Arctic Coralline Algae Elevate Surface pH and Carbonate in the Dark.

ABSTRACT: Red coralline algae are projected to be sensitive to ocean acidification, particularly in polar oceans. As important ecosystem engineers, their potential sensitivity has broad implications, and understanding their carbon acquisition mechanisms is necessary for making reliable predictions. Therefore, we investigated the localized carbonate chemistry at the surface of Arctic coralline algae using microsensors. We report for the first time carbonate ion concentration and pH measurements ([CO₃ ^2-]) at and above the algal surface in the microenvironment. We show that surface pH and [CO₃ ^2-] are higher than the bulk seawater in the light, and even after hours of darkness. We further show that three species of Arctic coralline algae have efficient carbo

SUBMITTER: Hofmann LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6167962 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature