Archive Page 372

Effects of ocean warming and acidification on fertilization success and early larval development in the green sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus

Published 19 February 2019 Science Closed
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Highlights

• Acidification delayed larval development, stunted growth, and increased asymmetry.

• Warming decreased fertilization success and accelerated larval development.

• Warming outweighed acidification and led to accelerated development.

• Acidification and warming had additive effects on fertilization and growth.

Abstract

Ocean acidification and warming are predicted to affect the early life of many marine organisms, but their effects can be synergistic or antagonistic. This study assessed the combined effects of near-future (2100) ocean acidification (pH 7.8) and warming (+3 °C) on the fertilization, larval development and growth of the green sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus, common in tropical reefs of Florida and the Caribbean. Acidification had no effect on fertilization, but delayed larval development, stunted growth, and increased asymmetry. Warming decreased fertilization success when the sperm:egg ratio was higher (1847:1), accelerated larval development, but had no effect on growth. When exposed to both acidification and warming, fertilization rates decreased, larval development accelerated (due to increased respiration/metabolism), but larvae were smaller and more asymmetric, meaning acidification and warming had additive effects. Thus, climate change is expected to decrease the abundance of this important herbivore, exacerbating macroalgal growth and dominance on coral reefs.

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Ocean acidification —what is it? (video)

Published 19 February 2019 Media coverage Closed

The on-going rise of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is not only changing our climate—it is also changing our oceans.

Take a look at the work of the NIWA-led CARIM project into what these changes may mean for the delicate balance of marine life.

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A governing framework for international ocean acidification policy

Published 19 February 2019 Science Closed
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Highlights

• Ocean acidification (OA) poses a threat to marine systems and the goods and services they provide.

• A framework is needed to guide the international response to minimize and address OA.

• International policy should have three objectives: mitigation, adaptation and the redress of harm.

• These three objectives can be pursued by a number of multilateral agreements.

• Such an approach may fill the governance gap created by the lack of OA treaty.

Abstract

Ocean acidification (OA) is a major emergent stressor of marine ecosystems with global implications for biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and economic prosperity. International action is imperative for addressing it. This paper builds a science-based governing framework, identifying three overarching policy objectives and six areas for action that should be pursued so as to minimise this global problem. No unifying OA treaty or legal instrument with the explicit task of addressing OA currently exists and it looks highly unlikely that any will eventuate. A more pragmatic approach is to use existing multilateral agreements. However, taking on OA as a unified problem seems to be beyond the scope of existing agreements, due to structural limitations and the willingness of Parties. Given this, it is more likely that OA will be addressed by a network of agreements, each responding to discrete elements of the problem of OA within their capabilities. However, it is unclear how existing MEA capabilities extend to addressing OA. This paper therefore offers an analytical framework through existing governance structures can be explored for their capabilities to respond to OA.

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The impact of ocean acidification on the gonads of three key Antarctic benthic macroinvertebrates

Published 19 February 2019 Science Closed
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Highlights

• Ocean Acidification may act as an endocrine disruptor on invertebrate gonads

• Different species show different response to low pH in a simultaneous exposure

• Gametogenic stage and feeding condition affect the species response to low pH

Abstract

CO2 atmospheric pressure is increasing since industrial revolution, leading to a lowering of the ocean surface water pH, a phenomenon known as ocean acidification, with several reported effects on individual species and cascading effects on marine ecosystems. Despite the great amount of literature on ocean acidification effects on calcifying organisms, the response of their reproductive system still remains poorly known. In the present study, we investigated the histopathological effects of low pH on the gonads of three key macroinvertebrates of the Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) littoral area: the sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri, the sea star Odontaster validus and the scallop Adamussium colbecki. After 1 month of exposure at control (8.12) and reduced (7.8 and 7.6) pH levels, we dissected the gonads and performed histological analyses to detect potential differences among treatments. Results showed significant effects on reproductive conditions of A. colbecki and S. neumayeri, while O. validus did not show any kind of alteration. Present results reinforce the need to focus on ocean acidification effects on soft tissues, particularly the gonads, whose damage may exert large effects on the individual fitness, with cascading effects on the population dynamic of the species.

