More acidic oceans 'will affect all sea life'

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41653511

More acidic oceans 'will affect all sea life'

By Roger Harrabin
BBC environment analyst

23 October 2017

From the section Science & Environment

All sea life will be affected because carbon dioxide emissions from modern society are making the oceans more acidic, a major new report will say. The eight-year study from more than 250 scientists finds that infant sea creatures will be especially harmed. This means the number of baby cod growing to adulthood could fall to a quarter or even a 12th of today's numbers, the researchers suggest.

The assessment comes from the BIOACID project, which is led from Germany. A brochure summarising the main outcomes will be presented to climate negotiators at their annual meeting, which this year is taking place in Bonn in November.

The Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification report authors say some creatures may benefit directly from the chemical changes - but even these could still be adversely affected indirectly by shifts in the whole food web. What is more, the research shows that changes through acidification will be made worse by climate change, pollution, coastal development, over-fishing and agricultural fertilisers.

Ocean acidification is happening because as CO2 from fossil fuels dissolves in seawater, it produces carbonic acid and this lowers the pH of the water. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the average pH of global ocean surface waters have fallen from pH 8.2 to 8.1. This represents an increase in acidity of about 26%.
(snip)

Since 2009, scientists working under the BIOACID programme have studied how marine creatures are affected by acidification during different life stages; how these reactions reverberate through the marine food web; and whether the challenges can be mitigated by evolutionary adaptation. Some research was done in the lab but other studies were conducted in the North Sea, the Baltic, the Arctic, and Papua New Guinea.

A synthesis of more than 350 publications on the effects of ocean acidification - which will be given to climate delegates at next month's summit - reveals that almost half of the marine animal species tested reacted negatively to already moderate increases in seawater CO2 concentrations.
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[PearliePoo2]

1. Ocean acidification has been a huge problem for shellfish in the Pacific Northwest (and elsewhere).

Here's an article about the research that is going on:

Can shellfish adapt to ocean acidification?

https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i20/shellfish-adapt-ocean-acidification.html

[DFW]

2. Cape Cod, too

The reduction in the 30 years I have been going there is dramatic.

We used to see large numbers of starfish, horseshoe crabs, and there were large numbers of clams and scallops everywhere.
I haven't seen a live starfish in well over ten years, and I have seen one small live horseshoe crab (I know, they're not really crabs, but they do have shells) and a few dead ones over the same period. We used to see large ones, over a foot in diameter, every day. Hermit crabs, which used to carpet the shallow bay waters, have become rare, as have the once-plentiful blue crabs. Only the slow-moving, spiny spider crabs seem to have survived the changes.

[PearliePoo2]

3. What you're describing is beyond startling and alarming!

The time frame you're talking about really is just a blink of an eye in the big picture and age of the earth.

I'm so fortunate that the coastal area where I live has not been impacted (yet) by devastating acidification.
There's a small family-run shellfish farm, just a ten minute drive from my house, where you can buy live Pacific oysters, clams and mussels. You can eat them there at picnic tables (they will give you shucking lessons) or buy and take them to go.
I dread and shocked of the thought that one of my favorite treats, icy-cold oysters on the half shell, may one day be just a memory.

Westcott Bay Shellfish

https://www.westcottbayshellfish.com/

[DFW]

4. The Cape Cod Bay is a very fragile ecosystem

And they get ALL the crap dumped in the bay from Boston and coastal suburbs, which is considerable. Boston is relatively environmentally conscious, but it IS a big city with lots of industry and jobs that depend on it. It has huge maritime traffic, and it cuts rights through the Stellwegen bank that has been a feeding ground for whales since before recorded history. Whale watches from both Boston and Provincetown are legendary. This past spring, over a dozen Right Whales were sighted off the Cape, a highly unusual event. There are less than 500 North Atlantic Right Whales left, by most estimates. About ten of them died this year, too, which is a devastating blow to their population.

We have also seen an explosion in the seal population around Chatham, but also as far north as Provincetown, and with it, the presence of numerous Great White Sharks, something we never saw even as recently as ten years ago. For the first time in our memory, our favorite beach (Long Nook Beach in Truro) was closed due to the presence of Great Whites. We have been going to Cape Cod for 34 years in a row, now, as it is one of our favorite spots on this planet. The changes in the ecosystem in that short time--a blink of an eye, as you put it so aptly--are really frightening.