Ocean acidification is expected to have wide-ranging and complicated impacts on organismal physiology, notably metabolism. Effects on metabolism may have numerous consequences at the whole-organism level, in particular costs to growth, locomotion, reproductive output, and homeostasis. Negative effects on these metrics may further cascade up to impact ecosystem structure and function, and thus human society. As such, the study of metabolism in response to ocean acidification is a pivotal research avenue within the study of global ocean change. Here, the metabolic responses of marine species to ocean acidification are reviewed and examined through meta-analysis. We reviewed a total of 44 published studies and used a traditional meta-analysis to identify broad-scale trends in the metabolic responses of species to ocean acidification. Results from this study indicate varied metabolic strategies in response to OA, further complicating our predictive power to forecast ecosystem-level consequences of ongoing CO2 increases. However, strong effects were observed with respect to ontogeny, marine ecosystem, motility, and taxonomic origin, thereby reinforcing the need for a multi-faceted approach to both management of sensitive species and mitigation of future impacts.
Kelley A. L. & Lunden J. J., 2017. Meta-analysis identifies metabolic sensitivities to ocean acidification. AIMS Environment Science 4 (5): 709-729. Article.