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Climate in Svalbard 2100 – a knowledge base for climate adaptation

Published 18 February 2019 Science Closed
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This report was commissioned by the Norwegian Environment Agency in order to provide basic information for climate change effect studies and climate change adaptation in Svalbard. It includes descriptions of historical, as well as projections for future climate development in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and ocean, and it includes effects on the physical nature, e.g. risks associated with landslides and avalanches. The projections for future climate are based on the global climate models used in the IPCCs fifth assessment report (IPCC, 2013). Dependent on availability of model data, three scenarios for emissions of greenhouse gases are used: “RCP8.5” (“business as usual”; “high emissions”), “RCP4.5” (reductions after 2040; “medium emissions”) and “RCP2.6” (drastic cuts from 2020; “low emissions”). Climate change in the atmosphere and land surface are projected up to the year 2100 and in the ocean up to the year 2070.

The report is to a large degree an assessment of existing literature and model results, e.g. the Arctic CORDEX regional climate models. In addition, a fine scale atmospheric regional climate model (COSMO-CLM) has been run, and the results were applied for estimating changes in e.g. heavy rainfall, frost days, snow, permafrost and glaciers. Further, a hydrological model has been run for Svalbard for present and projected future climate, based on input data from Arctic CORDEX. Also for the ocean, new analyses have been performed, based on the best available model data. Below follows a summary based on a combination of the assessment and results from new analyses.

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Implicações fisiológicas e ecológicas de interações interespecíficas nos bentos marinho-subsídio para o entendimento de cenários atuais e futuros (in Portuguese)

Published 18 February 2019 Science Closed
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Biotic interactions are increasingly known to shape ecosystem community structure. Recently, there has been a renewed focus on species interactions in light of global change, especially ocean warming (OW) and ocean acidification (OA) in marine ecosystems. In coastal environments, macroalgae are among the most important taxa as they are often the most abundant primary producers and form the base of food webs. However, due to their sedentary nature, they are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In order to better understand how species interactions will be affected by climate change stressors, a solid understanding of how interspecies interactions operate under present-day conditions is needed. The first chapter of this thesis attempts to characterize seasonal variation in macroalgal physiology and biochemistry, and how interspecific interactions might affect algal fitness and palatability to a sea urchin herbivore (Echinometra lucunter). Specimens of Jania rubens, Sargassum cymosum, and Ulva lactuca were collected from monospecific patches or from associations , where individuals were in physical contact with another species, in both summer and winter. Net photosynthesis, nitrogen reductase activity, and pigment, phenolic and carbonate content of algae were evaluated among different associations across the two seasons. The results indicate that in addition to seasonal variation in most parameters measured, interactions between algae could change in both magnitude and sign (positive, negative or neutral) in different seasons. The no-choice herbivory assay (conducted in winter) revealed that both Jania and Ulva were consumed at higher rates when they were associated with each other, whereas Sargassum was not affected. These results suggest that macroalgae may influence the physiology and biochemical composition of neighboring species and subsequently affect their palatability, which may influence local community structure. To further evaluate effects of species interactions under climate change stressors, an experiment was performed to assess algal-herbivore interactions under OW and OA conditions. The most preferentially consumed algae from the first experiment (Jania rubens) and the sea urchin E. lucunter were evaluated in a 21-day mesocosm study with treatments of control, OW, OA, and OW+OA. Algal physiology was unaffected by increased temperature (+4°C) and pCO2 (1,000 ppm), but changes in the biochemical composition of the algal tissue were found. Metabolic rates of the sea urchin E. lucunter were higher in the ambient temperature, high pCO2 treatment, and feeding assays showed that this influenced consumption, with increased feeding rates in this treatment. The results here show that although algal biochemical composition was affected by future pCO2, at least in the short term, direct effects to sea urchin metabolism were more important for impacting this algae-herbivore interaction.

