(Press-News.org) Ocean acidification may create an impact similar to extinction on
marine ecosystems, according to a study released today by the
University of California, Davis.
The study, published online in the journal Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, found that ocean acidification can
degrade not only individual species, as past studies have shown, but
entire ecosystems. This results in a homogenized marine community,
dominated by fewer plants and animals.
"The background, low-grade stress caused by ocean acidification can
cause a whole shift in the ecosystem so that everything is dominated
by the same plants, which tend to be turf algae," said lead author
Kristy Kroeker, a postdoctoral researcher at the Bodega Marine
Laboratory at UC Davis.
"In most ecosystems, there are lots of different colorful patches of
plants and animals -- of algae, of sponges, of anemones," Kroeker
said. "With ocean acidification, you lose that patchiness. We call it
a loss of functional diversity; everything looks the same."
In the waters surrounding Castello Aragonese, a 14th century castle
off the coast of Italy, volcanic vents naturally release bubbles of
carbon dioxide gas, creating different levels of acidity among the
marine-animal and plant communities there. These gradients of acidity
gave the scientists a glimpse of what a future marked by increasingly
acidic ocean waters could look like, and how the creatures and plants
living in those environments may react to it.
The researchers selected three reef zones--of low, high and extremely
high acidity, representing world ocean conditions for the present
day, 2100 and 2500, respectively. Then they removed animals and
vegetation from the rocks there. Every few months for three years,
Kroeker dived to the study plots to photograph them and watch how the
plots in each zone recovered.
By examining how recovery differed among zones, the study found that
acidic water reduced the number and variety of species. In the
non-acidic plots, many different plants and animals, including turf
algae, would colonize and grow. Calcareous species, such as sea
urchins and snails, would then eat them, allowing for variety through
time.
However, in both the high and extremely high acidic plots, fleshy
turf algae increased steadily and overtook the zones, as the urchins
and other grazers were either not present or did not graze on the
algae while in these zones.
Calcareous grazers play key roles in maintaining the balance within
marine ecosystems. They are also considered among the most vulnerable
species to ocean acidification.
"Our research is showing that if the role of these grazers changes
with ocean acidification, you might expect to see cascading effects
of the whole ecosystem," Kroeker said. "If the pattern holds for
other calcareous grazers, this has implications for other ecosystems,
as well."
INFORMATION:
Co-authors in the study include Maria Cristina Gambi of the Stazione
Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, Italy, and Fiorenza Micheli of
Stanford University.
The research was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate
Research Fellowship, a Stanford University Chambers Fellowship, a Pew
Fellowship in Marine Conservation and the Stazione Zoologica Anton
Dohrn.
The study, "Community dynamics and ecosystem simplification in a
high-CO2 ocean," will be available at http://www.pnas.org.
About UC Davis
For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research
and public service that matter to California and transform the world.
Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has more than 33,000
students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an
annual research budget of nearly $750 million, a comprehensive health
system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers
interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate
majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also
houses six professional schools -- Education, Law, Management,
Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of
Nursing.
Additional information:
Download images of the study area and researchers. http://bit.ly/12LON3y
Learn more about Bodega Marine Laboratory. http://bml.ucdavis.edu
Media contact(s):
Kristy Kroeker, UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, (831) 566-8253 ,
kjkroeker@ucdavis.edu
Kat Kerlin, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-7704,
kekerlin@ucdavis.edu
END
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