Dias, BB

Hall-Spencer, JM

Hart, MB

Pettit, L

Smart, CW

English

PEARL (Univ. of Plymouth)

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Faculty of Science and Engineering 2011-06-05 The response of foraminifera to modern seawater acidification: A real-time proxy for Paleogene hypothermal events JM Hall-Spencer School of Biological and Marine Sciences MB Hart BB Dias CW Smart L Pettit Let us know how access to this document benefits you General rights All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact the library providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Follow this and additional works at: https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bms-research Recommended Citation Hall-Spencer, J., Hart, M., Dias, B., Smart, C., & Pettit, L. (2011) 'The response of foraminifera to modern seawater acidification: A real-time proxy for Paleogene hypothermal events', Default journal, . Retrieved from https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bms-research/429 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty of Science and Engineering at PEARL. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Biological and Marine Sciences by an authorized administrator of PEARL. For more information, please contact openresearch@plymouth.ac.uk. Berichte Geol. B.-A., 85 (ISSN 1017-8880) – CBEP 2011, Salzburg,  June 5th – 8th86The response of foraminifera to modern seawater acidification:A real-time proxy for Paleogene hypothermal eventsMalcolm B. Hart1, Bruna B. Dias2, Christopher W. Smart1,Jason M. Hall-Spencer1, Laura Pettit11 Faculty of Science & Technology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, U.K.2 Universidad Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopólis, BrazilThe seas around the island of Ischia (Italy) have a variable and, on average, lowered pH as a result of volcanic gas vents that emit carbon dioxide from the sea floor at ambient seawater temperatures. These areas of acidified seawater provide natural laboratories in which to study the long-term biological response to rising CO2 levels. Benthic foraminifera are routinely used to interpret the effects of climate change as they have short life histories, are environmentally sensitive and have an excellent fossil record. Here, we examined changes in foraminiferal assemblages along gradients in pH at CO2 vents on the coast of Ischia as they may provide a useful model on which to base future predictions of the consequences of ocean acidification (Dias et al., 2010). We show that foraminiferal abundance, diversity and ability to calcify decreased markedly in living and dead assemblages as pH decreases, the result of CO2 percolating through the seawater. Recent work by de Nooijer et al. (2009) has shown that foraminifera increase their internal pH to ~9.0 in the area of chamber calcification. If the ambient pH in the enclosing seawater is reduced to 7.8 (or below) the foraminifera with calcareous tests appear to be unable to complete the test construction process. These results are in accord with the responses recorded by coralline algae, corals, molluscs, barnacles and echinoderms at the same sites (Hall-Spencer et al., 2008).Samples from the normal (pH8.17) environments around Ischia contain a diverse fauna dominated by miliolid foraminifera (e.g., Peneroplis planatus, P. pertusus, Quinqueloculina spp.) while those from areas with reduced pH (7.8 to 7.6) have faunas that are progressively less diverse and composed of <100% agglutinated taxa (e.g., Ammoglobigerina globigeriniformis, Miliammina fusca, Trochammina inflata, Textularia sp. cf. T. bocki). The changes in the benthic foraminifera are quite dramatic for only a slight reduction in pH and confirm the possibility that events, such as the PETM, could quite easily record a widespread loss of diversity or extinction as a result of ocean acidification. Work on Ischia is on-going and there is a comparable site being investigated in the Gulf of California. A site on the south-east coast of the island of Vulcano (Mediterranean Sea) is also being considered. References:Dias, B.D., Hart, M.B., Smart, C.W. & Hall-Spencer, J.M. 2010. Modern seawater acidification: the response of foraminifera to high-CO2 conditions in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 167, 843-846.Hall-Spencer, J.M., Rodolfo-Metalpa, R., Martin, S. et al., 2008. Volcanic carbon dioxide vents show ecosystem effects of ocean acidification. Nature, 454, 96-99, doi:10.1038/nature07051.De Nooijer, L.J., Toyofuku, T. & Kitazato, H. 2009. Foraminifera promote calcification by elevating their intracellular pH. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 15374-15378.©Geol. Bundesanstalt, Wien; download unter www.geologie.ac.at

The response of foraminifera to modern seawater acidification: A real-time proxy for Paleogene hypothermal events

Foraminifera promote calcification by elevating their intracellular pH.

Modern seawater acidification: the response of foraminifera to high-CO2 conditions in the Mediterranean Sea.

Volcanic carbon dioxide vents show ecosystem effects of ocean acidification.

https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1428&context=bms-research

The response of foraminifera to modern seawater acidification: A real-time proxy for Paleogene hypothermal events

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