Anthropogenic CO2 emissions cause a drop in seawater pH and shift the inorganic carbon speciation. Collectively, the term ocean acidification (OA) summarizes these changes. Few studies have examined OA effects on predatory plankton, e.g. Hydrozoa and fish larvae as well as their interaction in complex natural communities. Because Hydrozoa can seriously compete with and prey on other higher-level predators such as fish, changes in their abundances may have significant consequences for marine food webs and ecosystem services. To investigate the interaction between Hydrozoa and fish larvae influenced by OA, we enclosed a natural plankton community in Raunefjord, Norway, for 53 days in eight ≈ 58 m³ pelagic mesocosms. CO2 levels in four mesocosms were increased to ≈ 2000 µatm pCO2, whereas the other four served as untreated controls. We studied OA-induced changes at the top of the food web by following ≈2000 larvae of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) hatched inside each mesocosm during the first week of the experiment, and a Hydrozoa population that had already established inside the mesocosms. Under OA, we detected 20% higher abundance of hydromedusae staged jellyfish, but 25% lower biomass. At the same time, survival rates of Atlantic herring larvae were higher under OA (control pCO2: 0.1%, high pCO2: 1.7%) in the final phase of the study. These results indicate that a decrease in predation pressure shortly after hatch likely shaped higher herring larvae survival, when hydromedusae abundance was lower in the OA treatment compared to control conditions. We conclude that indirect food-web mediated OA effects drove the observed changes in the Hydrozoa – fish relationship, based on significant changes in the phyto-, micro-, and mesoplankton community under high pCO2. Ultimately, the observed immediate consequences of these changes for fish larvae survival and the balance of the Hydrozoa – fish larvae predator – prey relationship has important implications for the functioning of oceanic food webs.
Continue reading ‘Ocean acidification alters the predator – prey relationship between hydrozoa and fish larvae’Posts Tagged 'sediment'
Ocean acidification alters the predator – prey relationship between hydrozoa and fish larvae
Published 24 May 2022 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, BRcommunity, chemistry, cnidaria, community composition, field, fish, mesocosms, molecular biology, mortality, North Atlantic, otherprocess, photosynthesis, phytoplankton, reproduction, sediment, zooplankton
Global record of “ghost” nannofossils reveals plankton resilience to high CO2 and warming
Published 20 May 2022 Science ClosedTags: paleo, phytoplankton, review, sediment
RELATED PERSPECTIVE
Fossil imprints from oceans of the past
Ghosts of the past
The marine geological records of some past global warming events contain relatively few nannoplankton fossils, the lack which some interpret as being evidence of the impact of ocean acidification and/or related environmental factors on biocalcification. Slater et al. present a global record of imprint, or “ghost,” nannofossils throughout several of those intervals during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (see the Perspective by Henderiks). This finding implies that a literal interpretation of the fossil record can be misleading, and demonstrates that nannoplankton were more resilient to past warming events than traditional fossil evidence would suggest. —HJS
Abstract
Predictions of how marine calcifying organisms will respond to climate change rely heavily on the fossil record of nannoplankton. Declines in calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and nannofossil abundance through several past global warming events have been interpreted as biocalcification crises caused by ocean acidification and related factors. We present a global record of imprint—or “ghost”—nannofossils that contradicts this view, revealing exquisitely preserved nannoplankton throughout an inferred Jurassic biocalcification crisis. Imprints from two further Cretaceous warming events confirm that the fossil records of these intervals have been strongly distorted by CaCO3 dissolution. Although the rapidity of present-day climate change exceeds the temporal resolution of most fossil records, complicating direct comparison with past warming events, our findings demonstrate that nannoplankton were more resilient to past events than traditional fossil evidence suggests.
