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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Decline in Coccolithophore Diversity and Impact on Coccolith Morphogenesis Along a Natural CO2 Gradient
Patrizia ZiveriMarcello PassaroAlessandro IncarbonaMarco MilazzoRiccardo Rodolfo-metalpaJason M Hall-spencersubject
Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC)TemperateSalinityCommunity composition and diversityinorganicAlkalinityCoccospheres malformedMediterranean Sea Acidification in a Changing Climate MedSeATemperature waterCarbon inorganic dissolvedCalculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al 2010Aragonite saturation stateAlkalinity totaltotalCO2 ventpHPelagosTemperaturedissolvedCarbonate ionPartial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air)Earth System ResearchmalformedField observationPotentiometric titrationCalcite saturation stateCoccospheresPotentiometricwaterGrowth MorphologyMediterranean Sea Acidification in a Changing Climate (MedSeA)Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre OA ICCMediterranean SeaBicarbonate ionCalculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010)Calculated using CO2SYSfungiCarbonate system computation flagCoccospheres corrodedFugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air)CarbonBiomass/Abundance/Elemental compositionPartial pressure of carbon dioxide water at sea surface temperature wet airSample IDCarbon dioxidecorrodedEntire communityGrowth/MorphologyPhytoplanktonFugacity of carbon dioxide water at sea surface temperature wet airBiomass Abundance Elemental compositionCoast and continental shelfNumber of speciesdescription
A natural pH gradient caused by marine CO2 seeps off Vulcano Island (Italy) was used to assess the effects of ocean acidification on coccolithophores, which are abundant planktonic unicellular calcifiers. Such seeps are used as natural laboratories to study the effects of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems, since they cause long-term changes in seawater carbonate chemistry and pH, exposing the organisms to elevated CO2 concentrations and therefore mimicking future scenarios. Previous work at CO2 seeps has focused exclusively on benthic organisms. Here we show progressive depletion of 27 coccolithophore species, in terms of cell concentrations and diversity, along a calcite saturation gradient from Omega calcite 6.4 to <1. Water collected close to the main CO2 seeps had the highest concentrations of malformed Emiliania huxleyi. These observations add to a growing body of evidence that ocean acidification may benefit some algae but will likely cause marine biodiversity loss, especially by impacting calcifying species, which are affected as carbonate saturation falls.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-01-01 |