Open AccessEffect of increased atmospheric CO 2 on shallow water marine benthos
Author(s) -
Shirayama Y.,
Thornton H.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2004jc002618
Subject(s) - benthic zone , biota , environmental science , benthos , oceanography , deep sea , surface water , seawater , biogeochemical cycle , environmental chemistry , atmospheric sciences , ecology , geology , chemistry , biology , environmental engineering
The decision to sequester CO 2 in the deep ocean should ultimately be based not only upon what would happen to deep sea marine biota but also upon what would happen to surface organisms if nothing were done to limit atmospheric CO 2 . Thus such a decision should be based on a proper understanding of long‐term chronic effects, from the global‐scale perturbation in near‐surface ocean CO 2 , in addition to acute effects, from large local increases in CO 2 caused by purposeful sequestration. Here we focus on the long‐term chronic effects of CO 2 on shallow water benthic organisms that have calcium carbonate shells. With two duplicate 6 month manipulative experiments, we demonstrate that a 200 ppm increase in CO 2 adversely affects the growth of both gastropods and sea urchins. Thus even moderate increases in atmospheric CO 2 that could well be reached by the middle of this century will adversely affect shallow water marine benthic organisms. This provides another reason, beyond concerns for climate, to enhance efforts to limit increases in atmospheric CO 2 to the lowest possible levels.