Continue reading ‘Global record of “ghost” nannofossils reveals plankton resilience to high CO2 and warming’Effect of different pCO2 concentrations in seawater on meiofauna: abundance of communities in sediment and survival rate of harpacticoid copepods
Published 16 May 2022 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, community composition, crustaceans, laboratory, mortality, otherprocess, sediment, zooplankton
The amount of CO2 dissolved in the ocean has been increasing continuously, and the results using climate change models show that the CO2 concentration of the ocean will increase by over 1000 ppm by 2100. Ocean acidification is expected to have a considerable impact on marine ecosystems. To find out about the impacts of ocean acidification on meiofaunal communities and copepod groups, we analyzed the differences in the abundance of meiofauna communities in sediment and the survival rate of harpacticoid copepod assemblages separated from the sediment, between 400 and 1000 ppm pCO2 for a short period of 5 days. In experiments with communities in sediments exposed to different pCO2 concentrations, there was no significant difference in the abundance of total meiofauna and nematodes. However, the abundance of the harpacticoid copepod community was significantly lower at 1000 ppm than that at 400 ppm pCO2. On the other hand, in experiments with assemblages of harpacticoid copepods directly exposed to seawater, there was no significant difference in their survival rates between the two concentrations. Our findings suggest that a CO2 concentration of 1000 ppm in seawater can cause changes in the abundance of specific taxa such as harpacticoid copepods among the meiofauna communities in sediments.
Continue reading ‘Effect of different pCO2 concentrations in seawater on meiofauna: abundance of communities in sediment and survival rate of harpacticoid copepods’CaCO3 dissolution in carbonate-poor shelf sands increases with ocean acidification and porewater residence time
Published 13 May 2022 Science ClosedTags: chemistry, laboratory, North Pacific, sediment
Carbonate-poor sandy sediments comprise much of the shelf area, and—despite their low CaCO3 content—contain a significant pool of CaCO3 base available to neutralize ocean acid. Here, we conducted flow-through column experiments on permeable, carbonate-poor sand obtained from Catalina Island, CA, to quantify CaCO3 dissolution across a range of current and future seawater conditions. Using 13C isotope mass balance, we show that dissolution depends both on the CaCO3 saturation state (Ω) of the inflowing seawater, as well as porewater residence time. At current ocean conditions (Ωaragonite =2.4 and Ωcalcite =3.7 at our field site), dissolution was negligible for porewater residence times <1.8 h, but increased thereafter, following sufficient production of CO2 from aerobic respiration. As Ω of inlet water was lowered, simulating future ocean conditions, dissolution began earlier and rates increased. The response to acidification was similar to previously reported observations in carbonate-rich shelf environments, suggesting that carbonate-poor sediments have the potential to support enhanced dissolution in an acidifying ocean, given sufficient CaCO3 substrate. With continued acidification projected to occur this century, these sediments could transition from a net source of acid to the overlying seawater (production of alkalinity to dissolved inorganic carbon, ΔAlk/ΔDIC<1) to net source of buffering capacity (ΔAlk/ΔDIC>1) when overlying seawater Ωaragonite reaches 0.96 to 0.69 (Ωcalcite = 1.50 and 1.07), depending on porewater residence time. In some areas with naturally acidic water, this threshold has already been reached.
Continue reading ‘CaCO3 dissolution in carbonate-poor shelf sands increases with ocean acidification and porewater residence time’The effects of ocean acidification on microbial nutrient cycling and productivity in coastal marine sediments
Published 12 May 2022 Science ClosedTags: biological response, community composition, Indian, laboratory, mitigation, molecular biology, otherprocess, photosynthesis, physiology, sediment
Ocean Acidification (OA), commonly referred to as the “other CO₂ problem,” illustrates the current rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, precipitated in large by human-related activity (e.g., fossil fuel combustion and mass deforestation). The dissolution of atmospheric CO₂ into the surface of the ocean over time has reduced oceanic pH levels by 0.1 units since the start of the pre-industrial era and has resulted in wholesale shifts in seawater carbonate chemistry on a planetary scale. The chemical processes of ocean acidification are increasingly well documented, demonstrating clear rates of increase for global CO₂ emissions predicted by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) under the business-as-usual CO₂ emissions scenario. The ecological impact of ocean acidification alters seawater chemical speciation and disrupts vital biogeochemical cycling processes for various chemicals and compounds. Whereby the unidentified potential fallout of this is the cascading effects on the microbial communities within the benthic sediments. These microorganisms drive the marine ecosystem through a network of vast biogeochemical cycling processes aiding in the moderation of ecosystem-wide primary productivity and fundamentally regulating the global climate. The benthic sediments are determinably one of the largest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Marine sediments are also conceivably one of the most productive in terms of microbial activity and nutrient flux between the water-sediment interface (i.e., boundary layer). The absorption and sequestering of CO₂ from the atmosphere have demonstrated significant impacts on various marine taxa and their associated ecological processes. This is commonly observed in the reduction in calcium carbonate saturation states in most shell-forming organisms (i.e., plankton, benthic mollusks, echinoderms, and Scleractinia corals). However, the response of benthic sediment microbial communities to a reduction in global ocean pH remains considerably less well characterized. As these microorganisms operate as the lifeblood of the marine ecosystem, understanding their response and physiological plasticity to increased levels of CO₂ is of critical importance when it comes to investigating regional and global implications for the effects of ocean acidification.
