Dynamic patterns and ecological impacts of declining ocean pH in a high-resolution multi-year dataset.

ABSTRACT: Increasing global concentrations of atmospheric CO(2) are predicted to decrease ocean pH, with potentially severe impacts on marine food webs, but empirical data documenting ocean pH over time are limited. In a high-resolution dataset spanning 8 years, pH at a north-temperate coastal site declined with increasing atmospheric CO(2) levels and varied substantially in response to biological processes and physical conditions that fluctuate over multiple time scales. Applying a method to link environmental change to species dynamics via multispecies Markov chain models reveals strong links between in situ benthic species dynamics and variation in ocean pH, with calcareous species generally performing more poorly than noncalcareous species in years with low pH. The models project the long-term c

SUBMITTER: Wootton JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2596240 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature