Showing papers by "Jean-Pierre Gattuso published in 2013"

Impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms: quantifying sensitivities and interaction with warming

Abstract: Ocean acidification represents a threat to marine species worldwide, and forecasting the ecological impacts of acidification is a high priority for science, management, and policy. As research on the topic expands at an exponential rate, a comprehensive understanding of the variability in organisms' responses and corresponding levels of certainty is necessary to forecast the ecological effects. Here, we perform the most comprehensive meta-analysis to date by synthesizing the results of 228 studies examining biological responses to ocean acidification. The results reveal decreased survival, calcification, growth, development and abundance in response to acidification when the broad range of marine organisms is pooled together. However, the magnitude of these responses varies among taxonomic groups, suggesting there is some predictable trait-based variation in sensitivity, despite the investigation of approximately 100 new species in recent research. The results also reveal an enhanced sensitivity of mollusk larvae, but suggest that an enhanced sensitivity of early life history stages is not universal across all taxonomic groups. In addition, the variability in species' responses is enhanced when they are exposed to acidification in multi-species assemblages, suggesting that it is important to consider indirect effects and exercise caution when forecasting abundance patterns from single-species laboratory experiments. Furthermore, the results suggest that other factors, such as nutritional status or source population, could cause substantial variation in organisms' responses. Last, the results highlight a trend towards enhanced sensitivity to acidification when taxa are concurrently exposed to elevated seawater temperature.

Impacts of ocean acidification on marine shelled molluscs

Abstract: Over the next century, elevated quantities of atmospheric CO2 are expected to penetrate into the oceans, causing a reduction in pH (-0.3/-0.4 pH unit in the surface ocean) and in the concentration of carbonate ions (so-called ocean acidification). Of growing concern are the impacts that this will have on marine and estuarine organisms and ecosystems. Marine shelled molluscs, which colonized a large latitudinal gradient and can be found from intertidal to deep-sea habitats, are economically and ecologically important species providing essential

One-year experiment on the physiological response of the Mediterranean crustose coralline alga, Lithophyllum cabiochae, to elevated pCO2 and temperature

Abstract: The response of respiration, photosynthesis, and calcification to elevated pCO2 and temperature was investigated in isolation and in combination in the Mediterranean crustose coralline alga Lithophyllum cabiochae. Algae were maintained in aquaria during 1 year at near-ambient conditions of irradiance, at ambient or elevated temperature (+3°C), and at ambient (ca. 400 μatm) or elevated pCO2 (ca. 700 μatm). Respiration, photosynthesis, and net calcification showed a strong seasonal pattern following the seasonal variations of temperature and irradiance, with higher rates in summer than in winter. Respiration was unaffected by pCO2 but showed a general trend of increase at elevated temperature at all seasons, except in summer under elevated pCO2. Conversely, photosynthesis was strongly affected by pCO2 with a decline under elevated pCO2 in summer, autumn, and winter. In particular, photosynthetic efficiency was reduced under elevated pCO2. Net calcification showed different responses depending on the season. In summer, net calcification increased with rising temperature under ambient pCO2 but decreased with rising temperature under elevated pCO2. Surprisingly, the highest rates in summer were found under elevated pCO2 and ambient temperature. In autumn, winter, and spring, net calcification exhibited a positive or no response at elevated temperature but was unaffected by pCO2. The rate of calcification of L. cabiochae was thus maintained or even enhanced under increased pCO2. However, there is likely a trade-off with other physiological processes. For example, photosynthesis declines in response to increased pCO2 under ambient irradiance. The present study reports only on the physiological response of healthy specimens to ocean warming and acidification, however, these environmental changes may affect the vulnerability of coralline algae to other stresses such as pathogens and necroses that can cause major dissolution, which would have critical consequence for the sustainability of coralligenous habitats and the budgets of carbon and calcium carbonate in coastal Mediterranean ecosystems.

