Future ocean acidification will be amplified by hypoxia in coastal habitats

Melzner, Frank; Thomsen, Jörn; Koeve, Wolfgang; Oschlies, Andreas; Gutowska, Magdalena A.; Bange, Hermann W.; Hansen, Hans Peter; Körtzinger, Arne

doi:10.1007/s00227-012-1954-1

Cited by 437 publications

(407 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Hofmann et al 2011; Table 2), driven by the metabolic signal to seasonal and decadal oscillations with amplitudes >0.3 pH units (e.g. Borges and Gypens 2010;Provoost et al 2010;Barton et al 2012;Cai et al 2011;Hofmann et al 2011;Mercado and Gordillo 2011;Waldbusser et al 2011;Melzner et al 2013; Fig. 1).…”

Section: Regulation Of Seawater Ph In the Pre-disturbed Holocene Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Ocean Acidification an Open-Ocean Syndrome? Understanding Anthropogenic Impacts on Seawater pH

Duarte

Hendriks

Moore

et al. 2013

Estuaries and Coasts

594

452

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Ocean acidification due to anthropogenic CO 2 emissions is a dominant driver of long-term changes in pH in the open ocean, raising concern for the future of calcifying organisms, many of which are present in coastal habitats. However, changes in pH in coastal ecosystems result from a multitude of drivers, including impacts from watershed processes, nutrient inputs, and changes in ecosystem structure and metabolism. Interaction between ocean acidification due to anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and the dynamic regional to local drivers of coastal ecosystems have resulted in complex regulation of pH in coastal waters. Changes in the watershed can, for example, lead to changes in alkalinity and CO 2 fluxes that, together with metabolic processes and oceanic dynamics, yield high-magnitude decadal changes of up to 0.5 units in coastal pH. Metabolism results in strong diel to seasonal fluctuations in pH, with characteristic ranges of 0.3 pH units, with metabolically intense habitats exceeding this range on a daily basis. The intense variability and multiple, complex controls on pH implies that the concept of ocean acidification due to anthropogenic CO 2 emissions cannot be transposed to coastal ecosystems directly. Furthermore, in coastal ecosystems, the detection of trends towards acidification is not trivial and the attribution of these changes to anthropogenic CO 2 emissions is even more problematic. Coastal ecosystems may show acidification or basification, depending on the balance between the invasion of coastal waters by anthropogenic CO 2 , watershed export of alkalinity, organic matter and CO 2 , and changes in the balance between primary production, respiration and calcification rates in response to changes in nutrient inputs and losses of ecosystem components. Hence, we contend that ocean acidification from anthropogenic CO 2 is largely an open-ocean syndrome and that a concept of anthropogenic impacts on marine pH, which is applicable across the entire ocean, from coastal to open-ocean environments, provides a superior framework to consider the multiple components of the anthropogenic perturbation of marine pH trajectories. The concept of anthropogenic impacts on seawater pH acknowledges that a regional focus is necessary to predict future trajectories in the pH of coastal waters and points at opportunities to manage these trajectories locally to conserve coastal organisms vulnerable to ocean acidification.

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Section: Regulation Of Seawater Ph In the Pre-disturbed Holocene Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Ocean Acidification an Open-Ocean Syndrome? Understanding Anthropogenic Impacts on Seawater pH

Duarte

Hendriks

Moore

et al. 2013

Estuaries and Coasts

594

452

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The issue of coastal acidification is increasingly recognized, because seasonal levels of pCO 2 , pH and calcium carbonate saturation in many coastal zones ( pH , 7.7 T , pCO 2 . 1000 matm, V aragonite , 1 [9][10][11]) already exceed (i) the predicted extremes in the future open ocean [5] and (ii) the levels known to reduce the growth and survival of early-life stage bivalves [12] and fish [13].…”

Section: Ecosystem Occurrence Of Low Oxygen and Acidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Acidification and low oxygen conditions are inextricably linked via the process of respiration and therefore display highly similar dynamics in ocean ecosystems [7][8][9][10][11]. In temperate coastal zones, both conditions appear during warmer months when respiration rates are maximal and thermal stratification is most likely.…”

Section: Ecosystem Occurrence Of Low Oxygen and Acidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypoxia and acidification in ocean ecosystems: coupled dynamics and effects on marine life

