Ocean Acidification

Highlights

• Sharks maintain acid-base balance under elevated CO₂ via effective buffering.
• Physiological compensation carries energetic costs that constrain aerobic scope.
• Olfactory-mediated foraging is more OA-sensitive than baseline locomotor function.
• Multi-stressor effects (warming + OA) amplify biological impacts across life stages.
• Evidence is biased toward benthic species; pelagic sharks remain understudied.

Abstract

Ocean acidification (OA), driven by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), is a major component of global ocean change with widespread implications for marine organisms. Sharks (elasmobranchs) are often assumed to be relatively resilient to OA due to their distinctive physiology, including strong acid–base regulation and urea-based osmoconformation. However, empirical evidence evaluating this assumption remains limited and fragmented. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the physiological, behavioural, and sensory responses of sharks to OA within a comparative framework that incorporates insights from teleost fishes. A systematic literature search following PRISMA guidelines identified studies examining OA effects across shark species and life stages. Available evidence indicates that sharks generally maintain extracellular acid-base balance under elevated CO₂, demonstrating effective physiological buffering. However, this compensation is not without cost. Energetic trade-offs, reduced aerobic scope under multi-stressor conditions, and alterations in metabolic and oxidative responses have been reported. Behavioural and sensory-mediated processes, particularly olfactory-driven foraging, appear more sensitive to OA, with impairments emerging even in the absence of obvious physiological failure. Responses are highly species-specific and often amplified by co-occurring stressors such as warming. Despite these findings, current data are strongly biased toward small, benthic species, with limited representation of pelagic taxa and long-term responses. Sharks cannot be considered uniformly resilient to OA; rather, their responses are context-dependent, energetically constrained, and potentially consequential at population and ecosystem levels. Future research integrating long-term, multi-stressor, and mechanistic approaches will be critical for improving predictions of shark responses under ongoing ocean change.

Khan M. S., Rana S., Chisim A., Marma T. U., Tabasum M. M., Sumi S. N., Khanom R., Sumaiya M. L.-M., Tarek M. & Nahid S. A. A., 2026. Shark responses to ocean acidification: physiological buffering, behavioural vulnerability, and comparative insights from teleost fishes. Marine Pollution Bulletin 233(Part 1): 120227. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2026.120227. Article.