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1. Diel and tidal pCO2 × O2 fluctuations provide physiological refuge to early life stages of a coastal forage fish

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-53930-8  

   Cross, Emma L.; Murray, Christopher S.; Baumann, Hannes (December 2019, Scientific Reports)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Coastal ecosystems experience substantial natural fluctuations in p CO 2 and dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions on diel, tidal, seasonal and interannual timescales. Rising carbon dioxide emissions and anthropogenic nutrient input are expected to increase these p CO 2 and DO cycles in severity and duration of acidification and hypoxia. How coastal marine organisms respond to natural p CO 2  × DO variability and future climate change remains largely unknown. Here, we assess the impact of static and cycling p CO 2  × DO conditions of various magnitudes and frequencies on early life survival and growth of an important coastal forage fish, Menidia menidia . Static low DO conditions severely decreased embryo survival, larval survival, time to 50% hatch, size at hatch and post-larval growth rates. Static elevated p CO 2 did not affect most response traits, however, a synergistic negative effect did occur on embryo survival under hypoxic conditions (3.0 mg L −1 ). Cycling p CO 2  × DO, however, reduced these negative effects of static conditions on all response traits with the magnitude of fluctuations influencing the extent of this reduction. This indicates that fluctuations in p CO 2 and DO may benefit coastal organisms by providing periodic physiological refuge from stressful conditions, which could promote species adaptability to climate change. 

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2. Delayed onset of ocean acidification in the Gulf of Maine

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84537-3  

   Stewart, Joseph_A; Williams, Branwen; LaVigne, Michèle; Wanamaker, Alan_D; Strong, Aaron_L; Jellison, Brittany; Whitney, Nina_M; Thatcher, Diana_L; Robinson, Laura_F; Halfar, Jochen; et al (January 2025, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract The Gulf of Maine holds significant ecological and economic value for fisheries and communities in north-eastern North America. However, there is apprehension regarding its vulnerability to the effects of increasing atmospheric CO₂. Substantial recent warming and the inflow of low alkalinity waters into the Gulf of Maine have raised concerns about the impact of ocean acidification on resident marine calcifiers (e.g. oysters, clams, mussels). With limited seawater pH records, the natural variability and drivers of pH in this region remain unclear. To address this, we present coastal water pH proxy records using boron isotope (δ¹¹B) measurements in long-lived, annually banded, crustose coralline algae (1920–2018 CE). These records indicate seawater pH was low (~ 7.9) for much of the last century. Contrary to expectation, we also find that pH has increased (+ 0.2 pH units) over the past 40 years, despite concurrent rising atmospheric CO₂. This increase is attributed to an increased input of high alkalinity waters derived from the Gulf Stream. This delayed onset of ocean acidification is cause for concern. Once ocean circulation-driven buffering effects reach their limit, seawater pH decline may occur swiftly. This would profoundly harm shellfisheries and the broader Gulf of Maine ecosystem. 

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3. Climate Change Implications for Tidal Marshes and Food Web Linkages to Estuarine and Coastal Nekton

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-020-00891-1  

   Colombano, Denise D.; Litvin, Steven Y.; Ziegler, Shelby L.; Alford, Scott B.; Baker, Ronald; Barbeau, Myriam A.; Cebrián, Just; Connolly, Rod M.; Currin, Carolyn A.; Deegan, Linda A.; et al (January 2021, Estuaries and Coasts)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Climate change is altering naturally fluctuating environmental conditions in coastal and estuarine ecosystems across the globe. Departures from long-term averages and ranges of environmental variables are increasingly being observed as directional changes [e.g., rising sea levels, sea surface temperatures (SST)] and less predictable periodic cycles (e.g., Atlantic or Pacific decadal oscillations) and extremes (e.g., coastal flooding, marine heatwaves). Quantifying the short- and long-term impacts of climate change on tidal marsh seascape structure and function for nekton is a critical step toward fisheries conservation and management. The multiple stressor framework provides a promising approach for advancing integrative, cross-disciplinary research on tidal marshes and food web dynamics. It can be used to quantify climate change effects on and interactions between coastal oceans (e.g., SST, ocean currents, waves) and watersheds (e.g., precipitation, river flows), tidal marsh geomorphology (e.g., vegetation structure, elevation capital, sedimentation), and estuarine and coastal nekton (e.g., species distributions, life history adaptations, predator-prey dynamics). However, disentangling the cumulative impacts of multiple interacting stressors on tidal marshes, whether the effects are additive, synergistic, or antagonistic, and the time scales at which they occur, poses a significant research challenge. This perspective highlights the key physical and ecological processes affecting tidal marshes, with an emphasis on the trophic linkages between marsh production and estuarine and coastal nekton, recommended for consideration in future climate change studies. Such studies are urgently needed to understand climate change effects on tidal marshes now and into the future. 

