Towards improved socio-economic assessments of ocean acidification’s impacts

Ocean acidification is increasingly recognized as a component of global change that could have a wide range of impacts on marine organisms, the ecosystems they live in, and the goods and services they provide humankind. Assessment of these potential socio-economic impacts requires integrated efforts between biologists, chemists, oceanographers, economists and social scientists. But because ocean acidification is a new research area, significant knowledge gaps are preventing economists from estimating its welfare impacts. For instance, economic data on the impact of ocean acidification on significant markets such as fisheries, aquaculture and tourism are very limited (if not non-existent), and non-market valuation studies on this topic are not yet available. Our paper summarizes the current understanding of future OA impacts and sets out what further information is required for economists to assess socio-economic impacts of ocean acidification. Our aim is to provide clear directions for multidisciplinary collaborative research.     

海洋酸化与重金属、有机污染物和人工纳米颗粒的联合毒性效应研究进展

由于大量人类活动的影响,大气CO_2浓度持续增加,其中约1/3被海洋吸收,导致表层海水pH值降低和碳酸盐平衡体系波动,即"海洋酸化"现象。污染物的海洋环境效应一直是全球环境科学领域研究的热点。在实际环境中,海洋酸化往往与污染物共同存在并作用于海洋生态系统,且海洋酸化极有可能改变污染物的海洋环境行为从而影响其毒性效应。但现有研究大多针对海洋酸化或者污染物单独作用下的毒性效应展开,对海洋酸化与污染物的联合毒性效应的研究不足、亟待加强。为此,综述了近年来海洋酸化与典型污染物(重金属、有机污染物)及新型污染物(人工纳米颗粒)的相关文献,重点阐述了海洋酸化对污染物环境行为的影响和海洋酸化与污染物对海洋生物的联合毒性效应,指出当前的研究不足,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

One size fits all: stability of metabolic scaling under warming and ocean acidification in echinoderms

Responses by marine species to ocean acidification (OA) have recently been shown to be modulated by external factors including temperature, food supply and salinity. However the role of a fundamental biological parameter relevant to all organisms, that of body size, in governing responses to multiple stressors has been almost entirely overlooked. Recent consensus suggests allometric scaling of metabolism with body size differs between species, the commonly cited ‘universal’ mass scaling exponent (b) of ¾ representing an average of exponents that naturally vary. One model, the Metabolic-Level Boundaries hypothesis, provides a testable prediction: that b will decrease within species under increasing temperature. However, no previous studies have examined how metabolic scaling may be directly affected by OA. We acclimated a wide body-mass range of three common NE Atlantic echinoderms (the sea star Asterias rubens, the brittlestars Ophiothrix fragilis and Amphiura filiformis) to two levels of pCO₂ and three temperatures, and metabolic rates were determined using closed-chamber respirometry. The results show that contrary to some models these echinoderm species possess a notable degree of stability in metabolic scaling under different abiotic conditions; the mass scaling exponent (b) varied in value between species, but not within species under different conditions. Additionally, we found no effect of OA on metabolic rates in any species. These data suggest responses to abiotic stressors are not modulated by body size in these species, as reflected in the stability of the metabolic scaling relationship. Such equivalence in response across ontogenetic size ranges has important implications for the stability of ecological food webs.     

Egg and early larval stages of Baltic cod, Gadus morhua, are robust to high levels of ocean acidification

The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will lower the pH in ocean waters, a process termed ocean acidification (OA). Despite its potentially detrimental effects on calcifying organisms, experimental studies on the possible impacts on fish remain scarce. While adults will most likely remain relatively unaffected by changes in seawater pH, early life-history stages are potentially more sensitive, due to the lack of gills with specialized ion-regulatory mechanisms. We tested the effects of OA on growth and development of embryos and larvae of eastern Baltic cod, the commercially most important fish stock in the Baltic Sea. Cod were reared from newly fertilized eggs to early non-feeding larvae in 5 different experiments looking at a range of response variables to OA, as well as the combined effect of CO₂ and temperature. No effect on hatching, survival, development, and otolith size was found at any stage in the development of Baltic cod. Field data show that in the Bornholm Basin, the main spawning site of eastern Baltic cod, in situ levels of pCO₂ are already at levels of 1,100 μatm with a pH of 7.2, mainly due to high eutrophication supporting microbial activity and permanent stratification with little water exchange. Our data show that the eggs and early larval stages of Baltic cod seem to be robust to even high levels of OA (3,200 μatm), indicating an adaptational response to CO₂.     

