3 min read•Last Updated on July 22, 2024
Ocean acidification, caused by rising atmospheric CO2, is making our seas more acidic. This process threatens marine life, especially organisms that build shells or skeletons from calcium carbonate. The effects ripple through ecosystems, impacting biodiversity and food webs.
The consequences of ocean acidification extend beyond ecology. It poses risks to fisheries, coastal tourism, and infrastructure. Understanding these impacts is crucial for developing strategies to protect our oceans and the communities that depend on them.
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Frontiers | The Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Food Quality and Its Potential Food ... View original
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Acid-base regulation refers to the mechanisms organisms use to maintain the pH balance of their internal environment, ensuring that bodily functions operate optimally. This regulation is crucial for marine organisms, especially calcifying species, as changes in pH can affect their ability to build and maintain calcium carbonate structures. In the context of ocean acidification, understanding these regulatory mechanisms becomes essential as elevated CO2 levels lead to lower ocean pH, impacting marine life and ecosystems.
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Acid-base regulation refers to the mechanisms organisms use to maintain the pH balance of their internal environment, ensuring that bodily functions operate optimally. This regulation is crucial for marine organisms, especially calcifying species, as changes in pH can affect their ability to build and maintain calcium carbonate structures. In the context of ocean acidification, understanding these regulatory mechanisms becomes essential as elevated CO2 levels lead to lower ocean pH, impacting marine life and ecosystems.
Term 1 of 18
Calcification is the process by which organisms, particularly marine organisms like corals, mollusks, and some plankton, produce calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) to form their skeletal structures or shells. This process is essential for the growth and stability of coral reefs and plays a significant role in marine ecosystems, influencing biodiversity and the overall health of ocean environments.
Calcium Carbonate: A chemical compound (CaCO₃) that forms the primary structural component of coral reefs, mollusk shells, and other marine organisms.
Coral Polyps: Small, soft-bodied organisms that make up coral reefs; they secrete calcium carbonate to build the reef structure.
Ocean Acidification: The decrease in pH levels of ocean waters due to increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorption, which impacts the calcification process of marine organisms.
Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems made up of colonies of coral polyps that build calcium carbonate structures, providing habitat and shelter for a wide variety of marine life. They play a crucial role in marine biodiversity and serve as essential components of coastal protection, nutrient cycling, and fishery support.
Coral bleaching: A phenomenon where corals lose their vibrant colors due to stress, often caused by rising sea temperatures or pollution, leading to the expulsion of symbiotic algae.
Symbiosis: A close and often long-term interaction between different biological species, crucial in coral reefs where corals and zooxanthellae (algae) co-exist.
Marine biodiversity: The variety of life forms in ocean ecosystems, including the vast array of species found in coral reefs, which contribute to overall ecosystem health.
The formation of bicarbonate ions (HCO₃⁻) occurs when carbon dioxide (CO₂) dissolves in seawater and reacts with water, leading to the creation of carbonic acid (H₂CO₃), which then dissociates into bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. This process is vital for buffering ocean pH and plays a critical role in the carbon cycle, especially in the context of ocean acidification and its effects on marine life, particularly organisms that rely on calcium carbonate for their shells and skeletons.
Carbonic acid: A weak acid formed in solution when carbon dioxide reacts with water, which can dissociate into bicarbonate and hydrogen ions.
Ocean acidification: The decrease in pH levels of ocean water caused primarily by the uptake of atmospheric CO₂, leading to more bicarbonate ions being formed.
Calcifying organisms: Marine organisms, such as corals and shellfish, that produce calcium carbonate structures and are affected by changes in bicarbonate availability due to ocean acidification.
Shellfish are aquatic animals that have a shell, including both crustaceans like shrimp and crabs, and mollusks such as clams and oysters. These creatures play a crucial role in marine ecosystems and are significant for their economic value, particularly in aquaculture and fisheries. Shellfish are also affected by environmental changes, such as ocean acidification, which can impact their growth and survival due to their reliance on calcium carbonate for their shells.
Aquaculture: The farming of aquatic organisms, including shellfish, fish, and algae, in controlled environments for commercial purposes.
Calcification: The process by which marine organisms, like shellfish, build their shells using calcium carbonate.
Ocean Acidification: The decrease in pH levels of the ocean caused by increased carbon dioxide absorption, affecting marine life, especially organisms with calcium carbonate shells.