Continue reading ‘Implicações fisiológicas e ecológicas de interações interespecíficas nos bentos marinho-subsídio para o entendimento de cenários atuais e futuros (in Portuguese)’

Differential responses to ocean acidification between populations of Balanophyllia elegans corals from high and low upwelling environments

Published 18 February 2019 Science Closed
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Ocean acidification (OA), the global decrease in surface water pH from absorption of anthropogenic CO2, may put many marine taxa at risk. However, populations that experience extreme localized conditions, and are adapted to these conditions predicted in the global ocean in 2100, may be more tolerant to future OA. By identifying locally adapted populations, researchers can examine the mechanisms used to cope with decreasing pH. One oceanographic process that influences pH, is wind driven upwelling. Here we compare two Californian populations of the coral Balanophyllia elegans from distinct upwelling regimes, and test their physiological and transcriptomic responses to experimental seawater acidification. We measured respiration rates, protein and lipid content, and gene expression in corals from both populations exposed to pH levels of 7.8 and 7.4 for 29 days. Corals from the population that experiences lower pH due to high upwelling, maintained the same respiration rate throughout the exposure. In contrast, corals from the low upwelling site had reduced respiration rates, protein content, and lipid‐class content at low pH exposure, suggesting they have depleted their energy reserves. Using RNA‐Seq, we found that corals from the high upwelling site upregulated genes involved in calcium ion binding and ion transport, most likely related to pH homeostasis and calcification. In contrast, corals from the low upwelling site downregulated stress response genes at low pH exposure. Divergent population responses to low pH observed in B. elegans highlight the importance of multi‐population studies for predicting a species’ response to future OA.

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Ocean acidification sensors installed in Suva Harbour observing water acidity and temperature

Published 18 February 2019 Media coverage Closed
British High Commissioner to Fiji, Melanie Hopkins [far left/red top] adds that this will enable Fiji to conduct surveys that will make assessments on how much acidification is in Fiji waters

Ocean acidification sensors have been installed in the Suva Harbour providing real‑time observations of coastal water acidity and temperature.

This was highlighted by British High Commissioner to Fiji, Melanie Hopkins who adds that this will enable Fiji to conduct surveys that will make assessments on how much acidification is in Fiji waters and help measure temperature of the oceans to see how this affects the marine life and how Fiji can mitigate these changes.

This was made possible through the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme that is being funded by the UK.

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In-situ behavioural and physiological responses of Antarctic microphytobenthos to ocean acidification

Published 18 February 2019 Science Closed
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Ocean acidification (OA) is predicted to alter benthic marine community structure and function, however, there is a paucity of field experiments in benthic soft sediment communities and ecosystems. Benthic diatoms are important components of Antarctic coastal ecosystems, however very little is known of how they will respond to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification conditions were maintained by incremental computer controlled addition of high fCO2 seawater representing OA conditions predicted for the year 2100. Respiration chambers and PAM fluorescence techniques were used to investigate acute behavioural, photosynthetic and net production responses of benthic microalgae communities to OA in in-situ field experiments. We demonstrate how OA can modify behavioural ecology, which changes photo-physiology and net production of benthic microalgae. Ocean acidification treatments significantly altered behavioural ecology, which in turn altered photo-physiology. The ecological trends presented here have the potential to manifest into significant ecological change over longer time periods.

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Bill passing through legislature could help coastal fishers if passed

Published 18 February 2019 Media coverage Closed

SALEM, Ore. — A bill aimed at improving the health of the ocean and the wallets of fishermen is under legislative consideration in Salem.

SB 260 requires State Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a program for strategic investments in initiatives related to ocean acidification and hypoxia.

The proposal was developed by the Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia.

Hypoxia is an area of ocean water with little or no oxygen in it. Ocean acidification is defined as carbon dioxide dissolving into water.

The issues are blamed on coastal winds from the north during the summer and a warming ocean.

