Location
SPREP LIBRARY
Publisher
NOAA
Publication Year:
2009
Publication Place
UNKNOWN
Call Number
[EL]
Collection
Language
English
Record ID:
38893
Legacy PEIN ID:
78914
General Notes
Available online
Subject Heading(s)
Coral reefs - Oceania
Coral reefs - Acidification - Oceania
Ocean acidification - Oceania
Abstract
Coral reefs were one of the first ecosystems to be recognized as vulnerable to ocean acidification. To date, most scientific investigations into the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs have been related to the reefs unique ability to produce voluminous amounts of calcium carbonate. It has been estimated that the main reef-building organisms, corals and calcifying macroalgae, will calcify 1050% less relative to pre-industrial rates by the middle of this century. This decreased calcification is likely to affect their ability to function within the ecosystem and will almost certainly affect the workings of the ecosystem itself. However, ocean acidification affects not only the organisms, but also the reefs they build. The decline in calcium carbonate production, coupled with an increase in calcium carbonate dissolution, will diminish reef building and the benefits that reefs provide, such as high structural complexity that supports biodiversity on reefs, and breakwater effects that protect shorelines and create quiet habitats for other ecosystems, such as mangroves and seagrass beds. The focus on calcification in reefs is warranted, but the responses of many other organisms, such as fish, noncalcifying algae, and seagrasses, to name a few, deserve a close look as well.
Location
SPREP LIBRARY
Publisher
NOAA
Publication Year:
2009
Publication Place
UNKNOWN
Call Number
[EL]
Collection
Language
English
Record ID:
38893
Legacy PEIN ID:
78914
General Notes
Available online
Record Created: 22-Mar-2013
Record Modified: 23-Feb-2021