Rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are having a catastrophic effect on microscopic marine life, according to marine scientists in the School of Biology. Experiments show microscopic organisms, called foraminifera (‘forams’), suffer the equivalent of tooth-decay as seawater becomes more acidic. Since ‘forams’ may number 500,000 in a square meter of sediment, other organisms further up the food chain are also likely to be affected by these changes. The findings will be presented at the 3rd annual meeting of the UK Ocean Acidification Research programme being hosted by the University of St Andrews, Scotland on 24 July 2013. [press release]
Full progamme of the Live webcast of joint UKOA / GOA-ON session
Research@StAndrews blog, 26 July 2013. Article.
