Environmental Disturbances Affect Aquatic Organisms

The ability of deep-sea corals to harbor a broad array of marine life, including commercially important fish species, make these habitat-forming organisms of immediate interest to conservationists, managers, and scientists. Understanding and protecting corals requires knowledge of the historical processes that have shaped their biodiversity and biogeography.

While little is known about these processes, new research described in the journal Molecular Ecology helps elucidate the historical patterns of deep-sea coral migration and gene flow, coincident with oceanic circulation patterns and events. The investigators propose a scenario that could explain the observed evolutionary and present-day patterns in certain coral species. The findings can help scientists determine how climate change and other global processes have affected ocean habitats in the past and how they might do so in the future. (more…)

Researchers Highlight Growing Problem of Ocean Acidification

By Guest PostSeptember 27, 2012Environmentatmosphere, carbon biogeochemistry, carbon dioxide, CO2, co2 conditions, co2 world, earth, emission, eucidaris tribuloides, faq, global issue, hole, institution, logarithmic, monterey, neutral, oa, ocb, ocean, ocean acidification, oceanographic, pencil urchins, ph, ph scale, ph unit, sarah cooley, tropical, web version, whoi, woods

An international group of scientists, including researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, are working to improve communication about ocean acidification to help the public better understand the pressing global issue.

The term “ocean acidification” (OA) describes the changes that occur in the ocean as a result of increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere. The rising acidic level in the ocean puts certain organisms at risk and threatens the overall health of the ocean. (more…)

Researchers Share Surprising Discovery about Coral Reef Ecology

By Guest PostSeptember 4, 2012Environment, Natureacidification, algae, algal symbionts, american samoa, climate change, coastal development, coral reef, coral species, coral tissue, david garrison, DNA, ecology, endosymbionts, environment disturbance, environmental change, environmental stress, french polynesia, functional ecosystem, future, generalists, global stressors, hawaii, himb, hollie putnam, host, manoa, moorea, nsf, ocean acidification, photosynthesis, pollution, prediction, reef corals, ruth gates, skeletal growth, skeletons, soest, stresss, symbiodinium, taiwan, temperatures, theory, threat, tissue sample

Researchers at the UH Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) made a discovery that challenges a major theory in the field of coral reef ecology.

The general assumption has been that the more flexible corals are, regarding which species of single-celled algae (Symbiodinium) they host in coral tissues, the greater ability corals will have to survive environmental stress. In their paper published August 29, 2012, however, scientists at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) at SOEST and colleagues documented that the more flexible corals are, the more sensitive to environment disturbances they are. (more…)

Scientists Explore Changing Arctic Ocean

By Guest PostAugust 25, 2012EnvironmentArctic, arctic ecosystem, arctic ocean, atmosphere, burning, calcification rate, calcium carbonate, canada basin, carbon dioxide, CO2, corals, crabs, cutter healy, Environment, florida keys, food chain, fossil fuel, gulf of mexico, jonathan wynn, kim yates, lisa robbins, marcia mcnutt, marine, north pole, ocean acidification, ocean acidity, oysters, plankton, resources, robert byrne, shell, shrimp, skeleton, study, terrestrial organism, us coast guard, virgin islands

Scientists are setting sail on August 25 to study ocean acidification in the Arctic and what this means for the future survival of marine and terrestrial organisms.

The Arctic Ocean is one of the most vulnerable places on the planet for acidification, yet it is the least-explored ocean. Acidification can disturb the balance of marine life in the world’s oceans, and consequently affect humans and animals that rely on those food resources.