Continue reading ‘The effects of ocean acidification on microbial nutrient cycling and productivity in coastal marine sediments’Potential resilience to ocean acidification of benthic foraminifers living in Posidonia oceanica meadows: the case of the shallow venting site of Panarea
Published 29 April 2022 Science ClosedTags: biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, field, Mediterranean, otherprocess, phanerogams, protists, sediment, vents
This research shows the results regarding the response to acidic condition of the sediment and Posidonia foraminiferal assemblages collected around the Panarea Island. The Aeolian Archipelago represents a natural laboratory and a much-promising study site for multidisciplinary marine research (carbon capture and storage, geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids and ocean acidification vs. benthic and pelagic organisms). The variability and the complexity of the interaction of the ecological factors characterizing extreme environments such as shallow hydrothermal vents did not allow us to carry out a real pattern of biota responses in situ, differently from those observed under controlled laboratory conditions. However, the study provides new insights into foraminiferal response to increasing ocean acidification (OA) in terms of biodiversity, faunal density, specific composition of the assemblages and morphological variations of the shells. The study highlights how the foraminiferal response to different pH conditions can change depending on different environmental conditions and microhabitats (sediments, Posidonia leaves and rhizomes). Indeed, mineral sediments were more impacted by acidification, whereas Posidonia microhabitats, thanks to their buffer effect, can offer “refugia” and more mitigated acidic environment. At species level, rosalinids and agglutinated group represent the most abundant taxa showing the most specific resilience and capability to face acidic conditions.
Continue reading ‘Potential resilience to ocean acidification of benthic foraminifers living in Posidonia oceanica meadows: the case of the shallow venting site of Panarea’Acidification impacts and acclimation potential of foraminifera
Published 19 April 2022 Science ClosedTags: biological response, BRcommunity, laboratory, mortality, North Atlantic, physiology, protists, sediment
Ocean acidification is expected to negatively affect many ecologically important organisms. Here we explored the response of Caribbean benthic foraminiferal communities to naturally discharging low-pH waters similar to expected future projections for the end of the 21st century. At low-pH (~ 7.7 pH units), low calcite saturation, agglutinated and symbiont-bearing species were relatively more abundant, indicating higher resistance to potential carbonate chemistry changes. Diversity and other taxonomical metrics declined steeply with decreasing pH despite exposure of this ecosystem for millennia to low pH conditions, suggesting that tropical foraminifera communities will be negatively impacted under acidification scenarios SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5. The species Archaias angulatus, a major contributor to sediment production in the Caribbean was able to calcify at conditions more extreme than those projected for the late 21st century (7.1 pH units), but the calcified tests were of lower density than those exposed to high-pH ambient conditions (7.96 pH units), indicating that reef foraminiferal carbonate budget might decrease. Smaller foraminifera were highly sensitive to decreasing pH and our results demonstrate their potential as indicators to monitor increasing OA conditions.
Continue reading ‘Acidification impacts and acclimation potential of foraminifera’An evaluation of the efficacy of shell hash for the mitigation of intertidal sediment acidification
Published 28 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: chemistry, field, mitigation, North Pacific, sediment
Our objectives were twofold: (1) to determine whether the addition of shell hash to intertidal sediments would mitigate porewater acidification and (2) whether its effectiveness was dependent on the type of sediment as described by organic matter (OM) and particle grain size (PGS). Field experiments were conducted at two sites within Burrard Inlet, British Columbia; Maplewood Mudflats (MM), high in OM and silt and Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park (WAW), low in OM and an equal PGS among very coarse, coarse, fine sand, and silt. Shell hash was added to triplicate treatment plots matched with triplicate controls at each site and porewater pH measured at flood and ebb tide over eight tidal cycles. Sampling occurred during June and July when tidal cycles were at their maximum inundation and exposure. Porewater pH was significantly greater for ebb versus flood tide and also between sites with MM significantly lower (7.59) as compared to WAW (8.03). Although pH was not mitigated by the shell hash, for WAW, variation in pH was reduced as compared to MM, as indicated by coefficients of variation over the 6-week sampling period. We suggest that the application of shell hash to reduce the impact of ocean acidification (OA) on intertidal sediments will be site dependent. The combined processes of eutrophication in sediments with high OM and respiration of infauna, especially at high densities, could act in concert with OA to create an intertidal region unsuitable for bivalve larvae settlement and development.
Continue reading ‘An evaluation of the efficacy of shell hash for the mitigation of intertidal sediment acidification’Revisiting the carbonate chemistry of the Sea of Japan (East Sea): from water column to sediment
Published 25 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: chemistry, field, North Pacific, sediment
In this study, we investigated the carbonate system in sediments and water columns from five stations in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) (JES) during the R/V Hakuho Maru KH-10-2 research cruise in the summer of 2010. The total alkalinity (TA) and pH were measured. Adopting a saturation degree of 91% and 80% for the lysocline depth and calcite compensation depth (CCD), respectively, we found that those depths corresponded to 1360 and 1980 m. A comparison of the calcite saturation depths, lysocline depths, and CCD depths obtained for 1999 and 2010 suggests that acidification of the interior of the JES occurred. Sediment cores were retrieved using a multi-corer. In the sediment cores, a sharp decrease in the pH by 0.3–0.4 pH units was observed in the subsurface horizons (0–10 cm) compared with the pH of the seawater from the bottom horizons. The TA in the porewaters was significantly higher than that in the overlying seawater. The anaerobic degradation of organic matter is probably the main cause for the increasing TA in the sediments. The porewaters were significantly undersaturated with calcite and aragonite, except in that from the shallowest station, where the sediments below 7.5 cm were saturated, and even supersaturated, with calcite and aragonite. A linear correlation between the dissolved inorganic carbon and the TA for sediments with a slope of 0.9993 was found, despite there being potentially different ways for the diagenesis of the organic matter to occur. The diagenesis of organic matter in the top sediments of the JES forms gradients of TA and CO2* concentrations on the interface of “bottom water–sediments”. Averaged fluxes of TA and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from the sediments to the bottom waters estimated by means of Fickian diffusion were calculated as 44 and 89 mmol/(m2 year) for TA and DIC, respectively.
Continue reading ‘Revisiting the carbonate chemistry of the Sea of Japan (East Sea): from water column to sediment’The distribution of intact polar lipid-derived branched tetraethers along a freshwater-seawater pH gradient in coastal East China Sea
Published 23 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: archaea, biological response, laboratory, North Pacific, physiology, sediment
In view of the application of microbial branched tetraether lipids (i.e., brGDGTs) in terrestrial pH reconstructions, their potential as seawater pH proxy is investigated from the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE) to the shelf region in the East China Sea (ECS). BrGDGTs occurring as ‘fossil’ core and in ‘living’ intact polar lipids (CL-brGDGTs and IPL-brGDGTs, respectively) in surface sediments are separately analyzed. The results show that riverine IPL-brGDGTs are rapidly lost at the transition from the YRE to the marine settings and sedimentary IPL-brGDGTs are predominantly produced in situ in brackish water environments. Among environmental parameters, surface water pH is a determinant factor controlling the cyclization of IPL-brGDGTs, with higher cyclization at higher pH. Hereby, two IPL-brGDGTs-based seawater pH calibrations are established in the brackish seawater environment in this study: surface pH = 7.28 + 1.08 × #Ringstetra (n = 18, r2 = 0.87, RMSE = 0.05, p < 0.01) and surface pH = 7.13 + 3.82 × f(Ic) + 4.29 × f(IIb’) + 4.21 × f(IIIa) (n = 18, r2 = 0.90, RMSE = 0.04, p < 0.01), which are different from those established in terrestrial environments. This is the first work demonstrating that in situ produced microbial brGDGTs can trace seawater pH change in marine environment, which makes it promising to apply brGDGTs for seawater pH reconstructions in marine settings where the terrestrial inputs are negligible.