Preface "Arctic ocean acidification: pelagic ecosystem and biogeochemical responses during a mesocosm study"

Abstract: The growing evidence of potential biological impacts of ocean acidification affirms that this global change phenomenon may pose a serious threat to marine organisms and ecosystems. Whilst ocean acidification will occur everywhere, it will happen more rapidly in some regions than in others. Due to the high CO2 solubility in the cold surface waters of high-latitude seas, these areas are expected to experience the strongest changes in seawater chemistry due to ocean acidification. This will be most pronounced in the Arctic Ocean. If atmospheric pCO2 levels continue to rise at current rates, about 10% of the Arctic surface waters will be corrosive for aragonite by 2018 (Steinacher et al., 2009). By 2050 one-half of the Arctic Ocean will be sub-saturated with respect to aragonite. By the end of this century corrosive conditions are projected to have spread over the entire Arctic Ocean (Steinacher et al., 2009). In view of these rapid changes in seawater chemistry, marine organisms and ecosystems in the Arctic are considered particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. With this in mind, the European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA) chose the Arctic Ocean as one of its focal areas of research.

Taking action against ocean acidification: a review of management and policy options.

Abstract: Ocean acidification has emerged over the last two decades as one of the largest threats to marine organisms and ecosystems. However, most research efforts on ocean acidification have so far neglected management and related policy issues to focus instead on understanding its ecological and biogeochemical implications. This shortfall is addressed here with a systematic, international and critical review of management and policy options. In particular, we investigate the assumption that fighting acidification is mainly, but not only, about reducing CO2 emissions, and explore the leeway that this emerging problem may open in old environmental issues. We review nine types of management responses, initially grouped under four categories: preventing ocean acidification; strengthening ecosystem resilience; adapting human activities; and repairing damages. Connecting and comparing options leads to classifying them, in a qualitative way, according to their potential and feasibility. While reducing CO2 emissions is confirmed as the key action that must be taken against acidification, some of the other options appear to have the potential to buy time, e.g. by relieving the pressure of other stressors, and help marine life face unavoidable acidification. Although the existing legal basis to take action shows few gaps, policy challenges are significant: tackling them will mean succeeding in various areas of environmental management where we failed to a large extent so far.

Cascading effects of ocean acidification in a rocky subtidal community.

Abstract: Temperate marine rocky habitats may be alternatively characterized by well vegetated macroalgal assemblages or barren grounds, as a consequence of direct and indirect human impacts (e.g. overfishing) and grazing pressure by herbivorous organisms. In future scenarios of ocean acidification, calcifying organisms are expected to be less competitive: among these two key elements of the rocky subtidal food web, coralline algae and sea urchins. In order to highlight how the effects of increased pCO2 on individual calcifying species will be exacerbated by interactions with other trophic levels, we performed an experiment simultaneously testing ocean acidification effects on primary producers (calcifying and non-calcifying algae) and their grazers (sea urchins). Artificial communities, composed by juveniles of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and calcifying (Corallina elongata) and non-calcifying (Cystoseira amentacea var stricta, Dictyota dichotoma) macroalgae, were subjected to pCO2 levels of 390, 550, 750 and 1000 µatm in the laboratory. Our study highlighted a direct pCO2 effect on coralline algae and on sea urchin defense from predation (test robustness). There was no direct effect on the non-calcifying macroalgae. More interestingly, we highlighted diet-mediated effects on test robustness and on the Aristotle's lantern size. In a future scenario of ocean acidification a decrease of sea urchins' density is expected, due to lower defense from predation, as a direct consequence of pH decrease, and to a reduced availability of calcifying macroalgae, important component of urchins' diet. The effects of ocean acidification may therefore be contrasting on well vegetated macroalgal assemblages and barren grounds: in the absence of other human impacts, a decrease of biodiversity can be predicted in vegetated macroalgal assemblages, whereas a lower density of sea urchin could help the recovery of shallow subtidal rocky areas affected by overfishing from barren grounds to assemblages dominated by fleshy macroalgae.

End of the Century pCO2 Levels Do Not Impact Calcification in Mediterranean Cold-Water Corals

Abstract: Ocean acidification caused by anthropogenic uptake of CO2 is perceived to be a major threat to calcifying organisms. Cold-water corals were thought to be strongly affected by a decrease in ocean pH due to their abundance in deep and cold waters which, in contrast to tropical coral reef waters, will soon become corrosive to calcium carbonate. Calcification rates of two Mediterranean cold-water coral species, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, were measured under variable partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) that ranged between 380 µatm for present-day conditions and 930 µatm for the end of the century. The present study addressed both short- and long-term responses by repeatedly determining calcification rates on the same specimens over a period of 9 months. Besides studying the direct, short-term response to elevated pCO2 levels, the study aimed to elucidate the potential for acclimation of calcification of cold-water corals to ocean acidification. Net calcification of both species was unaffected by the levels of pCO2 investigated and revealed no short-term shock and, therefore, no long-term acclimation in calcification to changes in the carbonate chemistry. There was an effect of time during repeated experiments with increasing net calcification rates for both species, however, as this pattern was found in all treatments, there is no indication that acclimation of calcification to ocean acidification occurred. The use of controls (initial and ambient net calcification rates) indicated that this increase was not caused by acclimation in calcification response to higher pCO2. An extrapolation of these data suggests that calcification of these two cold-water corals will not be affected by the pCO2 level projected at the end of the century.

Photosynthesis, respiration and calcification in the Mediterranean crustose coralline alga Lithophyllum cabiochae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta)

Abstract: Primary production and calcification responses to irradiance were investigated in Lithophyllum cabiochae, a crustose coralline alga from Mediterranean coralligenous communities, collected at c. 25m depth in the Bay of Villefranche. Algae were maintained in aquaria at temperature and irradiance levels close to in situ conditions. Physiological measurements were performed using incubation chambers in the dark and in the light at different irradiance levels within the range of those measured in situ. Both photosynthesis and calcification rates in L. cabiochae were strongly related to irradiance. Dark respiration averaged 0.20.3 mu molcm(2) thallus h(1) in terms of both O-2 consumption and CO2 release and maximal gross photosynthesis averaged 1.0 mu molcm(2) h(1) in terms of both O-2 production and CO2 uptake. Mean rate of net calcification was 0.1 mu mol CaCO3 cm(2) h(1) in the dark and reached 0.4 mu mol CaCO3 cm(2) h(1) in the light. Diel net and gross organic C productions were estimated to be 3 and 7 mu molC cm(2) thallus d(1,) respectively. Diel net inorganic C production was estimated to be 3 mu mol CaCO3 cm(2) thallus d(1). Despite the low light conditions experienced by the algae at c. 25m depth, L. cabiochae can be considered as a major contributor to primary productivity and calcium carbonate deposition, making coralligenous communities a major carbon and carbonate producer in the Mediterranean Sea.

Ocean acidification and temperature rise: effects on calcification during early development of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of seawater pH (i.e., 8.10, 7.85 and 7.60) and temperature (16 and 19 °C) on (a) the abiotic conditions in the fluid surrounding the embryo (viz. the perivitelline fluid), (b) growth, development and (c) cuttlebone calcification of embryonic and juvenile stages of the cephalopod Sepia officinalis. Egg swelling increased in response to acidification or warming, leading to an increase in egg surface while the interactive effects suggested a limited plasticity of the swelling modulation. Embryos experienced elevated pCO2 conditions in the perivitelline fluid (>3-fold higher pCO2 than that of ambient seawater), rendering the medium under-saturated even under ambient conditions. The growth of both embryos and juveniles was unaffected by pH, whereas 45Ca incorporation in cuttlebone increased significantly with decreasing pH at both temperatures. This phenomenon of hypercalcification is limited to only a number of animals but does not guarantee functional performance and calls for better mechanistic understanding of calcification processes.

Ocean acidification and its impacts: an expert survey

Abstract: The oceans moderate the rate and severity of climate change by absorbing massive amounts of anthropogenic CO2 but this results in large-scale changes in seawater chemistry, which are collectively referred to as anthropogenic ocean acidification. Despite its potentially widespread consequences, the problem of ocean acidification has been largely absent from most policy discussions of CO2 emissions, both because the science is relatively new and because the research community has yet to deliver a clear message to decision makers regarding its impacts. Here we report the results of the first expert survey in the field of ocean acidification. Fifty-three experts, who had previously participated in an IPCC workshop, were asked to assess 22 declarative statements about ocean acidification and its consequences. We find a relatively strong consensus on most issues related to past, present and future chemical aspects of ocean acidification: non-anthropogenic ocean acidification events have occurred in the geological past, anthropogenic CO2 emissions are the main (but not the only) mechanism generating the current ocean acidification event, and anthropogenic ocean acidification that has occurred due to historical fossil fuel emissions will be felt for centuries. Experts generally agreed that there will be impacts on biological and ecological processes and biogeochemical feedbacks but levels of agreement were lower, with more variability across responses. Levels of agreement were higher for statements regarding calcification, primary production and nitrogen fixation than for those about impacts on foodwebs. The levels of agreement for statements pertaining to socio-economic impacts, such as impacts on food security, and to more normative policy issues, were relatively low.

Respiration of Mediterranean cold-water corals is not affected by ocean acidification as projected for the end of the century

Abstract: The rise of CO 2 has been identified as a major threat to life in the ocean. About one-third of the anthro-pogenic CO 2 produced in the last 200 yr has been taken up by the ocean, leading to ocean acidification. Surface seawater pH is projected to decrease by about 0.4 units between the pre-industrial revolution and 2100. The branching cold-water corals Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa are important, habitat-forming species in the deep Mediter-ranean Sea. Although previous research has investigated the abundance and distribution of these species, little is known regarding their ecophysiology and potential responses to global environmental change. A previous study indicated that the rate of calcification of these two species remained constant up to 1000 µatm CO 2 , a value that is at the upper end of changes projected to occur by 2100. We examined whether the ability to maintain calcification rates in the face of rising pCO 2 affected the energetic requirements of these corals. Over the course of three months, rates of respiration were measured at a pCO 2 ranging between 350 and 1100 µatm to distinguish between short-term response and longer-term acclimation. Respiration rates ranged from 0.074 to 0.266 µmol O 2 (g skeletal dry weight) −1 h −1 and 0.095 to 0.725 µmol O 2 (g skeletal dry weight) −1 h −1 for L. pertusa and M. oculata, respectively, and were independent of pCO 2. Respiration increased with time likely due to regular feeding, which may have provided an increased energy supply to sustain coral metabolism. Future studies are needed to confirm whether the insensitivity of respiration to increasing pCO 2 is a general feature of deep-sea corals in other regions.

Effect of CO2 enrichment on bacterial metabolism in an Arctic fjord

Abstract: he anthropogenic increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) alters the seawater carbonate chemistry, with a decline of pH and an increase in the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). Although bacteria play a major role in carbon cycling, little is known about the impact of rising pCO2 on bacterial carbon metabolism, especially for natural bacterial communities. In this study, we investigated the effect of rising pCO2 on bacterial production (BP), bacterial respiration (BR) and bacterial carbon metabolism during a mesocosm experiment performed in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard) in 2010. Nine mesocosms with pCO2 levels ranging from ca. 180 to 1400 μatm were deployed in the fjord and monitored for 30 days. Generally BP gradually decreased in all mesocosms in an initial phase, showed a large (3.6-fold average) but temporary increase on day 10, and increased slightly after inorganic nutrient addition. Over the wide range of pCO2 investigated, the patterns in BP and growth rate of bulk and free-living communities were generally similar over time. However, BP of the bulk community significantly decreased with increasing pCO2 after nutrient addition (day 14). In addition, increasing pCO2 enhanced the leucine to thymidine (Leu : TdR) ratio at the end of experiment, suggesting that pCO2 may alter the growth balance of bacteria. Stepwise multiple regression analysis suggests that multiple factors, including pCO2, explained the changes of BP, growth rate and Leu : TdR ratio at the end of the experiment. In contrast to BP, no clear trend and effect of changes of pCO2 was observed for BR, bacterial carbon demand and bacterial growth efficiency. Overall, the results suggest that changes in pCO2 potentially influence bacterial production, growth rate and growth balance rather than the conversion of dissolved organic matter into CO2.

