Invertebrate biology and ecological characteristics

Invertebrate

Ocean Acidification and the Disruption of Marine Ecosystems

The presence and behavior of human beings has altered the ecological balance in profound ways. The release of fossil fuels into the atmosphere, the dumping of waste into the world's oceans and the disruption of the food chain through overfishing have all contributed to a change in the quality of the world's water supplies. As the text by Pechenik (2004) reveals, a discussion concerning any waterborne species would not be complete or properly focused if it failed to address the relationship between this species' survival demands and the changes imposed upon the environment. This directs the focus of our preliminary research discussion, revealing the need for further research on the relationship between acidification of the world's oceans and the patterns of procreation and lifecycle facing waterborne invertebrates.

Research Focus Box:

The research focus is driven by Pechenik's recognition of changes in the state of the world's oceans as these correlate to human activity. Pechenik points to industrial processes and the high levels of atmospheric emission caused by an unsustainable lifestyle as the main causes for a sharp rise in the level of acidity recorded in our oceans. This, the text denotes, has significant and widespread consequences to the balance of aquatic life and species diversity. This is particularly demonstrable based on the impact that the pattern of acidification has had on certain species of invertebrate. The ocean has a vast array of amoebic species and multicellular invertebrates that rely upon the minerals natural to the water in order to perform basic survival functions. As the Pechenik source denotes, there is a direct connection between the heightened acidification in the ocean and the diminished ability of certain marine species to form the protective outer-shells that allow them to survive their environmental and predatory surroundings.

The topic as raised in the text directs our attention toward any number of possible ecological and environmental consequences that could be catastrophic not just to the invertebrates directly impacted but also to whole marine ecologies. As we proceed from the Pechenik text to consider other sources on the subject, it will be with the expectation that some evidence will be yielded to connect the particular threats against invertebrates to more general concerns over the distribution of species in certain marine habitats.

Additional Research:

These assumptions are given grounding by a bevy of research sources, most of which appear to endorse the concerns raised by the Pechenik text. For instance, the article by Science Daily (SD) (2010) confirms the connection drawn between human behavior and the increased acidification of the oceans. According to Antarctic marine biologist Jim McClintock, "Existing data points to consistently increasing oceanic acidity, and that is a direct result of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere; it is incontrovertible." (SD, 1)

McClintock goes on to connect this to pointedly negative consequences for marine life, arguing that many invertebrates are distinctly vulnerable because their protective shells require many of the nutrients naturally available in their surrounding water to maintain hardness or to develop at all. This is a concern which is also raised in the article by Monroe (2009), where the results of an experiment designed to confirm this effect were as expected. Accordingly, "[Victoria] Fabry, a biological oceanographer and visiting researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, studies the effects of ocean acidification on the mollusks known as pteropods. In one experiment, only 48 hours of exposure to slightly corrosive seawater caused normally smooth shells to become frayed at the edges on their way to eventual dissolution, severely diminishing their owners' chances of survival." (Monroe, 1)

This demonstrates that the increased acidification of the ocean's waters is causing a direct reduction in certain shell-dependent species of invertebrate. The article published by ANI (2010) identifies several species which have already begun to show evidence of the negative repercussions of the increased acidification. ANI reports that "the increased acidity of the seawater itself can literally begin to eat away at the outer surfaces of shells of existing clams, snails and other calcified organisms, which could cause species to die outright or become vulnerable to new predators." (p. 1)

Where the former occurs, we can begin to see the manner in which the diminished presence of one species can cause a chain reaction disrupting entire ecosystems. According to Townend (2010), such species "are common ocean prey, and plankton are at the base of the ocean food chain, so when these animals suffer, so do the countless animals that eat them. Ocean acidification could disrupt the entire marine ecosystem." (p. 1)