Continue reading ‘The distribution of intact polar lipid-derived branched tetraethers along a freshwater-seawater pH gradient in coastal East China Sea’Unraveling ecological signals from a global warming event of the past
Published 23 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: paleo, sediment
This article has related content: Isotopic filtering reveals high sensitivity of planktic calcifiers to Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum warming and acidification Brittany N. Hupp, D. Clay Kelly, John W. Williams
As we face the increasing threat of global warming and its associated effects, paleontologists and paleoclimatologists alike look to the geological record to investigate how rapid, natural global warming events of the past have impacted the Earth system. One of the most important archives for investigating climate change in the geological past is the marine sediment record (1). In the open oceans, sediment particles, organic matter, and the shells of marine microorganisms, are constantly raining down on the seafloor and accumulating as marine sediments (1). In the relative quiescence of the deep sea, these sediments can build up relatively undisturbed for millions of years (1). Analysis of the chemical signals in these sediments that are influenced by temperature has allowed for the reconstruction of changing global climates throughout the last 70 million years (2).
The first half of the Cenozoic (66 million years to 34 million years ago) was characterized by “hothouse” and “warmhouse” climates, when global temperatures were between 5 °C and 10 °C warmer than the present day (2), and atmospheric CO2 was estimated to be between 500 and 3,000 parts per million (3). Against this backdrop of an already warm world, between 56 million and 46 million years ago, there were a series of rapid global warming events called “hyperthermals” (2). These hyperthermal events are geologically brief, typically <200,000 y in duration, and associated with sharp negative carbon isotope excursions (2). The Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), which occurred ∼56 million years ago, was the largest of these events (2). It was first discovered in the early 1990s as a pronounced shift in the climate records of a deep-sea sediment core from the Southern Ocean (4). Since that time, the PETM has become the most studied Cenozoic hyperthermal, and, due to its potential analogy to anthropogenic climate change, it remains a key interval of Earth history for climatological research.
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Continue reading ‘Unraveling ecological signals from a global warming event of the past’Abrupt upwelling and CO2 outgassing episodes in the north-eastern Arabian Sea since mid-Holocene
Published 21 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: Indian, laboratory, phytoplankton, sediment
Identifying the causes and consequences of natural variations in ocean acidification and atmospheric CO2 due to complex earth processes has been a major challenge for climate scientists in the past few decades. Recent developments in the boron isotope (δ11B) based seawater pH and pCO2 (or pCO2sw) proxy have been pivotal in understanding the various oceanic processes involved in air-sea CO2 exchange. Here we present the first foraminifera-based δ11B record from the north-eastern Arabian Sea (NEAS) covering the mid-late Holocene (~ 8–1 ka). Our record suggests that the region was overall a moderate to strong CO2 sink during the last 7.7 kyr. The region behaved as a significant CO2 source during two short intervals around 5.5–4 ka and 2.8–2.5 ka. The decreased pH and increased CO2 outgassing during those abrupt episodes are associated with the increased upwelling in the area. The upwelled waters may have increased the nutrient content of the surface water through either increased supply or weaker export production. This new dataset from the coastal NEAS suggests that, as a potential result of changes in the strength of the El-Nino Southern Oscillation, the region experienced short episodes of high CO2 outgassing and pre-industrial ocean acidification comparable to or even greater than that experienced during the last ~ 200 years.
Continue reading ‘Abrupt upwelling and CO2 outgassing episodes in the north-eastern Arabian Sea since mid-Holocene’Parallel between the isotopic composition of coccolith calcite and carbon levels across Termination II: developing a new paleo-CO2 probe
Published 18 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: biological response, laboratory, North Atlantic, physiology, phytoplankton, sediment
Beyond the pCO2 records provided by ice core measurements, the quantification of atmospheric CO2 concentrations and changes thereof relies on proxy data, the development of which represents a foremost challenge in paleoceanography. In the paleoceanographic toolbox, the coccolithophores occupy a notable place, as the magnitude of the carbon isotopic fractionation between ambient CO2 and a type of organic compounds that these photosynthetic microalgae synthesize (the alkenones) represents a relatively robust proxy to reconstruct past atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the Cenozoic. The isotopic composition of coeval calcite biominerals found in the sediments and also produced by the coccolithophores (the coccoliths) have been found to record an ambient CO2 signal through culture and sediment analyses. These studies have, however, not yet formalized a transfer function that quantitatively ties the isotopic composition of coccolith calcite to the concentrations of aqueous CO2 and, ultimately, to atmospheric CO2 levels. Here, we make use of a microseparation protocol to compare the isotopic response of two size-restricted coccolith assemblages from the North Atlantic to changes in surface ocean CO2 during Termination II (ca. 130–140 ka). Performing paired measurements of the isotopic composition (δ13C and δ18O) of relatively large and small coccoliths provides an isotopic offset that can be designated as a “differential vital effect”. We find that the evolution of this offset follows that of aqueous CO2 concentrations computed from the ice core CO2 curve and an independent temperature signal. We interpret this biogeochemical feature to be the result of converging carbon fixation strategies between large and small cells as the degree of carbon limitation for cellular growth decreases across the deglaciation. We are therefore able to outline a first-order trend between the coccolith differential vital effects and aqueous CO2 in the range of Quaternary CO2 concentrations. Although this study would benefit from further constraints on the other controls at play on coccolith geochemistry (growth rate, air–sea gas exchange, etc.), this test of the drivers of coccolith Δδ13C and Δδ18O in natural conditions is a new step in the development of a coccolith paleo-CO2 probe.