Ocean acidification is particularly harmful to organisms such as corals, oysters, crabs, shrimp and plankton, as well as those up and down the food chain. Higher acidity decreases an organism’s calcification rate, meaning they lose their ability to build shells or skeletons. (more…)

Ocean Acidification Linked With Larval Oyster Failure in Hatcheries

By Guest PostApril 13, 2012Environmentaslo, burke hales, carbon dioxide, chris langdon, co2 level, corrosive, david garrison, fluctuation, george waldbusser, larval mortality, national science foundation, netarts bay, noaa, North America, ocean acidification, ocean water, oregon, oregon state university, osu, oyster, oyster hatchery, oyster production, pacific northwest, pathogenic bacteria, richard feely, seed production, whiskey creek shellfish hatchery

*Increase in ocean acidification led to collapse of oyster seed production at Oregon hatchery*

Marine researchers have definitively linked the collapse of oyster seed production at a commercial oyster hatchery in Oregon to an increase in ocean acidification.

Larval growth at the hatchery declined to a level considered by the owners to be “non-economically viable.”

A study by the scientists found that increased seawater carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, resulting in more corrosive ocean water, inhibited the larval oysters from developing their shells and growing at a pace that would make commercial production cost-effective. (more…)

Oceans Acidifying Faster Today Than in Past 300 Million Years

By Guest PostMarch 2, 2012Environmentage of dinosaurs, barbel honisch, benthic foraminifera, candace major, coral reefs, ellen thomas, fossil carbonate shells, great dying, jurassic era, ocean acidification, ocean ph, siberian traps, white plankton fossils

*Few parallels for today’s rapid ocean changes in geologic record*

The oceans may be acidifying faster today than they did in the last 300 million years, according to scientists publishing a paper this week in the journal Science.

“What we’re doing today really stands out in the geologic record,” says lead author Bärbel Hönisch, a paleoceanographer at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. (more…)

Researchers Find Unprecedented, Man-Made Trends in Oceans Acidity

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2012Environment21st century, acidity, anthropogenic co2 emission, aragonite, aragonite saturation, axel timmermann, bishop museum, calcification rate, calcium carbonate, caribbean, climate, climate modeler, co2 emission, computer modeling, coral, coral reef, earth system model, ecosystem, fossil fuel, global scale, hawaiian islands, honolulu, jamstec, jhamandas watumull planetarium, last glacial maximum, level of acidity, marine ecosystem, marine organism, mollusk, observation, ocean, ocean acidification, ocean chemist, ocean condition, parts per million, ppm, saturation level, tobias friedrich, western equatorial pacific, yellow tangs

Nearly one-third of CO2 emissions due to human activities enters the world’s oceans. By reacting with seawater, CO2 increases the water’s acidity, which may significantly reduce the calcification rate of such marine organisms as corals and mollusks, resulting in the potential loss of ecosystems. The extent to which human activities have raised the surface level of acidity, however, has been difficult to detect on regional scales because it varies naturally from one season and one year to the next, and between regions, and direct observations go back only 30 years.

By combining computer modeling with observations, an international team of scientists concluded that anthropogenic CO2 emissions, resulting from the influence of human beings, over the last 100 to 200 years have already raised ocean acidity far beyond the range of natural variations. The study is published in the January 22, 2012 online issue of Nature Climate Change. (more…)

Sea Cucumbers: Dissolving Coral Reefs?

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2011Environmentacidification, australia, biodiversity, caco3, calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide, coral reefs, digestive process, dissolution, dk13, ecosystem, emissions, erika woolsey, great barrier reef, jacob silverman, ken caldeira, kenneth schneider, maria byrne, marine environment, marine organisms, ocean acidification, one tree island, one tree reef, recycling of nutrients, reef environment, sea cucumbers, sea life

Washington, D.C. — Coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems that support enormous biodiversity. But they are at risk. Carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the ocean, threatening reefs and other marine organisms. New research led by Carnegie’s Kenneth Schneider analyzed the role of sea cucumbers in portions of the Great Barrier Reef and determined that their dietary process of dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from the surrounding reef accounts for about half of at the total nighttime dissolution for the reef. The work is published December 23 by the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Reefs are formed through the biological deposition of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Many of the marine organisms living on and around a reef contribute to either its destruction or construction. Therefore it is crucial that the amount of calcium carbonate remain in balance. When this delicate balance is disrupted, the reef ceases to grow and its foundations can be weakened. (more…)