Effect of increased pCO2 on the planktonic metabolic balance during a mesocosm experiment in an Arctic fjord

Abstract: . The effect of ocean acidification on the balance between gross community production (GCP) and community respiration (CR) (i.e., net community production, NCP) of plankton communities was investigated in summer 2010 in Kongsfjorden, west of Svalbard. Surface water, which was characterized by low concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients and chlorophyll a (a proxy of phytoplankton biomass), was enclosed in nine mesocosms and subjected to eight pCO2 levels (two replicated controls and seven enhanced pCO2 treatments) for one month. Nutrients were added to all mesocosms on day 13 of the experiment, and thereafter increase of chlorophyll a was provoked in all mesocosms. No clear trend in response to increasing pCO2 was found in the daily values of NCP, CR, and GCP. For further analysis, these parameters were cumulated for the following three periods: phase 1 – end of CO2 manipulation until nutrient addition (t4 to t13); phase 2 – nutrient addition until the second chlorophyll a minimum (t14 to t21); phase 3 – the second chlorophyll a minimum until the end of this study (t22 to t28). A significant response was detected as a decrease of NCP with increasing pCO2 during phase 3. CR was relatively stable throughout the experiment in all mesocosms. As a result, the cumulative GCP significantly decreased with increasing pCO2 during phase 3. After the nutrient addition, the ratios of cumulative NCP to cumulative consumption of NO3 and PO4 showed a significant decrease during phase 3 with increasing pCO2. The results suggest that elevated pCO2 influenced cumulative NCP and stoichiometric C and nutrient coupling of the plankton community in a high-latitude fjord only for a limited period. However provided that there were some differences or weak correlations between NCP data based on different methods in the same experiment, this conclusion should be taken with caution.

Carbonate Chemistry and Air–Sea CO 2 Flux in a NW Mediterranean Bay Over a Four-Year Period: 2007–2011

Abstract: The Service d’Observation de la Rade de Villefranche-sur-Mer is designed to study the temporal variability of hydrological conditions as well as the abundance and composition of holo- and meroplankton at a fixed station in this bay of the northwest Mediterranean. The weekly data collected at this site, designated as “Point B” since 1957, represent a long-term time series of hydrological conditions in a coastal environment. Since 2007, the historical measurements of hydrological and biological conditions have been complemented by measurements of the CO2–carbonic acid system parameters. In this contribution, CO2–carbonic acid system parameters and ancillary data are presented for the period 2007–2011. The data are evaluated in the context of the physical and biogeochemical processes that contribute to variations in CO2 in the water column and exchange of this gas between the ocean and atmosphere. Seasonal cycles of the partial pressure of CO2 in seawater (pCO2) are controlled principally by variations in temperature, showing maxima in the summer and minima during the winter. Normalization of pCO2 to the mean seawater temperature (18.5 °C), however, reveals an apparent reversal of the seasonal cycle with maxima observed in the winter and minima in the summer, consistent with a biogeochemical control of pCO2 by primary production. Calculations of fluxes of CO2 show this area to be a weak source of CO2 to the atmosphere during the summer and a weak sink during the winter but near neutral overall (range −0.3 to +0.3 mmol CO2 m−2 h−1, average 0.02 mmol CO2 m−2 h−1). We also provide an assessment of errors incurred from the estimation of annual fluxes of CO2 as a function of sampling frequency (3-hourly, daily, weekly), using data obtained at the Hawaii Kilo Nalu coastal time-series station, which shows similar behavior to the Point B location despite significant differences in climate and hydrological conditions and the proximity of a coral reef ecosystem.