Appropriate pCO2 treatments in ocean acidification experiments

Experiments in which organisms are reared in treatments simulating current and future pCO₂ concentrations are critical for ocean acidification (OA) research. The majority of OA exposure experiments use average atmospheric pCO₂ levels as a baseline treatment. We conducted an ecoregion-scale analysis of global carbon chemistry datasets. For many locales, atmospheric pCO₂ levels are not an appropriate characterization of marine carbon chemistry. We argue that atmospheric pCO₂ should be disregarded when setting baseline treatment conditions and experimental design should rely on measurements of carbon chemistry in a study subject’s habitat. As carbon chemistry conditions vary with space and time, we suggest using a range of pCO₂ values as a control rather than a single value. We illustrate this issue with data on the habitat of Euphausia pacifica, which currently lives in waters with a pCO₂ around 900 μatm, a concentration much higher than the current global atmospheric mean.     

兽用抗生素在土壤环境中的行为及其生态毒理效应研究进展

目前全球至少有70%左右的抗生素被用于畜牧业和水产养殖业,这些抗生素大多不能被动物完全吸收,以母体或代谢物的形式排出动物体外的抗生素约占用药量的40～90%,排出体外的抗生素大多随粪便等进入环境尤其是土壤环境中并在其中累积.为了明确兽用抗生素对环境中生物等的影响,合理评价兽用抗生素的环境风险,论文就土壤环境中兽用抗生素的来源,兽用抗生素在土壤环境中的吸附、迁移、降解以及对环境中生物的影响等方面进行了综述,在此基础上提出了今后的重点研究方向.     

The effects of the diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins,okadaic acid and dinophysistoxin-1, on the growth of microalgae

The diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins okadaic acid (OA) and dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX-1) are potent phosphatase inhibitors produced by certain species of marine dinoflagellates. OA can cause hyperphosphorylation of a broad range of animal and higherpalnt proteins, but little is known regarding the effects of the DSP toxins on marine organisms or their biological function. A variety of microalgae, including a clone ofProrocentrum lima known to produce both OA and DTX-1, were incubated with solutions of OA and in one case DTX-1 or a combination of OA and DTX-1. OA inhibited the growth of all non-DSP-producing test species at micromolar concentrations, butP. lima was not affected even at much higher levels. This differential activity of OA suggests that the DSP toxins may play an allelopathic role and raises questions regarding the strategies adopted by DSP-producing dinoflagellates such asP. lima to avoid autotoxicity. The effects of DTX-1 on microalgal growth were found to be equivalentt to those of OA, and the effects of both toxins in combination were simply additive.     

Predicted impact of ocean acidification on a marine invertebrate: elevated CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> alters response to thermal stress in sea urchin larvae

Ocean acidification (OA) and the biological consequences of altered seawater chemistry have emerged as a significant environmental threat to healthy marine ecosystems. Because a more acidic ocean interferes with fixation of calcium carbonate to form shells or calcified skeletons, future ocean chemistry may significantly alter the physiology of calcifying marine organisms. These alterations may manifest themselves directly in the calcification process, or have synergistic effects with other environmental factors such as elevated temperatures. New tools permit us to explore subtle changes in gene expression patterns in response to environmental conditions. We raised sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) under conditions simulating future atmospheric CO₂ levels of 540 and 970 ppm. When larvae raised under elevated CO₂ conditions were subjected to 1-h acute temperature stress, their ability to mount a physiological response (as measured by expression of the molecular chaperone hsp70) was reduced relative to those raised under ambient CO₂ conditions. These results represent the first use of gene expression assays to study the effects of OA on sea urchin development. They highlight the importance of looking at multiple environmental factors simultaneously as this approach may reveal previously unsuspected biological impacts of atmospheric changes.     

Occurrence of a cold-water coral along natural pH gradients (Patagonia, Chile)

Increasing dissolution of anthropogenic-released carbon dioxide into the world’s oceans is causing ocean acidification (OA). OA is thought to negatively affect most marine-calcifying organisms, notably cold-water corals (CWC), which may be especially sensitive due to the deep and cold waters they normally thrive in. However, the impact of OA on CWC is difficult to predict. Recorded distributions of CWC are rarely linked to in situ water chemistry, and the boundaries of their distributions are not clearly defined. The fjord Comau in Chilean Patagonia features pronounced pH gradients, and up to 0.5 pH units have been recorded both vertically (at some sites within 50 m depth) and less distinct horizontally (from head to mouth). The cosmopolite coral Desmophyllum dianthus grows along the course of the fjord and of the entire pH range. It occurs in shallow depths (below 12 m, pH 8.1) as part of a deep-water emergence community, but also in 225 m depth at a pH of 7.4. Based on pH and total alkalinity, data calculations of the associated carbonate chemistry revealed that this CWC thrives commonly close the aragonite (the orthogonal crystal form of calcium carbonate, the mineral structure of coral skeletons) saturation horizon and even below. This suggests a high adaptation potential of D. dianthus to adjust its calcification performance to conditions thermodynamically unfavourable for the precipitation of aragonite.     