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Hyposalinity tolerance inthecoccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi under the influence of ocean acidification involves enhanced photosynthetic performance

Published 18 February 2019 Science Closed
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While seawater acidification induced by elevated CO2 is known to impact coccolithophores, the effects in combination with decreased salinity caused by sea ice melting and/or hydrological events have not been documented. Here we show the combined effects of seawater acidification and reduced salinity on growth, photosynthesis and calcification of Emiliania huxleyi grown at 2 CO2 concentrations (low CO2 LC: 400 μatm; high CO2 HC: 1000 μatm) and 3 levels of salinity (25, 30 and 35 ‰). A decrease of salinity from 35 to 25‰ increased growth rate, cell size and effective photochemical efficiency under both LC or HC. Calcification rates were relatively insensitive to combined effects of salinity and OA treatment but were highest under 3 5‰ and HC conditions, with higher ratios of calcification to photosynthesis (C : P) in the cells grown under 35 ‰ compared with those grown at 25 ‰. In addition, elevated dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration at the salinity of 35 ‰ stimulated its calcification. In contrast, photosynthetic carbon fixation increased almost linearly with decreasing salinity, regardless of the pCO2 treatments. When subjected to short-term exposure to high light, the low-salinity-grown cells showed the highest photochemical effective quantum yield with the highest repair rate, though HC treatment enhanced PSII damage rate. Our results suggest Emiliania huxleyi can tolerate low salinity plus acidification conditions by up-regulating its photosynthetic performance together with a relatively insensitive calcification response, which may help it better adapt to future ocean global environmental changes, especially in the coastal areas of high latitudes.

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Pteropods provide look into ocean acidification

Published 15 February 2019 Media coverage Closed

A scientist with the Southern California Coastal Research Center who studies pteropods – key forage for a variety of fish including juvenile salmon, sole and pollock – says they are being affected by ocean acidification in the Beaufort Sea and Western Gulf of Alaska.

Nina Bednarsek discussed the findings of her research team during a recent presentation at the annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium.

Due to their extreme sensitivity, these tiny ocean snails serve as a kind of canary in the coal mine, an excellent ocean acidification indicator, with the potential to provide insight into changes in the ecosystem integrity, which is essential to effective fisheries and marine resource management, she noted. Bednarsek and fellow researchers developed baseline information on several species – including species distribution and incidence of shell dissolution and their coupling with ocean acidification parameters –during several trips to the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Beaufort Sea between 2014 and 2017. The results, she said, demonstrate the biological vulnerability to ocean acidification across different high latitudinal environments.

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Integrating ocean acidification into coastal benthic ecology

Published 14 February 2019 Events Closed

Thursday, February 14, 2019 – 11:00am – 12:00pm

Event Location Schmidt Conference Center

Speaker: Alex Lowe, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Pre-registration Required No

Description: Ocean acidification from rising atmospheric CO2 poses serious threats to coastal ecosystem services. Seawater pH can impact physiological processes of many aquatic organisms, including valuable aquaculture species like Pacific oysters. Yet increasingly, researchers are finding that local ecological processes may be altering some of these global trends.

Ecologists have started to realize that that not only does pH affect organisms, but that organisms also affect pH. This discovery is changing the way we view coastal ecosystems. Understanding 1) how environmental factors or ecological processes drive variation in seawater pH; 2) whether this results in spatial variation of long-term ocean acidification; and 3) the effects of this pH variation on coastal organisms are critical research needs for climate change adaptation and management of important natural resources.

In this talk, Alex Lowe will discuss research that explores these questions at different scales in the Salish Sea, Washington, where scientists found that biological processes were the key driver of pH variation at daily, seasonal and decadal scales. In this system, seawater pH changed with phytoplankton and suspended detritus composition, seagrass cover and, to a lesser extent, temperature and salinity. Using experiments with native and aquaculture oysters as examples, Lowe will discuss the potential for integrating observations of carbonate chemistry into coastal ecological studies.

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How will sea life adapt to climate change? Grunion might show us clues, says new CSU Long Beach study

Published 14 February 2019 Media coverage Closed

AP Photo/Gary Florin, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Grunion, the little fish that come to shore to spawn along Southern California beaches, may hold clues as to how sea life will adapt to the effects of climate change on the ocean, according to a new study from California State University, Long Beach.

Researcher Darren Johnson conducted a series of experiments with grunion caught in Seal Beach. He found some families of grunion seemed better able to adapt to ocean acidification.