Continue reading ‘Parallel between the isotopic composition of coccolith calcite and carbon levels across Termination II: developing a new paleo-CO2 probe’Surface ocean warming and acidification driven by rapid carbon release precedes Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Published 17 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: laboratory, North Atlantic, paleo, phytoplankton, protists, sediment
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is recognized by a major negative carbon isotope (δ13C) excursion (CIE) signifying an injection of isotopically light carbon into exogenic reservoirs, the mass, source, and tempo of which continue to be debated. Evidence of a transient precursor carbon release(s) has been identified in a few localities, although it remains equivocal whether there is a global signal. Here, we present foraminiferal δ13C records from a marine continental margin section, which reveal a 1.0 to 1.5‰ negative pre-onset excursion (POE), and concomitant rise in sea surface temperature of at least 2°C and a decline in ocean pH. The recovery of both δ13C and pH before the CIE onset and apparent absence of a POE in deep-sea records suggests a rapid (< ocean mixing time scales) carbon release, followed by recovery driven by deep-sea mixing. Carbon released during the POE is therefore likely more similar to ongoing anthropogenic emissions in mass and rate than the main CIE.
Continue reading ‘Surface ocean warming and acidification driven by rapid carbon release precedes Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum’Effects of local acidification on benthic communities at shallow hydrothermal vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea)
Published 10 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: field, laboratory, Mediterranean, sediment, vents, zooplankton
Simple Summary
Ocean acidification is causing major changes in marine ecosystems, with varying levels of impact depending on the region and habitat investigated. Here, we report noticeable changes in both meio- and macrobenthic assemblages at shallow hydrothermal vents located in the Mediterranean Sea. In general, the areas impacted by the vent fluids showed decrease in the abundance of several taxa and a shift in community composition, but with a clear biomass reduction evident only for macrofauna. CO2 emissions at shallow hydrothermal vents cause a progressive simplification of community structure and a general biodiversity decline due to the loss of the most sensitive meio- and macrofaunal taxa, which were replaced by the more tolerant groups, such as oligochaetes, or highly mobile species, able to escape from extreme conditions. Our results provide new insight on the tolerance of marine meio- and macrofaunal taxa to the extreme conditions generated by hydrothermal vent emissions in shallow-water ecosystems.
Abstract
The Aeolian Islands (Mediterranean Sea) host a unique hydrothermal system called the “Smoking Land” due to the presence of over 200 volcanic CO2-vents, resulting in water acidification phenomena and the creation of an acidified benthic environment. Here, we report the results of a study conducted at three sites located at ca. 16, 40, and 80 m of depth, and characterized by CO2 emissions to assess the effects of acidification on meio- and macrobenthic assemblages. Acidification caused significant changes in both meio- and macrofaunal assemblages, with a clear decrease in terms of abundance and a shift in community composition. A noticeable reduction in biomass was observed only for macrofauna. The most sensitive meiofaunal taxa were kinorhynchs and turbellarians that disappeared at the CO2 sites, while the abundance of halacarids and ostracods increased, possibly as a result of the larger food availability and the lower predatory pressures by the sensitive meiofaunal and macrofaunal taxa. Sediment acidification also causes the disappearance of more sensitive macrofaunal taxa, such as gastropods, and the increase in tolerant taxa such as oligochaetes. We conclude that the effects of shallow CO2-vents result in the progressive simplification of community structure and biodiversity loss due to the disappearance of the most sensitive meio- and macrofaunal taxa.
