Rising Ocean Acid Levels Are Weakening Mussel Shells, UCSD Scientists Find
As ocean waters increasingly acidify due to absorbing carbon dioxide, tracking impacts on specific species has been difficult to gauge over time. Most of what is known about species' responses to acidifying waters comes from short-term experiments that suggest increases in ocean acidity -- causing a lowering of seawater pH and less availability of carbonate ions to make shells -- can lead to less fortified shells and more vulnerable animals. But not every species from the studies responds the same way, with some even appearing to do better under those conditions. Comparing new data with sampl...