What Is Ocean Acidification?

As mentioned previously, ocean acidification has internal effects on different developmental stages in the growth and reproduction of marine animals. From the first spark of life of fertilization to the growth of these species can be affected. The 2005 Kyoto University in Japan research determined that carbon dioxide concentration of 200ppm being pumped into the seawater reduces growth rates for many sea species (Hardt & Safina 71). Other experiments show the struggle of phytoplankton balancing the changing pH inside them and how it correlates with the impaired ability to reproduce or grow. Many species cannot genetically adapt because ocean acidification is occurring too rapidly. Researchers at Princeton University claimed that acidification makes it 10 to 20 percent harder for phytoplankton species to absorb iron which is a micronutrient critical for their growth because of a 0.3 pH decline. This is important because phytoplankton are not only a link in the food chain but also produce a large amount of oxygen that humans breathe. Not to forget that for some creatures, ocean acidification means the end. Lab studies have over and over again proved that ocean acidification forces animals to struggle harder that they already are because of other human induced stressors including pollution and overfishing. Undebatable, acidification will completely restructure marine ecosystems which will have dominos effects across the food chain. Unless prevented, as it is easier to stop further acidification than to reverse the changes that already occurred because the natural buffering of acidification would take thousands of years to restore back to preindustrial pH levels. Ocean acidification and climate change are bringing more global effects including the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that will have the most impact on deep sea creatures like echinoderms and their fauna. In deep sea ecosystem, climate change shows significant processes like the rise in CO2 levels, along with changes in productivity regimes, gas hydrates, destabilization of slopes, expansion of hypoxic zones, temperature change, and ocean acidification. Currently, the atmospheric constant presence of carbon dioxide is the highest experienced on Earth in the last 20 million years. It is estimated to double that of pre-industrial times by 2100. Besides the increased carbon dioxide and global warming, there is also a decrease in pH levels in the ocean. The present pH of seawater is 0.1 lower than in the 1900s and by the 2100s it is estimated to decrease by 0.4 to 0.5 units (Ramirez 15). It has a response lowered calcium carbonate saturation state of colder water impact on sea creatures’ fauna. Aragonite, the compound that species like scleractinian corals and echinoderms use, will decrease making them vulnerable to be affected. One of the most important taxa to be affected are deep-water corals because of their role in structuring habitats to a variety …show more content…
Larval brittle stars are highly sensitive to reduced pH levels. Adults of the brittle star A. filiformis species were collected at a 25–40-m depth between July and August 2011 and showed that the creature experiences high mortality rates when in decreased pH waters (Chan 956). The lineage of larval urchins is affected by the release of buds. This is because of the increase in larval density causing the release of buds to result in higher larval mortality rates. Also, larval urchins go under plasticity when exposed to reduced pH. Results of the experiment stated that exposure to reduced pH had negative impacts on larval echinoderms while still being able to work under stressful conditions (Chan 959). Another discovery found was that larval brittle stars in low pH swam much slower. At the same time showing that two species react behaviorally different when responding to similar pH levels. For example, reduced swimming speed for larval brittle stars but increased swimming speed for larval …show more content…
The film named “Revolution” has a website that includes an article that comes up with solutions we can tackle by using our resources to prevent ocean acidification. As we are creating a huge influence in the ocean with unpredictably catastrophic consequences if the pollution continues, therefore, the following solutions are what needs to happen. The first solution mentioned is to make ocean acidification the number one public enemy in environmental issues in order to avoid further damage. Ocean acidification is not as popular as it should and yet it has the capacity of mass extinction. Ocean acidification would