After a pelagic larval phase, infaunal bivalves undergo metamorphosis and transition to the underlying sediments to begin the benthic stage of their life history, where they explore and then either accept or reject sediments. Although the settlement cues used by juvenile infaunal bivalves are poorly understood, here we provide evidence ...
The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will lower the pH in ocean waters, a process termed ocean acidification (OA). Despite its potentially detrimental effects on calcifying organisms, experimental studies on the possible impacts on fish remain scarce. While adults will most likely remain relatively unaffected by changes in ...
Ocean acidification, caused by increasing atmospheric concentrations of CO2, is one of the most critical anthropogenicthreats to marine life. Changes in seawater carbonate chemistry have the potential to disturb calcification, acid–base regulation, blood circulation and respiration, as well as the nervous system of marine organisms, leading to long-term effects such ...
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution humans have released ~500 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere through fossil-fuel burning, cement production and land-use changes. About 30% has been taken up by the oceans. The oceanic uptake of carbon dioxide leads to changes in marine carbonate chemistry resulting in a ...
Ocean acidification is a global, long-term problem whose ultimate solution requires carbon dioxide reduction at a scope and scale that will take decades to accomplish successfully. Until that is achieved, feasible and locally relevant adaptation and mitigation measures are needed. To help to prioritize societal responses to ocean acidification, we ...
Anthropogenic CO2 emissions are acidifying the world’s oceans. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that ocean acidification can impact survival, growth, development and physiology of marine invertebrates. Here, we tested the impact of long-term (up to 16 months) and trans-life-cycle (adult, embryo/larvae and juvenile) exposure to elevated pCO2 (1,200 μatm, compared to control 400 μatm) on ...
It has long been recognized that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is potentially sensitive to greenhouse–gas and other climate forcing, and that changes in the MOC have the potential to cause abrupt climate change. However, the mechanisms remain poorly understood and our ability to detect these changes remains incomplete. ...
Although ocean acidification is expected to reduce carbonate saturation and yield negative impacts on open-ocean calcifying organisms in the near future, acidification in coastal ecosystems may already be affecting these organisms. Few studies have addressed the effects of sedimentary saturation state on benthic invertebrates. Here, we investigate whether sedimentary aragonite ...
Development of seasonal hypoxia was studied weekly in the western narrows of Long Island Sound (WLIS) during the summers of 1992 and 1993 by measuring hydrographic properties, biological oxygen demand (BOD), biomass, production, and mortality of phytoplankton and bacterioplankton in the water column. Dissolved oxygen in bottom waters was low ...
A mesocosm experiment was conducted to quantify the effects of medium term (5 wk) exposure to acidified seawater on the structure of Nereis virens (Polychaeta) burrows and sediment nutrient fluxes. Worms were exposed to seawater acidified to a pH of 7.3, 6.5 or 5.6 using carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. These treatments mimicked ...
