The Negative Effects Of Ocean Acidification On Coralline Algae

Annual global carbon dioxide emissions increased by over 20% between 1997 and 2009 from approximately 24 billion tons to over 30 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year (Friedlingstein et al., 2010). The implications of this are vast and are by no means limited to global warming. For many millions of year prior to industrialization, ocean pH levels remained stable; however, high levels of anthropogenic carbon emissions in the near 200 years since the industrial revolution, have caused fundamental chemical changes to occur in marine water that have driven (and continue to drive) marine water pH levels downward – a process referred to as ocean acidification (Orr et al., 2005). In this paper, I will present a discussion of ocean acidification. Specifically, …show more content…
As such, they are considered to be among the species most sensitive to ocean acidification. The negative effects of ocean acidification on coralline algae include reduced growth rates and structural integrity (Ragazolla et al., 2012). Ragazolla and colleagues (2012) noted a significant downward trend in coralline algae (Lithothamnion glaciale) growth rates with increased carbon dioxide levels. Furthermore, the skeletal integrity of Lithothamnion glaciale was reduced in acidified conditions (Ragazolla et al., 2012). This has the consequence of increasing coralline algae vulnerability to boring. Additionally, this bears negative consequences for other organisms, as coralline algae play a critical role in ecosystem engineering; they are vital in coral reef cementing, and are an important food source for several mollusk species (Guiontter & Fabry, 2008). Moreover, coralline algae provide critical habitat-specific settlement cues for coral larvae (Tebben et al., 2015). A number of studies have shown that ocean acidification reduces coral recruitment has deleterious effects on coral settlement rates (Kuffner et al., 2008; Doropoulos et al.,