Ocean Acidification Amplifies Multi-Stressor Impacts on Global Marine Invertebrate Fisheries

Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is causing global ocean changes and drives changes in organism physiology, life-history traits, and population dynamics of natural marine resources. However, our knowledge of the mechanisms and consequences of ocean acidification (OA) - in combination with other climatic drivers (i.e., warming, deoxygenation) - on organisms and downstream effects on marine fisheries is limited. Here, we explored how the direct effects of multiple changes in ocean conditions on organism aerobic performance scales up to spatial impacts on fisheries catch of 210 commercially exploited marine invertebrates, known to be susceptible to OA. Under the highest CO2 trajectory, we show that global fisheries catch potential declines by as much as 12% by the year 2100 relative to present, of which 3.4% was attributed to OA. Moreover, OA effects are exacerbated in regions with greater changes in pH (e.g., West Arctic basin), but are reduced in tropical areas where the effects of ocean warming and deoxygenation are more pronounced (e.g., Indo-Pacific). Our results enhance our knowledge on multi-stressor effects on marine resources and how they can be scaled from physiology to population dynamics. Furthermore, it underscores variability of responses to OA and identifies vulnerable regions and species.

Automated summary

The study reveals that elevated atmospheric CO2 caused by climate change has profound effects on marine ecosystems and fisheries resources, especially the negative impact of ocean acidification on commercially exploited marine invertebrates fisheries catch. The results suggest a potential decrease in global fisheries catch and varying degrees of OA effects in different regions.