Ocean Acidification: Summary for Policymakers

Abstract: The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) was launched in 1987 to coordinate international research on global-scale and regional-scale interactions between Earth's biological, chemical and physical processes and their interactions with human systems. IGBP's international core projects Integrated (UNESCO) in 1960 to provide Member States of the United Nations with an essential mechanism for global cooperation in the study of the ocean. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) levels are rising as a result of human activities, such as fossil fuel burning, and are increasing the acidity of seawater. This process is known as ocean acidification. Historically, the ocean has absorbed approximately a quarter of all CO 2 released into the atmosphere by humans since the start of the industrial revolution, resulting in a 26% increase in the acidity of the ocean 1. Ocean acidification causes ecosystems and marine biodiversity to change. It has the potential to affect food security and it limits the capacity of the ocean to absorb CO 2 from human emissions. The economic impact of ocean acidification could be substantial. Reducing CO 2 emissions is the only way to minimise long-term, large-scale risks. Ocean acidification research is growing rapidly. The Third Symposium on the Ocean in a High-CO 2 World (Monterey, California, September 2012) convened 540 experts from 37 countries to discuss the results of research into ocean acidification, its impacts on ecosystems, socioeconomic consequences and implications for policy. More than twice as many scientists participated in the Monterey symposium compared to the previous symposium four years earlier. Here we present a summary of the state of knowledge on ocean acidification based on the latest research presented at the symposium and beyond.

Seasonal variability of microbial respiration and bacterial and archaeal community composition in the upper twilight zone

Abstract: The mesopelagic ('twilight') zone of the ocean is the sandwich layer between euphotic surface waters and the deep ocean. The physical, chemical, and biological processes in this layer strongly influ- ence the marine carbon cycle, although some surpris- ing knowledge gaps remain, e.g. with respect to micro- bial communities. We therefore determined biological parameters such as microbial abundances, community respiration, and bacterial and archaeal community composition (as assessed by 16S rRNA gene PCR dena- turing gradient gel electrophoresis, DGGE) over a sea- sonal time scale (at ca. 46 d intervals for 433 d) at a coastal mesopelagic site in the NW Mediterranean Sea (Point C, 300 m depth) and related them to physico- chemical parameters. Some chemical and most biolog- ical parameters showed strong variability, thus con- firming the emerging view that this water layer is more dynamic than previously thought. Community respira- tion was likely influenced by seasonal changes as indi- cated by its indirect relationship with water density. The high detected community respiration rates (0.23� 1.65 µmol O2 l �1 d �1 ) confirm that the twilight zone plays a critical role as a hub between surface and deep water. Statistical analyses indicate that water stratifica- tion, dissolved organic carbon, and transparent exo - polymeric particles were controlling factors of bacterial community composition, whereas the archaeal com- munity was likely controlled by other mechanisms. A sequence analysis of DGGE bands and a literature comparison suggests some specificity of the mesopela- gic zone regarding bacterial and archaeal community composition, thus further confirming the peculiarity of this water layer.

Progress in Controlled In Situ Ocean Acidification Experiments

Abstract: Ocean acidification is widely recognized as a significant climate-related oceanic threat, not only independently but also in connection with other oceanic stressors, including warming and deoxygenation. Recent work shows that ocean acidification will negatively affect processes such as calcification of most species, including reef-building corals, and could also cause diminished fish sensory ability and respiratory stress. However, almost all of these findings result from short-term experiments on organisms in laboratory aquaria. But how can scientists perform long-term in situ experiments that may confirm, or modify, conclusions drawn from laboratory experiments? With funding from the BNP Paribas Foundation, the xFOCE workshop brought together a group of 20 scientists and engineers to examine this.