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4. RETRACTED: Rapid Acidification of the Arctic Chukchi Sea Waters Driven by Anthropogenic Forcing and Biological Carbon Recycling

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097246  

   Qi, Di; Wu, Yingxu; Chen, Liqi; Cai, Wei‐Jun; Ouyang, Zhangxian; Zhang, Yixing; Anderson, Leif G.; Feely, Richard A.; Zhuang, Yanpei; Lin, Hongmei; et al (February 2022, Geophysical Research Letters)

   Abstract The acidification of coastal waters is distinguished from the open ocean because of much stronger synergistic effects between anthropogenic forcing and local biogeochemical processes. However, ocean acidification research is still rather limited in polar coastal oceans. Here, we present a 17‐year (2002–2019) observational data set in the Chukchi Sea to determine the long‐term changes in pH and aragonite saturation state (Ω_arag). We found that pH and Ω_aragdeclined in different water masses with average rates of −0.0047 ± 0.0026 years⁻¹and −0.017 ± 0.009 years⁻¹, respectively, and are ∼2–3 times faster than those solely due to increasing atmospheric CO₂. We attributed the rapid acidification to the increased dissolved inorganic carbon owing to a combination of ice melt‐induced increased atmospheric CO₂invasion and subsurface remineralization induced by a stronger surface biological production as a result of the increased inflow of the nutrient‐rich Pacific water. 

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5. Meta‐analysis suggests negative, but p CO ₂ ‐specific, effects of ocean acidification on the structural and functional properties of crustacean biomaterials

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8922  

   Siegel, Kyle R.; Kaur, Muskanjot; Grigal, A. Calvin; Metzler, Rebecca A.; Dickinson, Gary H. (June 2022, Ecology and Evolution)

   Abstract Crustaceans comprise an ecologically and morphologically diverse taxonomic group. They are typically considered resilient to many environmental perturbations found in marine and coastal environments, due to effective physiological regulation of ions and hemolymph pH, and a robust exoskeleton. Ocean acidification can affect the ability of marine calcifying organisms to build and maintain mineralized tissue and poses a threat for all marine calcifying taxa. Currently, there is no consensus on how ocean acidification will alter the ecologically relevant exoskeletal properties of crustaceans. Here, we present a systematic review and meta‐analysis on the effects of ocean acidification on the crustacean exoskeleton, assessing both exoskeletal ion content (calcium and magnesium) and functional properties (biomechanical resistance and cuticle thickness). Our results suggest that the effect of ocean acidification on crustacean exoskeletal properties varies based upon seawaterpCO₂and species identity, with significant levels of heterogeneity for all analyses. Calcium and magnesium content was significantly lower in animals held atpCO₂ levels of 1500–1999 µatm as compared with those under ambientpCO₂. At lowerpCO₂ levels, however, statistically significant relationships between changes in calcium and magnesium content within the same experiment were observed as follows: a negative relationship between calcium and magnesium content atpCO₂of 500–999 µatm and a positive relationship at 1000–1499 µatm. Exoskeleton biomechanics, such as resistance to deformation (microhardness) and shell strength, also significantly decreased underpCO₂regimes of 500–999 µatm and 1500–1999 µatm, indicating functional exoskeletal change coincident with decreases in calcification. Overall, these results suggest that the crustacean exoskeleton can be susceptible to ocean acidification at the biomechanical level, potentially predicated by changes in ion content, when exposed to high influxes of CO₂. Future studies need to accommodate the high variability of crustacean responses to ocean acidification, and ecologically relevant ranges ofpCO₂conditions, when designing experiments with conservation‐level endpoints. 

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