Journal
BIOGEOSCIENCES
Volume 15, Issue 20, Pages 6167-6183Publisher
COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH
DOI: 10.5194/bg-15-6167-2018
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Funding
- New York Sea grant [R-FMB-38]
- Chicago Community Foundation
- Laurie Landaeu Foundation
- Pritchard Foundation
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Coastal ecosystems can experience acidification via upwelling, eutrophication, riverine discharge, and climate change. While the resulting increases in pCO(2) can have deleterious effects on calcifying animals, this change in carbonate chemistry may benefit some marine autotrophs. Here, we report on experiments performed with North Atlantic populations of hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria), eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica), bay scallops (Argopecten irradians), and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) grown with and without North Atlantic populations of the green macroalgae, Ulva. In six of seven experiments, exposure to elevated pCO(2) levels (similar to 1700 mu atm) resulted in depressed shell-and/or tissue-based growth rates of bivalves compared to control conditions, whereas rates were significantly higher in the presence of Ulva in all experiments. In many cases, the co-exposure to elevated pCO(2) levels and Ulva had an antagonistic effect on bivalve growth rates whereby the presence of Ulva under elevated pCO(2) levels significantly improved their performance compared to the acidification-only treatment. Saturation states for calcium carbonate (Omega) were significantly higher in the presence of Ulva under both ambient and elevated CO2 delivery rates, and growth rates of bivalves were significantly correlated with Omega in six of seven experiments. Collectively, the results suggest that photosynthesis and/or nitrate assimilation by Ulva increased alkalinity, fostering a carbonate chemistry regime more suitable for optimal growth of calcifying bivalves. This suggests that large natural and/or aquacultured collections of macroalgae in acidified environments could serve as a refuge for calcifying animals that may otherwise be negatively impacted by elevated pCO(2) levels and depressed Omega.
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