2016

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There is increasing recognition that low dissolved oxygen (DO) and low pH conditions co-occur in many coastal and open ocean environments. Within temperate ecosystems, these conditions not only develop seasonally as temperatures rise and metabolic rates accelerate, but can also display strong diurnal variability, especially in shallow systems where photosynthetic rates ameliorate hypoxia and acidification by day. Despite the widespread, global co-occurrence of low pH and low DO and the likelihood that these conditions may negatively impact marine life, very few studies have actually assessed the extent to which the combination of both stressors elicits additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects in marine organisms. We review the evidence from published factorial experiments that used static and/or fluctuating pH and DO levels to examine different traits (e.g. survival, growth, metabolism), life stages and species across a broad taxonomic spectrum. Additive negative effects of combined low pH and low DO appear to be most common; however, synergistic negative effects have also been observed. Neither the occurrence nor the strength of these synergistic impacts is currently predictable, and therefore, the true threat of concurrent acidification and hypoxia to marine food webs and fisheries is still not fully understood. Addressing this knowledge gap will require an expansion of multi-stressor approaches in experimental and field studies, and the development of a predictive framework. In consideration of marine policy, we note that DO criteria in coastal waters have been developed without consideration of concurrent pH levels. Given the persistence of concurrent low pH-low DO conditions in estuaries and the increased mortality experienced by fish and bivalves under concurrent acidification and hypoxia compared with hypoxia alone, we conclude that such DO criteria may leave coastal fisheries more vulnerable to population reductions than previously anticipated.

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“…Combustion products can also acidify estuarine waters directly and some (e.g., NOx) also drive acidification by stimulating eutrophication. Indeed, eutrophication is a common cause of acidification in estuaries: nutrient enrichment stimulates the production of algal dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which fuels microbial respiration in anoxic bottom waters, generating high levels of CO 2 (Cai et al 2011;Melzner et al 2013;Wallace et al 2014). Sunda and Cai (2012) surmised that eutrophication of the Chesapeake Bay will generate CO 2 release and acidification of bottom waters.…”

Section: Coastal Zone Acidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

Arnold

Zimmerman

Engelhardt

et al. 2017

Ecosyst Health Sustain

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Introduction: The Chesapeake Bay was once renowned for expansive meadows of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). However, only 10% of the original meadows survive. Future restoration efforts will be complicated by accelerating climate change, including physiological stressors such as a predicted mean temperature increase of 2-6°C and a 50-160% increase in CO 2 concentrations. Outcomes: As the Chesapeake Bay begins to exhibit characteristics of a subtropical estuary, summer heat waves will become more frequent and severe. Warming alone would eventually eliminate eelgrass (Zostera marina) from the region. It will favor native heat-tolerant species such as widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) while facilitating colonization by non-native seagrasses (e.g., Halodule spp.). Intensifying human activity will also fuel coastal zone acidification and the resulting high CO 2 /low pH conditions may benefit SAV via a "CO 2 fertilization effect." Discussion: Acidification is known to offset the effects of thermal stress and may have similar effects in estuaries, assuming water clarity is sufficient to support CO 2 -stimulated photosynthesis and plants are not overgrown by epiphytes. However, coastal zone acidification is variable, driven mostly by local biological processes that may or may not always counterbalance the effects of regional warming. This precarious equipoise between two forcesthermal stress and acidification -will be critically important because it may ultimately determine the fate of cool-water plants such as Zostera marina in the Chesapeake Bay. Conclusion: The combined impacts of warming, coastal zone acidification, water clarity, and overgrowth of competing algae will determine the fate of SAV communities in rapidly changing temperate estuaries.

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Future ocean acidification will be amplified by hypoxia in coastal habitats

Cited by 437 publications

References 78 publications

Is Ocean Acidification an Open-Ocean Syndrome? Understanding Anthropogenic Impacts on Seawater pH

Is Ocean Acidification an Open-Ocean Syndrome? Understanding Anthropogenic Impacts on Seawater pH

Hypoxia and acidification in ocean ecosystems: coupled dynamics and effects on marine life

Twenty-first century climate change and submerged aquatic vegetation in a temperate estuary: the case of Chesapeake Bay

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