The level of CO2 is increasing due to human activity. A percentage of the CO2 is absorbed into the ocean. Increased CO2 increases the acidity.
CNN reports, The Pacific Ocean is so acidic that it’s dissolving Dungeness crabs’ shells. “The Pacific Ocean is becoming more acidic, and the cash-crabs that live in its coastal waters are some of its first inhabitants to feel its effects.
The Dungeness crab is vital to commercial fisheries in the Pacific Northwest, but lower pH levels in its habitat are dissolving parts of its shell and damaging its sensory organs, a new study found.
Their injuries could impact coastal economies and forebode the obstacles in a changing sea. And while the results aren’t unexpected, the study’s authors said the damage to the crabs is premature: The acidity wasn’t predicted to damage the crabs this quickly.
“If the crabs are affected already, we really need to make sure we pay much more attention to various components of the food chain before it is too late,” said study lead author Nina Bednarsek, a senior scientist with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project.”
The reporting is based on a study by Science of The Total Environment, Exoskeleton dissolution with mechanoreceptor damage in larval Dungeness crab related to severity of present-day ocean acidification vertical gradients.
* Coastal habitats with the steepest ocean acidification gradients are most detrimental for larval Dungeness crabs.
* Severe carapace dissolution was observed in larval Dungeness crabs along the US west coast.
* Mechanoreceptors with important sensory and behavioral functions were destabilized.
* Dissolution is negatively related to the growth, demonstrating energetic trade-offs.
* 10% dissolution increase over the last two decades estimated due to atmospheric CO2.