Grunion — unique little fish found only in Southern California and down south in Baja — mate on the sand when the waves wash them to shore. Grunion running season attracts droves of people who show up at beaches in the dark of night to wait and watch, some ready with buckets to collect the fish to eat when catching is allowed.

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A low-cost long-term model of coastal observatories of global change

Published 14 February 2019 Science Closed
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The identification and quantification of global change, including climate change, requires long time series of key variables. In this work, the fundamentals and operation of low-cost long-term coastal observatories are described, and preliminary data are shown. The vision is to offer a scientific platform of physicochemical data for at least the next 100 years, what requires establishing sustainable strategies, training human resources, strong institutional support, and long-term funding sources. The network formally operates since 2013 and has generated more than 6 million data points, continuously growing, of which >1.5 million data points are permanently stored and available through a public access web platform. The strategies and methodologies are described and, in the Mazatlan observatory, data recovery and basic statistics of eight environmental variables are presented. During 2015, an extreme El Niño year, marine temperatures increased from the bay to the middle Urias coastal lagoon, were higher than atmospheric temperatures, and showed the impact of a thermal power plant. In surface waters of Mazatlan bay, hypoxic periods were also observed. It is expected that results will foster the development of other projects, and will be useful to the scientific community and decision makers, for a better management of coastal ecosystems worldwide.

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The influence of CO2 seeps to coastal environments of Shikine Island in Japan as indicated by geochemistry analyses of seafloor sediments

Published 14 February 2019 Science Closed
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Recently, two shallow CO2 seeps were described in Ashitsuki and Mikama Bay (Shikine Island, Japan). These sites were deemed to have potentials for studying the impacts of ocean acidification. Here, we report geochemistry analyses of seawater and seafloor sediments collected from the shallow coasts on and around the two CO2 seeps. Seawater analyses indicated that shallow waters in the area share similar acidic characteristics (e.g. Avg. pH = ca. 7.1), supporting the result of a previous study. Next, the sediments from all sampling loci also share similar properties (Avg. Fe: Si = 0.043; Avg. organic content = 1.26%; Avg. relative Si content = 75.25%). However, sediments from Matsugashitamiyabi hot spring, which is located near the Ashitsuki seep, showed high Fe: Si ratio (1.250) when compared to other loci. This is most likely a local phenomenon, where iron accumulates in the sediment by the precipitation of rust produced through the mixing of FeS from the hot spring and carbonated seawater of the nearby CO2 seeps. We also compared seawater (e.g. Avg. pH = 8.3) and sediments (Avg. Fe: Si = 0.126; Avg. organic content = 2.06%; Avg. Si = 69.06%) of Hidaka Port in central Wakayama (as a standard sample of coastal surface water environment), to the Shikine Island samples excluding the Matsugashitamiyabi hot spring samples. The differences in characteristics (i.e. lower seawater pH and lower Avg. Fe: Si ratio of the latter) were probably caused by CO2 seep influence, and indicate that the influence of the hot spring water to the sediment of both CO2 seeps was minimal, or probably none. Accordingly, these seep sites are useful for future studies on the effects of ocean acidification on sea floor sediment composition, and its implication to biodiversity and the ecosystem.

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Variations in the summer oceanic pCO2 and carbon sink in Prydz Bay using the self-organizing map analysis approach

Published 14 February 2019 Science Closed
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This study applies a neural network technique to produce maps of oceanic surface pCO2 in Prydz Bay in the Southern Ocean on a weekly 0.1∘ longitude × 0.1∘ latitude grid based on in situ measurements obtained during the 31st CHINARE cruise from February to early March 2015. This study area was divided into three regions, namely, the “open-ocean” region, “sea-ice” region and “shelf” region. The distribution of oceanic pCO2 was mainly affected by physical processes in the open-ocean region, where mixing and upwelling were the main controls. In the sea-ice region, oceanic pCO2 changed sharply due to the strong change in seasonal ice. In the shelf region, biological factors were the main control. The weekly oceanic pCO2 was estimated using a self-organizing map (SOM) with four proxy parameters (sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a concentration, mixed Layer Depth and sea surface salinity) to overcome the complex relationship between the biogeochemical and physical conditions in the Prydz Bay region. The reconstructed oceanic pCO2 data coincide well with the in situ pCO2 data from SOCAT, with a root mean square error of 22.14 µatm. Prydz Bay was mainly a strong CO2 sink in February 2015, with a monthly averaged uptake of 23.57±6.36 TgC. The oceanic CO2 sink is pronounced in the shelf region due to its low oceanic pCO2 values and peak biological production.

