Sea stars collected in Nova Scotia, Canada, grew more slowly under ocean acidification conditions, and their growth rate decreased further with a warmer temperature. In contrast, blue mussel grew more quickly with no response to temperature within the tested range. Predation of sea stars on mussels, measured as per-capita consumption ...

Under extreme ocean acidification conditions (pH 6.8), the egg production rates of copepods decreased significantly. For two species of sea urchins, fertilization rate of eggs decreased with increasing ocean acidification conditions. Furthermore, the size of urchin larvae decreased and deformities increased. These effects on marine life could lead to changes ...

Muscle length and claw strength of green crabs decreased after the crabs had been in ocean acidification conditions (pH 7.7) for 5 months. Periwinkles tended to have weaker shells in response to acidification. Predation by green crabs on periwinkles did not appear to change under ocean acidification conditions. (Laboratory study) ...

Two species of phytoplankton (coccolithophores) had higher rates of deformities when pH of seawater in the laboratory was different from present-day ocean pH. Examination of geological samples of coccolithophores did not reveal higher levels of deformities, suggesting that coccolithophores have adapted to changes in ocean pH over geological time. ...

Some copepods (Calanus species) in the Arctic routinely encounter a range of seawater pH levels each day as they migrate vertically in the ocean; they were not severely affected when exposed to ocean acidification conditions in the laboratory. In contrast, a copepod species (Oithona similis) that does not vertically migrate, ...

Bryozoan colonies were grown at a site in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy) where natural emissions of carbon dioxide associated with volcanic activity lower seawater pH to 7.76, simulating levels of ocean acidification predicted for the end of the 21st century. The colonies showed impaired growth and had fewer defensive polymorphs. ...

This study investigated the possible effects of ocean acidification on the calcareous skeleton of a Mediterranena bryozoan by transplanting live and dead colonies into an area of natural volcanic carbon dioxide vents in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. Colonies remained alive at the below-normal and acidic pH sites during the 45-day ...

In the early life stages of a coralline alga, mortality and growth abnormalities increased with small changes in pH. However, rate of growth remained similar, potentially by re-directing energy from other life processes. (Laboratory study)

When larvae of blue mussels were kept in ocean acidification conditions predicted for 2100 (pH 7.6) there was no marked effect on fertilization, development, abnormalities, or feeding. However, although the mussel larvae were able to form shells, after two months of exposure they were 28 percent smaller than larvae raised ...

Juvenile oysters living in acidified seawater had higher mortality rates and less growth of shell and soft-body tissues. They also had higher metabolic rates, likely because of the higher energy cost of maintaining their body chemistry. The high-CO2 conditions also reduced the hardness and fracture toughness of the shells. (Laboratory ...