Continue reading ‘Effects of local acidification on benthic communities at shallow hydrothermal vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea)’Isotopic filtering reveals high sensitivity of planktic calcifiers to Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum warming and acidification
Published 9 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: chemistry, field, methods, mitigation, North Pacific, paleo, sediment
Significance
Human-induced carbon emissions are causing global temperatures to rise and oceans to acidify. To understand how these rapid perturbations affect marine calcifying communities, we investigate a similar event in Earth’s geologic past, the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). We introduce a method, isotopic filtering, to mitigate the time-averaging effects of sediment mixing on deep-sea microfossil records. Contrary to previous studies, we find that tropical planktic foraminifers in the central Pacific ocean were adversely affected by PETM conditions, as evidenced by a decrease in local diversity, extratropical migration, and impaired calcification. While these species survived the PETM through migration to cooler waters, it is unclear whether marine calcifiers can withstand the rapid changes our oceans are experiencing today.
Abstract
Ocean warming and acidification driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions pose an existential threat to marine calcifying communities. A similar perturbation to global carbon cycling and ocean chemistry occurred ∼56 Ma during the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), but microfossil records of the marine biotic response are distorted by sediment mixing. Here, we use the carbon isotope excursion marking the PETM to distinguish planktic foraminifer shells calcified during the PETM from those calcified prior to the event and then isotopically filter anachronous specimens from the PETM microfossil assemblages. We find that nearly one-half of foraminifer shells in a deep-sea PETM record from the central Pacific (Ocean Drilling Program Site 865) are reworked contaminants. Contrary to previous interpretations, corrected assemblages reveal a transient but significant decrease in tropical planktic foraminifer diversity at this open-ocean site during the PETM. The decrease in local diversity was caused by extirpation of shallow- and deep-dwelling taxa as they underwent extratropical migrations in response to heat stress, with one prominent lineage showing signs of impaired calcification possibly due to ocean acidification. An absence of subbotinids in the corrected assemblages suggests that ocean deoxygenation may have rendered thermocline depths uninhabitable for some deeper-dwelling taxa. Latitudinal range shifts provided a rapid-response survival mechanism for tropical planktic foraminifers during the PETM, but the rapidity of ocean warming and acidification projected for the coming centuries will likely strain the adaptability of these resilient calcifiers.
Continue reading ‘Isotopic filtering reveals high sensitivity of planktic calcifiers to Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum warming and acidification’Aragonite dissolution protects calcite at the seafloor
Published 3 March 2022 Science ClosedTags: chemistry, methods, sediment
In the open ocean, calcium carbonates are mainly found in two mineral forms. Calcite, the least soluble, is widespread at the seafloor, while aragonite, the more soluble, is rarely preserved in marine sediments. Despite its greater solubility, research has shown that aragonite, whose contribution to global pelagic calcification could be at par with that of calcite, is able to reach the deep-ocean. If large quantities of aragonite settle and dissolve at the seafloor, this represents a large source of alkalinity that buffers the deep ocean and favours the preservation of less soluble calcite, acting as a deep-sea, carbonate version of galvanization. Here, we investigate the role of aragonite dissolution on the early diagenesis of calcite-rich sediments using a novel 3D, micrometric-scale reactive-transport model combined with 3D, X-ray tomography structures of natural aragonite and calcite shells. Results highlight the important role of diffusive transport in benthic calcium carbonate dissolution, in agreement with recent work. We show that, locally, aragonite fluxes to the seafloor could be sufficient to suppress calcite dissolution in the top layer of the seabed, possibly causing calcite recrystallization. As aragonite producers are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification, the proposed galvanizing effect of aragonite could be weakened in the future, and calcite dissolution at the sediment-water interface will have to cover a greater share of CO2 neutralization.
Continue reading ‘Aragonite dissolution protects calcite at the seafloor’Methane hydrate dissociation across the Oligocene–Miocene boundary
Published 28 February 2022 Science ClosedTags: Antarctic, field, modeling, paleo, regionalmodeling, sediment, toxicants
Methane hydrate dissociation has long been considered as a mechanism for global carbon cycle perturbations, climate change and even mass extinctions in Earth’s history. However, direct evidence of hydrate destabilization and methane release coinciding with such events is scarce. Here we report the presence of diagnostic lipid biomarkers with depleted carbon isotopes from three sites in the Southern Ocean that are directly linked to methane release and subsequent oxidation across the Oligocene–Miocene boundary (23 million years ago). The biomarker evidence indicates that the hydrate destabilization was initiated during the peak of the Oligocene–Miocene boundary glaciation and sea-level low stand, consistent with our model results suggesting the decrease in hydrostatic pressure eroded the base of global methane hydrate stability zones. Aerobic oxidation of methane in seawater consumes oxygen and acidifies the ocean, acting as a negative feedback that perhaps facilitated the rapid and mysterious termination of glaciation in the early Miocene.
