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ma=86400 Ocean acidification can mediate biodiversity shifts by changing biogenic habitat | Nature Climate Change
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Ocean acidification can mediate biodiversity shifts by changing biogenic habitat

Nature Climate Change volume 7, pages 81–85 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

The effects of ocean acidification (OA) on the structure and complexity of coastal marine biogenic habitat have been broadly overlooked. Here we explore how declining pH and carbonate saturation may affect the structural complexity of four major biogenic habitats. Our analyses predict that indirect effects driven by OA on habitat-forming organisms could lead to lower species diversity in coral reefs, mussel beds and some macroalgal habitats, but increases in seagrass and other macroalgal habitats. Available in situ data support the prediction of decreased biodiversity in coral reefs, but not the prediction of seagrass bed gains. Thus, OA-driven habitat loss may exacerbate the direct negative effects of OA on coastal biodiversity; however, we lack evidence of the predicted biodiversity increase in systems where habitat-forming species could benefit from acidification. Overall, a combination of direct effects and community-mediated indirect effects will drive changes in the extent and structural complexity of biogenic habitat, which will have important ecosystem effects.

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Figure 1: Observed and predicted relationships between pH, habitat structure and community richness in four focal habitats, based on published data.
Figure 2: Changes in habitat density along spatial gradients from high to low pH regimes, showing cases where alternative habitat types were reported.
Figure 3: Conceptual model showing potential effects of OA on relative performance on competing habitat-forming organisms.

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Acknowledgements

This article emerged from a working group funded by the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. We are grateful to R. Bechmann for helpful discussions, and thank the US National Science Foundation, the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and several of our institutions for research support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T1Z4, Canada

    Jennifer M. Sunday, Kathryn M. Anderson, Norah E. Brown, Megan L. H. Vaughan & Christopher D. G. Harley

  2. Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia

    Katharina E. Fabricius

  3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA

    Kristy J. Kroeker

  4. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California 95039, USA

    James P. Barry

  5. Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia

    Sean D. Connell

  6. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, The Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences, 45178 Fiskebäckskil, Sweden

    Sam Dupont

  7. Bodega Marine Laboratory and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California at Davis, Bodega Bay, California 94923, USA

    Brian Gaylord & Eric Sanford

  8. Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Marine Science and Engineering, Plymouth University, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK

    Jason M. Hall-Spencer

  9. Shimoda Marine Research Centre, Tsukuba University, Shimoda City, Shizuoka 415-0025, Japan

    Jason M. Hall-Spencer

  10. School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA

    Terrie Klinger

  11. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, University of Palermo, CoNSIMa Consortium, Palermo I-90123, Italy

    Marco Milazzo

  12. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia

    Philip L. Munday

  13. The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    Bayden D. Russell & Vengatesen Thiyagarajan

  14. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK

    Stephen Widdicombe

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  1. Jennifer M. Sunday
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Contributions

All authors conceptualized and designed the paper; J.M.S., K.E.F., K.J.K., K.M.A., N.E.B., J.M.H.-S., M.M. and C.D.G.H. assembled the data; J.M.S. analysed the data, produced figures and drafted the paper; all authors contributed discussion, writing and interpretation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer M. Sunday.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Sunday, J., Fabricius, K., Kroeker, K. et al. Ocean acidification can mediate biodiversity shifts by changing biogenic habitat. Nature Clim Change 7, 81–85 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3161

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