Risk-based modelling of diffuse land use impacts from rural landscapes upon salmonid fry abundance

Research has demonstrated that landscape or watershed scale processes can influence instream aquatic ecosystems, in terms of the impacts of delivery of fine sediment, solutes and organic matter. Testing such impacts upon populations of organisms (i.e. at the catchment scale) has not proven straightforward and differences have emerged in the conclusions reached. This is: (1) partly because different studies have focused upon different scales of enquiry; but also (2) because the emphasis upon upstream land cover has rarely addressed the extent to which such land covers are hydrologically connected, and hence able to deliver diffuse pollution, to the drainage network. However, there is a third issue. In order to develop suitable hydrological models, we need to conceptualise the process cascade. To do this, we need to know what matters to the organism being impacted by the hydrological system, such that we can identify which processes need to be modelled. Acquiring such knowledge is not easy, especially for organisms like fish that might occupy very different locations in the river over relatively short periods of time. However, and inevitably, hydrological modellers have started by building up piecemeal the aspects of the problem that we think matter to fish. Herein, we report two developments: (a) for the case of sediment associated diffuse pollution from agriculture, a risk-based modelling framework, SCIMAP, has been developed, which is distinct because it has an explicit focus upon hydrological connectivity; and (b) we use spatially distributed ecological data to infer the processes and the associated process parameters that matter to salmonid fry. We apply the model to spatially distributed salmon and fry data from the River Eden, Cumbria, England. The analysis shows, quite surprisingly, that arable land covers are relatively unimportant as drivers of fry abundance. What matters most is intensive pasture, a land cover that could be associated with a number of stressors on salmonid fry (e.g. pesticides, fine sediment) and which allows us to identify a series of risky field locations, where this land cover is readily connected to the river system by overland flow.     

Impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems: educational challenges and innovations

Population growth and social/technological developments have resulted in the buildup of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere and oceans to the extent that we now see changes in the earth’s climate and ocean chemistry. Ocean acidification is one consequence of these changes, and it is known with certainty that it will continue to increase as we emit more CO₂ into the atmosphere. Ocean acidification is a global issue likely to impact marine organisms, food webs and ecosystems and to be most severely experienced by the people who depend on the goods and services the ocean provides at regional and local levels. However, research is in its infancy and the available data on biological impacts are complex (e.g., species-specific response). Educating future generations on the certainties and uncertainties of the emerging science of ocean acidification and its complex consequences for marine species and ecosystems can provide insights that will help assessing the need to mitigate and/or adapt to future global change. This article aims to present different educational approaches, the different material available and highlight the future challenges of ocean acidification education for both educators and marine biologists.     

Key issues in the conservation of the Australian coastal archaeological record: natural and human impacts

Australia has an extensive coastline extending over 60,000 km through diverse tropical and temperate environments. Indigenous archaeological sites are found along this coastline from the time of earliest settlement at least 50,000 years ago. However, Pleistocene sites are rare owing largely to the destructive impacts of sea-level change associated with the end of the last ice age around 10,000 years ago. After this sites are more numerous but there is variability around the coastline due to the impact of a range of both natural and human factors. Here we focus on six key issues impacting on the development and conservation of coastal archaeological deposits: sea-levels, climate change, cyclones, storms, tsunamis and contemporary human impacts. A number of examples of these impacts are discussed from across Australia. Managing and monitoring of sites has been limited in Australia and geoindicators are discussed as a means of developing a long-term measurement of continuing impacts.     

有机磷酸酯类阻燃剂毒性效应研究进展

有机磷酸酯类阻燃剂(organophosphate flame retardants,OPFRs)作为多溴联苯醚等溴代阻燃剂(brominated flame retardants,BFRs)的替代品被广泛应用,由此带来的环境影响广受关注。目前针对OPFRs的生物毒性研究仍相对有限,需要更全面调查其在多环境介质中的暴露状况、环境归趋、生物毒性效应等研究成果,在此基础上才能综合评价其可能引起的生态风险。因此,综述了OPFRs对水生生物、哺乳动物和人类等多种生物体的急性毒性、生殖与发育毒性、神经毒性、脏器毒性、基因毒性与致突变性和内分泌干扰性。OPFRs的多种生物毒性已得到证实,但相关致毒机制研究尚不完整深入。最后对OPFRs的进一步研究存在的问题进行分析,提出了研究展望,以期促进开展OPFRs的环境风险和人体健康风险研究。     

Can ocean acidification affect population dynamics of the barnacle Semibalanus balanoides at its southern range edge?