Continue reading ‘Methane hydrate dissociation across the Oligocene–Miocene boundary’Ocean acidification modifies the impact of warming on sediment nitrogen recycling and assimilation by enhancing the benthic microbial loop
Published 22 February 2022 Science ClosedTags: biological response, BRcommunity, laboratory, multiple factors, sediment, temperature
Nitrogen that has been recycled in the benthos supports high rates of primary and secondary production in estuaries. However, little is known about the effect of future climate on benthic nitrogen recycling and assimilation. An ex situ core incubation was used to assess the impact of combinations of warming (8°C range) and ocean acidification (OA) (i.e. increased pCO2 and decreased pH) on ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate/nitrite (NOx) fluxes and 15N-nitrate assimilation in shallow unvegetated estuarine sediments. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN = NH4+ + NOx) fluxes were significantly affected by the interaction of warming and OA, highlighting the importance of considering combined stressor treatments when investigating ecosystem responses to future climates. Warming alone increased DIN efflux from the sediments. At current mean ambient temperatures (23°C) and below (Δ-3°C), OA significantly increased DIN effluxes, but there was little to no effect of OA on DIN fluxes at warmer temperatures (Δ+3°C and Δ+5°C). OA reduced the 15N assimilation/retention of the sediments across all temperatures, suggesting that nitrogen retention in bacterial biomass was reduced, despite OA also increasing primary productivity. As such, under the projected future climate of ~3°C warming and doubling of pCO2 (~1000 µatm), unvegetated estuarine sediments are likely to have a more rapid turnover of DIN driven by greater microphytobenthos production and recycling.
Continue reading ‘Ocean acidification modifies the impact of warming on sediment nitrogen recycling and assimilation by enhancing the benthic microbial loop’Seasonal carbonate system vis-a-vis pH and salinity in selected tropical estuaries: implications on polychaete diversity and composition towards predicting ecological health
Published 16 February 2022 Science ClosedTags: annelids, biogeochemistry, biological response, Indian, laboratory, multiple factors, salinity, sediment
Highlights
- The role of salinity-pH gradient coupled with carbonate species on the polychaete community distribution was studied.
- Salinity-pH was positively correlated with carbonate and DOC.
- pCO2 was positively correlated with POC, DIC and CO2.
- High levels of carbonate species and low pH have a greater impact on polychaete diversity and richness.
Abstract
Salinity and pH play a fundamental role in structuring spatial patterns of physical properties, biota, and biogeochemical processes in the estuarine ecosystem. In this study, the influence of salinity-pH gradient and carbonate system on polychaete diversity in Ennore, Uppanar, Vellar, and Kaduvaiyar estuaries was investigated. Water and sediment samples were collected from September 2017 to August 2018. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were employed to define ecological status. Temperature, Salinity, pH, and partial pressure of carbon-di-oxide varied between 21 and 30°C; 29 and 39 ppt; 7.4 and 8.3; and 89.216 and 1702.558 µatm, respectively. PCA and CCA results revealed that DO, chlorophyll, carbonate species, and sediment TOC have a higher influence on polychaete community structure. Forty-two species such as Ancistrosyllis parva, Cossura coasta, Eunice pennata, Euclymene annandalei, Lumbrineris albidentata, Capitella capitata, Prionospio cirrifera, P. pinnata, P. cirrobranchiata, and Notomastus sp. were found dominantly in all estuaries. Shannon index values ranged between 1.619 (UE-1) and 3.376 (VE-2). Based on these findings, high levels of carbonate species and low pH have a greater impact on polychaete diversity and richness values. The results of the AMBI Index revealed that stations UE-1, UE-2, UE-3 in Uppanar, EC-1, EC-2 in Ennore indicate “moderately disturbed”, while other stations are under the “slightly disturbed” category. This trend was quite evident in M-AMBI as well.
Continue reading ‘Seasonal carbonate system vis-a-vis pH and salinity in selected tropical estuaries: implications on polychaete diversity and composition towards predicting ecological health’
