Effects of Ocean Acidification on Nektonic Organisms

Abstract

The average surface-ocean pH is reported to have declined by more than 0.1 units from the pre-industrial level ( Orr et al. 2005 ), and is projected to decrease by another 0.14 to 0.35 units by the end of this century, due to anthropogenic CO2 emissions (Caldeira and Wickett 2005 ; see also Chapters 3 and 14). These global-scale predictions deal with average surface-ocean values, but coastal regions are not well represented because of a lack of data, complexities of nearshore circulation processes, and spatially coarse model resolution (Fabry et al. 2008 ; Chapter 3 ). The carbonate chemistry of coastal waters and of deeper water layers can be substantially different from that in surface water of offshore regions. For instance, Frankignoulle et al. ( 1998 ) reported pCO2 (note 1) levels ranging from 500 to 9400 μatm in estuarine embayments (inner estuaries) and up to 1330 μatm in river plumes at sea (outer estuaries) in Europe. Zhai et al. (2005) reported pCO2 values of > 4000 μatm in the Pearl River Estuary, which drains into the South China Sea. Similarly, oxygen minimum layers show elevated pCO2 levels, associated with the degree of hypoxia (Millero 1996). These findings suggest that some coastal and mid-water animals, both pelagic and benthic, are regularly experiencing hypercapnic hypercapnic conditions (i.e. elevated pCO2 levels), that reach beyond those projected in the offshore surface ocean. These organisms might, therefore, be preadapted to relatively high ambient pCO2 levels. The anthropogenic signal will nonetheless be superimposed on the pre-existing natural variability. These phenomena lead to the question of whether future changes in the ocean’s carbonate chemistry pose a serious problem for marine organisms. Those with calcareous skeletons or shells, such as corals and some plankton, have been at the centre of scientific interest. However, elevated CO2 levels may also have detrimental effects on the survival, growth, and physiology of marine animals more generally (Pörtner and Reipschläger 1996; Seibel and Fabry 2003; Fabry et al. 2008; Pörtner 2008; Melzner et al. 2009a).