The global ocean and atmosphere are warming. There is increasing evidence suggesting that, in addition to other environmental factors, climate change is affecting species distributions and local population dynamics. Additionally, as a consequence of the growing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), the oceans are taking up increasing amounts of this CO2, causing ocean pH to decrease (ocean acidification). The relative impacts of ocean acidification on population dynamics have yet to be investigated, despite many studies indicating that there will be at least a sublethal impact on many marine organisms, particularly key calcifying organisms. Using empirical data, we forced a barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides) population model to investigate the relative influence of sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean acidification on a population nearing the southern limit of its geographic distribution. Hindcast models were compared to observational data from Cellar Beach (southwestern United Kingdom). Results indicate that a declining pH trend (-0.0017 unit/yr), indicative of ocean acidification over the past 50 years, does not cause an observable impact on the population abundance relative to changes caused by fluctuations in temperature. Below the critical temperature (here T(crit) = 13.1 degrees C), pH has a more significant affect on population dynamics at this southern range edge. However, above this value, SST has the overriding influence. At lower SST, a decrease in pH (according to the National Bureau of Standards, pHNBs) from 8.2 to 7.8 can significantly decrease the population abundance. The lethal impacts of ocean acidification observed in experiments on early life stages reduce cumulative survival by approximately 25%, which again will significantly alter the population level at this southern limit. Furthermore, forecast predictions from this model suggest that combined acidification and warming cause this local population to die out 10 years earlier than would occur if there was only global warming and no concomitant decrease in pH.     

Growth response of an early successional assemblage of coralline algae and benthic diatoms to ocean acidification

The sustained absorption of anthropogenically released atmospheric CO₂ by the oceans is modifying seawater carbonate chemistry, a process termed ocean acidification (OA). By the year 2100, the worst case scenario is a decline in the average oceanic surface seawater pH by 0.3 units to 7.75. The changing seawater carbonate chemistry is predicted to negatively affect many marine species, particularly calcifying organisms such as coralline algae, while species such as diatoms and fleshy seaweed are predicted to be little affected or may even benefit from OA. It has been hypothesized in previous work that the direct negative effects imposed on coralline algae, and the direct positive effects on fleshy seaweeds and diatoms under a future high CO₂ ocean could result in a reduced ability of corallines to compete with diatoms and fleshy seaweed for space in the future. In a 6-week laboratory experiment, we examined the effect of pH 7.60 (pH predicted to occur due to ocean acidification just beyond the year 2100) compared to pH 8.05 (present day) on the lateral growth rates of an early successional, cold-temperate species assemblage dominated by crustose coralline algae and benthic diatoms. Crustose coralline algae and benthic diatoms maintained positive growth rates in both pH treatments. The growth rates of coralline algae were three times lower at pH 7.60, and a non-significant decline in diatom growth meant that proportions of the two functional groups remained similar over the course of the experiment. Our results do not support our hypothesis that benthic diatoms will outcompete crustose coralline algae under future pH conditions. However, while crustose coralline algae were able to maintain their presence in this benthic rocky reef species assemblage, the reduced growth rates suggest that they will be less capable of recolonizing after disturbance events, which could result in reduced coralline cover under OA conditions.     

Global conservation status of sponges

Sponges are important for maintaining ecosystem function and integrity of marine and freshwater benthic communities worldwide. Despite this, there has been no assessment of their current global conservation status. We assessed their status, accounting for the distribution of research effort; patterns of temporal variation in sponge populations and assemblages; the number of sponges on threatened species lists; and the impact of environmental pressures. Sponge research effort has been variable; marine sponges in the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean and freshwater sponges in Europe and North America have received the most attention. Although sponge abundance has increased in some locations since 1990, these were typically on coral reefs, in response to declines in other benthic organisms, and restricted to a few species. Few data were available on temporal trends in freshwater sponge abundance. Despite over 8500 described sponge species, only 20 are on threatened species lists, and all are marine species from the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Of the 202 studies identified, the effects of temperature, suspended sediment, substratum loss, and microbial pathogens have been studied the most intensively for marine sponges, although responses appear to be variable. There were 20 studies examining environmental impacts on freshwater sponges, and most of these were on temperature and heavy metal contamination. We found that most sponges do not appear to be threatened globally. However, little information is available for most species and more data are needed on the impacts of anthropogenic‐related pressures. This is a critical information gap in understanding sponge conservation status. Estado Global de la Conservación de Esponjas     