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Israeli study: corals can live, breed in climate change

Published 13 February 2019 Press releases Closed

Bar-Ilan University’s Jessica Bellworthy monitoring coral health. Photo by M. Kahana

Parent corals from the Red Sea have the same reproductive output even when experiencing increased temperatures and ocean acidification stress.

The fact that climate change poses a threat to coral reefs is bad if somewhat old news. The good new news, however, is that an exception to that rule seems to be taking place in the Red Sea to Israel’s south.

Researchers have found that corals from the Gulf of Aqaba (where the southern Israeli city of Eilat is located) are not only surviving the effects of global warming, but are producing healthy offspring.

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Ecological and physiological constraints of deep-sea corals in a changing environment

Published 13 February 2019 Science Closed
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Deep-water or cold-water corals are abundant and highly diverse, greatly increase habitat heterogeneity and species richness, thereby forming one of the most significant ecosystems in the deep sea. Despite this remote location, they are not removed from the different anthropogenic disturbances that commonly impact their shallow-water counterparts. The global decrease in seawater pH due to increases in atmospheric CO2 are changing the chemical properties of the seawater, decreasing the concentration of carbonate ions that are important elements for different physiological and ecological processes. Predictive models forecast a shoaling of the carbonate saturation in the water column due to OA, and suggest that cold-water corals are at high risk, since large areas of suitable habitat will experience suboptimal conditions by the end of the century. The main objective of this study was to explore the fate of the deep-water coral community in time of environmental change. To better understand the impact of climate change this study focused in two of the most important elements of dee-sea coral habitat, the reef forming coral Lophelia pertusa and the octocoral community, particularly the gorgonian Callogorgia delta. By means of controlled experiments, I examined the effects of long and short-term exposures to seawater simulating future scenarios of ocean acidification on calcification and feeding efficiency. Finally In order to understand how the environment influences the community assembly, and ultimately how species cope with particular ecological filters, I integrated different aspects of biology such functional diversity and ecology into a more evolutionary context in the face of changing environment. My results suggest that I) deep-water corals responds negatively to future OA by lowering the calcification rates, II) not all individuals respond in the same way to OA with high intra-specific variability providing a potential for adaptation in the longterm III) there is a disruption in the balance between accretion and dissolution that in the long term can shift from net accretion to net dissolution, and IV) there is an evolutionary implication for certain morphological features in the coral community that can give an advantage under stresfull conditions. Nevertheless, the suboptimal conditions that deepwater corals will experience by the end of the century could potentially threaten their persistence, with potentially negative consequences for the future stability of this already fragile ecosystem.

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Ocean acidification, climate change, and you: a Casco Bay matters event

Published 13 February 2019 Events Closed

Event organizer: Jeff Fetterer

Event Date & Time: March 25, 2019 5:30 pm until March 25, 2019 6:30 pm

Contact email: keeper@cascobay.org

For more information: https://www.cascobay.org/casco-bay-matters/

Location: Southern Maine Community College, Fort Road, South Portland, ME, USA

We are seeing the impacts of climate change in our coastal waters. Friends of Casco Bay invites you to “Ocean Acidification, Climate Change, and You,” three community events. Staff scientist Mike Doan will talk about the warning signs we see in our monitoring data. Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca will inspire the audience to help us respond to these threats to Maine’s coastal environment and marine economy. Learn more. https://www.cascobay.org/casco-bay-matters/

This is such an important issue that we will offer this presentation at three locations around the Bay in the coming weeks. Come to the event nearest to you, or all three! Free and open to the public.

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