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| Titel |
Calcification and carbonate dissolution of an Arctic coralline red algae exposed to ocean acidification |
| VerfasserIn |
Jan Büdenbender, Ulf Riebesell, Armin Form |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2011
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 13 (2011) |
| Datensatznummer |
250051914
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| Zusammenfassung |
| CO2 induced acidification could render Arctic waters sub-saturated in the coming decades,
making them corrosive for calcareous organism. It is presently unknown what effects this will
have on calcifying organisms living in the Arctic Ocean and on the ecosystems of which they
are integral components. We investigated calcification rates of the Arctic habitat-forming
coralline red alga Lithothamnion tophiforme in laboratory experiments simulating future
atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Algae were tested under Arctic summer and winter light
conditions in two separate experiments. A significant negative effect of increased CO2 levels
on the calcification rates of L. tophiforme was found in both experiments. Annual mean net
dissolution of L. tophiforme is estimated to start at an aragonite saturation state of
0.8 which is projected to occur in parts of the Arctic surface ocean before 2050 if
emissions follow business as usual scenarios. Coralline red algae consist to more
than 80% of calcium carbonate and are most likely unable to withstand natural
stresses such as water movement, overgrowth or grazing without their massive
skeleton. Based on our results a wide-spread loss of Arctic crustose coralline red algae
habitats may occur during this century potentially impacting the Arctic ecosystem. |
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