Mapping cumulative impacts of mining on sediment retention ecosystem service in an Australian mining region

Mining development can potentially lead to cumulative impacts on ecosystems and their services across a range of scales. Site-specific environmental impact assessments are commonly assessed for mining projects; however, large-scale cumulative impacts of multiple mines that aggregate and interact in resources regions have had little attention in the literature and there are few examples where regional-scale mining impacts have been assessed on ecosystem services. The objective of this study is to quantify regional-scale cumulative impacts of mining on sediment retention ecosystem services. We apply the sediment delivery ratio model of Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs to calculate and map the sediment retention and export using a synthetic catchment model and a real case study under different mining scenarios in an Australian mining region. Two impact indices were created to quantify the cumulative impacts associated with a single mine and the interactions between multiple mines. The indices clarified the magnitude of impacts and the positive/negative impacts associated with regional-scale sediment retention and export. We found cumulative impacts associated with multiple mines’ interaction occurred but the influence of these interactions was relatively weak. This research demonstrated the potential for utilising ecosystem services modelling for the quantitative assessment of the cumulative impacts. Such research provide decision-makers and planners with a tool for sustainable regional and landscape planning that balances the needs of mining and the provision of ecosystem services.     

POPs — Stand der Entwicklung zur Emissionsinventarisierung

The measures undertaken for reducing the impact of POPs on the environment are discussed in international conventions concerned with these substances and are related to the reporting of obligations which should ensure the control of their implementation and verify the effects of these measures on the environment. An essential element of this reporting involves the data concerning the emissions and environmental impact of these substances in emission inventories. A summary of the current status of emission inventories for POPs with a special focus on atmospheric emissions under EMEP is also presented. There are considerable uncertainties of reported emission data by the individual countries and in expert evaluations regarding marine and atmospheric impacts. Harmonized instruments for emission evaluation are required and under development in the form of guidance documents for the marine environment in ‘Harmonized Quantification and Reporting Procedures for Hazardous Substances (HARP-HAZ)’ and under EMEP in the ‘Atmospheric Emission Inventory Guidebook for UNECE/LRTAP’. The problems and the reasons for uncertainties in the quantification of environmental impacts are presented using the example of lindanes (hexachlorocyclohexane, HCH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) und hexachlorobenzene (HCB).     

Political ideologies and the objective measurement of climate-related risks to coastal resources

Nearly all research focused on understanding perceptions of climate-related risks to coastal resources has used data collected via mail surveys, online surveys or in-depth qualitative interviews. To compliment previous research, this study focuses on objective perceptions of climate-related risks to coastal resources as measured by respondents’ gaze behavior when viewing images describing or depicting climate-related impacts to coastal resources. We utilize data collected from a survey paired with an eye tracking session to measure perceptions of climate-related risks to coastal resources. We also compare the gaze behavior of liberals and conservatives when viewing an infographic and a digital photograph illustrating climate-related impacts to coastal resources; these included impacts to: 1) abiotic resources; 2) biotic resources; 3) built infrastructure; and 4) recreation opportunities. Survey data indicate liberal participants believed climate-related risks to all four types of impacts were more serious relative to conservative participants. However, eye tracking data revealed both liberal and conservative participants spent an equivalent amount of time viewing the four types of impacts. Consequently, differences in the extent to which liberals and conservatives perceive climate-related risks to coastal resources may be attributable to differences in how the two groups evaluate each of the specific impacts. Eye tracking data also revealed liberal participants noticed impacts to biotic resources faster than conservative participants. Conversely, conservative participants noticed impacts to built infrastructure faster than liberal participants. The practical implications of these findings are noteworthy: climate change communicators should target messages based on the predominant political ideology of their audience or include both biotic and built infrastructure impacts in their messages to capture wider audiences.     

Cyclic energy pathways in ecological food webs

Standard ecology textbooks typically maintain that nutrients cycle, but energy flows in unidirectional chains. However, here we use a new metric that allows for the identification and quantification of cyclic energy pathways. Some of these important pathways occur due to the contribution of dead organic matter to detrital pools and those organisms that feed on them, reintroducing some of that energy back into the food web. Recognition of these cyclic energy pathways profoundly impacts many aspects of ecology such as trophic levels, control, and the importance of indirect effects. Network analysis, specifically the maximum eigenvalue of the connectance matrix, is used to identify both the presence and strength of these structural cycles.