CO2 emissions due to the combustion of fossil fuels have caused detectable changes in the Earth's climate, such as global warming. Meanwhile, our oceans absorb more CO2 and become more acidic. As CO2 emissions are forecasted to keep increasing in the future, how marine organisms are affected by CO2-driven ocean acidification and warming has drawn substantial attention worldwide. In particular, there is a concern for those marine organisms that need to produce calcareous structures for growth and protection (e.g. coccolithophores, corals, gastropods, bivalves, cephalopods and sea urchins) because increased seawater acidity is expected to corrode calcareous minerals and make calcification more difficult. In this regard, the fitness and survival of marine calcifiers would be undermined, possibly altering the integrity of marine ecosystems as marine calcifiers are abundant and diverse in our oceans, providing various ecological functions. Based on the research over the last decade, it is recognized that marine calcifiers can indeed be impaired by ocean acidification, but growing evidence reveals that some of them appear to persist in the naturally acidified environment. Therefore, it is intriguing to understand how marine calcifiers can counter the “corrosive” effect of acidified seawater on their calcareous structures.
This Research Topic seeks to understand how climate change affects the fitness and survival of marine calcifiers, based on both laboratory-based and field-based data, which can provide important insights into the functioning of future marine ecosystems. We welcome original papers addressing research themes including, but not limited to, the following:
1. Effects of ocean acidification and warming on the production of calcareous structures (e.g. shells or skeletons) by marine calcifiers
2. Potential mechanisms allowing marine calcifiers to adapt to ocean acidification and warming
3. Methods for analyzing calcareous biominerals (or other biominerals) from the perspectives of geochemistry, structural biology and materials science
4. Mechanisms underlying the changes in the properties of biominerals produced under ocean acidification and warming
CO2 emissions due to the combustion of fossil fuels have caused detectable changes in the Earth's climate, such as global warming. Meanwhile, our oceans absorb more CO2 and become more acidic. As CO2 emissions are forecasted to keep increasing in the future, how marine organisms are affected by CO2-driven ocean acidification and warming has drawn substantial attention worldwide. In particular, there is a concern for those marine organisms that need to produce calcareous structures for growth and protection (e.g. coccolithophores, corals, gastropods, bivalves, cephalopods and sea urchins) because increased seawater acidity is expected to corrode calcareous minerals and make calcification more difficult. In this regard, the fitness and survival of marine calcifiers would be undermined, possibly altering the integrity of marine ecosystems as marine calcifiers are abundant and diverse in our oceans, providing various ecological functions. Based on the research over the last decade, it is recognized that marine calcifiers can indeed be impaired by ocean acidification, but growing evidence reveals that some of them appear to persist in the naturally acidified environment. Therefore, it is intriguing to understand how marine calcifiers can counter the “corrosive” effect of acidified seawater on their calcareous structures.
This Research Topic seeks to understand how climate change affects the fitness and survival of marine calcifiers, based on both laboratory-based and field-based data, which can provide important insights into the functioning of future marine ecosystems. We welcome original papers addressing research themes including, but not limited to, the following:
1. Effects of ocean acidification and warming on the production of calcareous structures (e.g. shells or skeletons) by marine calcifiers
2. Potential mechanisms allowing marine calcifiers to adapt to ocean acidification and warming
3. Methods for analyzing calcareous biominerals (or other biominerals) from the perspectives of geochemistry, structural biology and materials science
4. Mechanisms underlying the changes in the properties of biominerals produced under ocean acidification and warming