10.5061/DRYAD.0F7S7
Linares, Cristina
University of Barcelona
Vidal, Montserrat
University of Barcelona
Canals, Miquel
University of Barcelona
Kersting, Diego
University of Barcelona
Amblas, David
University of Barcelona
Aspillaga, Eneko
University of Barcelona
Cebrian, Emma
Spanish National Research Council
Delgado-Huertas, Antonio
Andalusian Earth Sciences Institute
Diaz, David
Spanish Institute of Oceanography
Garrabou, Joaquim
Institut de Ciències del Mar
Hereu, Bernat
University of Barcelona
Navarro, Laura
University of Barcelona
Teixido, Nuria
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
Ballesteros, Enric
Spanish National Research Council
Data from: Persistent natural acidification drives major distribution
shifts in marine benthic ecosystems
Dryad
dataset
2015
Benthic ecosystems
Laminaria rodriguezii
Distribution shifts
2015-10-01T14:06:57Z
2015-10-01T14:06:57Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0587
238094 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Ocean acidification is one of the main stressors affecting marine
ecosystems. Rare CO2 vents offer a unique opportunity to investigate the
response of benthic ecosystems to acidification. However, the benthic
habitats that have been investigated so far are mainly very shallow water
(≤5 m depth) and, therefore, to habitats that are poorly representative of
the broad range of habitats that occur on the continental shelf. Here, we
show that a decrease from pH 8.1 to 7.9 observed in a CO2 vent system at
40 m depth leads to a dramatic shift in highly diverse and structurally
complex habitats. Forests of the kelp Laminaria rodriguezii usually found
at larger depths (>65 m) replace the dominant habitats (i.e.
coralligenous outcrops and rhodolith beds), which are mainly characterized
by calcifying organisms. Only the aragonite-calcifying algae are able to
survive in acidified waters, while high-magnesium calcite organisms lack
almost completely. Beyond significant changes at species level also
reported in most of previous studies, our results demonstrate that
moderate ocean acidification and pH levels expected to occur at the end of
this century will entail outstanding changes in the distribution and
dominance of key benthic ecosystems at regional scales, with far-reaching
ecological and socio-economic implications.
Linares et al_Data and Supplementary MaterialData and supplementary material
NW Mediterranean Sea
Columbretes Islands
Spain