The cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa is able to counteract negative effects of ocean acidification under controlled laboratory conditions when water temperature rises by a few degrees at the same time. Whether this will also be possible in the natural habitat depends on the degree of change in environmental conditions, researchers argue.
The PhD student from the department of Biological Oceanography at GEOMAR conducted the experiments and is lead author of a publication on the effects and impact of ocean acidification and warming on the growth and fitness of Lophelia pertusa in the research journal Frontiers in Marine Science. Monthly measurements and final analyses showed: Under more acidified conditions and unchanged temperatures, the corals grew slower, regardless of the food supply. But when acidification was combined with elevated temperature, they developed at about the same rates as under today's CO2 concentrations and water temperatures. "The elaborate experimental setup shows that when applied in combination, different climate change drivers can interact in their effects on the corals. Depending on the extent at which the ocean acidifies in the course of climate change and which water temperatures the corals experience, their overall reaction could be less neutral than observed in the experiment, the GEOMAR team assumes. If temperatures continue to rise, the compensatory effect observed in this study could turn negative, amplifying the effect of ocean acidification. Because they build their skeletons from calcium carbonate, cold-water corals such as the globally distributed species Lophelia pertusa are considered particularly threatened by ocean acidification. This change in seawater chemistry, caused by the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, reduces the concentration of carbonate ions. With fewer carbonate ions, calcification becomes more difficult. However, laboratory studies at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel reveal, that a simultaneous increase in water temperatures could help Lophelia pertusa to counteract negative effects of ocean acidification. The experiments that were conducted as part of the German research programmer on ocean acidification BIOACID (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification) demonstrate how important it is to investigate Lophelia's response to single drivers of climate change as well as their combined effects. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170427100646.htm
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