Increased CO2 will not have direct negative effects on all marine invertebrates, suggesting that predictions of biotic responses to climate change should consider how different types of organisms will respond to changing climatic variables.
A new study identifies starfish as one of the possible winners from rising ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations.
Rearing Pisaster ochraceus, a species of sea star, under varying conditions, Rebecca Gooding, Christopher Harley, and Emily Tang of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver found that increased temperature and acidity will significantly boost the echinoderm's growth rate, more than offsetting the negative effects of reduced availability of calcium carbonate, an important structural building block for many marine invertebrates. The results contrast with other research which has shown a negative correlation between increased ocean acidity and growth rates of calcifying species.
"Our findings demonstrate that increased CO2 will not have direct negative effects on all marine invertebrates, suggesting that predictions of biotic responses to climate change should consider how different types of organisms will respond to changing climatic variables," the authors write. "Some ecologically important species... may directly benefit from acidification."
Nevertheless the new research is not a cause for complacency.
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