Effects of ocean acidification on benthic marine species and ecosystems

由于人为的二氧化碳被海洋吸收，它改变了碳酸盐的化学性质，导致pH值和碳酸盐离子可用性降低。这一过程被称为海洋酸化（OA），将导致海洋pH值在本世纪末之前达到数百万年来从未见过的水平。由于可能导致大规模的生态变化，包括人口崩溃、食物网破坏和生态系统功能丧失，OA被认为是对海洋生态系统的最大威胁。迄今为止，有记录的酸化影响包括对幼虫发育的损害、生长的减少、壳和骨骼的溶解以及直接死亡。虽然OA对个体性能的影响已经得到了越来越多的描述，但我们目前还无法预测海洋酸化将如何影响人们最关心的事情，比如可收获的种群规模和生物多样性。

As anthropogenic carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans, it alters carbonate chemistry and leads to reductions in pH and carbonate ion availability. This process, know as ocean acidification (OA), will result in oceanic pH levels not seen in many millions of years being reached well before the end of this century. Because massive ecological changes, including population collapses, disruption of food webs, and loss of ecosystem function, are likely to result, OA is considered to be the single greatest threat to marine ecosystems. To date, documented effects of acidification include impairment of larval development, reductions in growth, dissolution of shells and skeletons, and direct mortality. Although effects of OA on individual performance are increasingly well described, we cannot currently predict how ocean acidification will affect the things that people care about the most, like harvestable population size and biodiversity.