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, ...

When pre-winter juvenile pteropods were cultured at a range of warmer temperatures and ocean acidification levels for 29 days, temperature was the overriding cause of increased mortality. However, ocean acidification was the main factor in reducing shell diameter by 10-12 percent and increasing shell degradation by 41 percent. This study ...

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 embryos of a common estuarine fish—the inland silverside—were exposed to high CO2 levels until one week after hatching, survival dropped by 74 percent and length by 18 percent. The eggs were more vulnerable to mortality than the post-hatch larvae. The CO2 conditions that were simulated in the study are ...

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 ...

Survival of pteropods in Puget Sound, Washington, may not be greatly affected by present ocean pH levels and those projected for the near future, although their shells may be more prone to dissolving. (Laboratory study)

A species of burrowing shrimp was able to tolerate ocean acidification conditions (pH 7.64) for 35 days. At a lower pH of 7.35, individuals experienced extracellular acidosis, suggesting they had little or no buffering capacity, although there was no evidence of negative impacts on metabolism, osmotic regulation, shell mineralogy, growth, ...

Ocean acidification increased the rate at which sponges bored into scallop shells. At pH 7.8, sponges bored twice the number of papillar holes and removed two times more shell weight than at pH 8.1. Greater erosion caused by the lower pH weakened the scallop shells. A warmer water temperature had ...

Brittlestar larvae died within 8 days after being transferred into acidified seawater (pH 7.9). The larvae had reduced growth and abnormal development and body structure. The brittlestar used in this study, Ophiothrix fragilis, dominates the seabed ecosystem off northwestern Europe, and the findings suggest that ocean acidification could lead to ...