When pre-winter juvenile pteropods were cultured at a range of warmer temperatures and ocean acidification levels for 29 days, temperature was the overriding cause of increased mortality. However, ocean acidification was the main factor in reducing shell diameter by 10-12 percent and increasing shell degradation by 41 percent. This study ...

Four species of intertidal brown seaweeds increased their uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) as ambient CO2 concentration increased, while one other species did not. The amount of increased CO2 uptake changed seasonally with temperature, and for one species the results indicated that future impacts of increased CO2 would be greatest ...

This study used Earth system models to examine how four of the major stressors of ocean ecosystems—warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and changes in primary productivity—may evolve over the 21st century.

Health of Atlantic halibut may be affected by moderate ocean acidification—by itself and combined with warmer temperatures.

Marine phytoplankton have many characteristics, such as rapid cell division rates and large population sizes, that may enable them to adapt to ocean acidification and other types of global change. This paper reviews findings from previous studies to evaluate whether this adaptation is likely to occur, and it stresses the ...

For three ecologically important estuarine fish species—inland silverside, Atlantic silverside, and sheepshead minnow—the early life stages were more sensitive to low oxygen than they were to low pH. The combination of low oxygen and low pH had the biggest effect. The results suggest that ocean acidification and hypoxia may reduce ...

For juvenile hard-shell clams, ocean acidification alone or in combination with low salinity reduced the hardness and fracture toughness of their shells. This may reduce protection against predators. Salinity should be taken into account when predicting the effects of ocean acidification on estuarine bivalves. (Laboratory study)

When juvenile oysters were exposed to ocean acidification and/or low salinity, they had greater mortality, less energy stored in their tissues, and loss of soft tissue indicating energy deficiency. Ocean acidification and low salinity also reduced the hardness and fracture resistance of their shells. (Laboratory study)

Climate change, rising atmospheric carbon dioxide, excess nutrient inputs, and pollution in its many forms are fundamentally altering the chemistry of the ocean, often on a global scale and, in some cases, at rates greatly exceeding those in the historical and recent geological record. Major observed trends include a shift ...

Ocean acidification increased the rate at which sponges bored into scallop shells. At pH 7.8, sponges bored twice the number of papillar holes and removed two times more shell weight than at pH 8.1. Greater erosion caused by the lower pH weakened the scallop shells. A warmer water temperature had ...