Imperial College London
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DrEmmaRansome

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Life Sciences

Lecturer
 
 
 
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Contact

 

e.ransome

 
 
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Location

 

Sir Alexander Fleming BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Martin:2008:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0412,
author = {Martin, S and Rodolfo-Metalpa, R and Ransome, E and Rowley, S and Buia, M-C and Gattuso, J-P and Hall-Spencer, J},
doi = {10.1098/rsbl.2008.0412},
journal = {Biology Letters},
pages = {689--692},
title = {Effects of naturally acidified seawater on seagrass calcareous epibionts},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0412},
volume = {4},
year = {2008}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - <jats:p>            Surface ocean pH is likely to decrease by up to 0.4 units by 2100 due to the uptake of anthropogenic CO            <jats:sub>2</jats:sub>            from the atmosphere. Short-term experiments have revealed that this degree of seawater acidification can alter calcification rates in certain planktonic and benthic organisms, although the effects recorded may be shock responses and the long-term ecological effects are unknown. Here, we show the response of calcareous seagrass epibionts to elevated CO            <jats:sub>2</jats:sub>            partial pressure in aquaria and at a volcanic vent area where seagrass habitat has been exposed to high CO            <jats:sub>2</jats:sub>            levels for decades. Coralline algae were the dominant contributors to calcium carbonate mass on seagrass blades at normal pH but were absent from the system at mean pH 7.7 and were dissolved in aquaria enriched with CO            <jats:sub>2</jats:sub>            . In the field, bryozoans were the only calcifiers present on seagrass blades at mean pH 7.7 where the total mass of epiphytic calcium carbonate was 90 per cent lower than that at pH 8.2. These findings suggest that ocean acidification may have dramatic effects on the diversity of seagrass habitats and lead to a shift in the biogeochemical cycling of both carbon and carbonate in coastal ecosystems dominated by seagrass beds.          </jats:p>
AU  - Martin,S
AU  - Rodolfo-Metalpa,R
AU  - Ransome,E
AU  - Rowley,S
AU  - Buia,M-C
AU  - Gattuso,J-P
AU  - Hall-Spencer,J
DO  - 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0412
EP  - 692
PY  - 2008///
SN  - 1744-9561
SP  - 689
TI  - Effects of naturally acidified seawater on seagrass calcareous epibionts
T2  - Biology Letters
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0412
VL  - 4
ER  -
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