The Ocean Is Going To Start Confusing Fish And Dissolving Seashells

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/08/27/2244321/ocean-acidification-major-threat-marine-life-study-confirms/

BY KATIE VALENTINE ON AUGUST 27, 2013

Ocean acidification driven by increasing atmospheric carbon levels is a substantial threat to marine life, a new study has confirmed.

The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, analyzed 167 studies on the effects of ocean acidification on corals, crustaceans, mollusks, fishes and echinoderms, a group which includes starfish and sea urchins. The studies included data on effects of ocean acidification on more than 150 species of marine life, which the researchers then matched up to different climate scenarios to get a sense of how each species would respond to different levels of ocean acidification.

They found that at atmospheric carbon concentrations of 500 to 650 parts per million — levels that are predicted by 2100 — corals, echinoderms, mollusks and fish were negatively impacted, though crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters were relatively unaffected. When atmospheric carbon concentrations rose above 650 ppm, all groups studied were harmed.

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