Effects of ocean acidification on benthic marine species and ecosystems

海洋酸化对底栖海洋物种和生态系统的影响

• 批准号: 328205-2011
• 负责人: Harley, Christopher
• 金额: $ 2.33万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=572139
• 关键词: Effects; ocean; acidification; benthic; marine

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. My research program focuses on three main areas in which information on OA impacts is particularly limited: 1) how will acidification drive changes in population growth or decline, 2) what important indirect effects of acidification will arise via changes in interactions among species, and 3) how will the sum of these responses alter entire ecosystems? To address these questions, my research group is manipulating carbon dioxide concentrations in the laboratory and in the field using microalgal, seaweed, and invertebrate study systems. We will determine the impacts of OA on changes in population growth (e.g., in economically important sea urchins), on processes such as competition and predation, and on biodiversity, productivity, and other ecosystem attributes. Our goal is to understand the mechanisms of change (e.g., loss of key species in a food web) and thereby provide key information for conservation and management in Canada. Furthermore, by making comparisons across different types of organisms (plants vs. animals, calcified vs. uncalcified species), we will fundamentally advance the field of global change ecology by placing the full range of ecological responses to ocean acidification within a predictive framework.

随着人类活动产生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值在本世纪结束前达到数百万年来未见的水平。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，有机农业被认为是海洋生态系统面临的最大威胁。到目前为止，记录的酸化影响包括损害幼虫发育，生长减少，壳和骨骼溶解，以及直接死亡。虽然OA对个人表现的影响越来越好地描述，但我们目前无法预测海洋酸化将如何影响人们最关心的事情，如可收获的人口规模和生物多样性。 我的研究计划集中在三个主要领域，其中OA影响的信息是特别有限的：1）酸化将如何驱动人口增长或下降的变化，2）酸化的重要间接影响将通过物种之间的相互作用的变化而产生，以及3）这些反应的总和将如何改变整个生态系统？为了解决这些问题，我的研究小组正在利用微藻、海藻和无脊椎动物研究系统在实验室和野外操纵二氧化碳浓度。我们将确定OA对人口增长变化的影响（例如，在经济上重要的海胆），竞争和捕食等过程，以及生物多样性，生产力和其他生态系统属性。我们的目标是了解变化的机制（例如，食物网中关键物种的损失），从而为加拿大的保护和管理提供关键信息。此外，通过对不同类型的生物（植物与动物，钙化与未钙化物种）进行比较，我们将通过将海洋酸化的全方位生态反应置于预测框架内，从根本上推进全球变化生态学领域。