Sensitivity of coccolithophores to carbonate chemistry and ocean acidification

L. Beaufort (), I. Probert, T. de Garidel-Thoron, E. M. Bendif, D. Ruiz-Pino, N. Metzl, C. Goyet, N. Buchet, P. Coupel, M. Grelaud, B. Rost, R. E. M. Rickaby and C. de Vargas
Additional contact information
L. Beaufort: CEREGE, CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille, Avenue L. Philibert BP80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, Cedex 4, France
I. Probert: Station Biologique de Roscoff, CNRS/Université P. & M. Curie, Place G. Teissier, 29680 Roscoff, France
T. de Garidel-Thoron: CEREGE, CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille, Avenue L. Philibert BP80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, Cedex 4, France
E. M. Bendif: Station Biologique de Roscoff, CNRS/Université P. & M. Curie, Place G. Teissier, 29680 Roscoff, France
D. Ruiz-Pino: LOCEAN-IPSL, CNRS/Université P. & M. Curie, BP 100, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, Cedex 5, France
N. Metzl: LOCEAN-IPSL, CNRS/Université P. & M. Curie, BP 100, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, Cedex 5, France
C. Goyet: Université de Perpignan, 52 Avenue P. Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, Cedex 9, France
N. Buchet: CEREGE, CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille, Avenue L. Philibert BP80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, Cedex 4, France
P. Coupel: LOCEAN-IPSL, CNRS/Université P. & M. Curie, BP 100, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, Cedex 5, France
M. Grelaud: CEREGE, CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille, Avenue L. Philibert BP80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, Cedex 4, France
B. Rost: Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
R. E. M. Rickaby: Oxford University, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 30R, UK
C. de Vargas: Station Biologique de Roscoff, CNRS/Université P. & M. Curie, Place G. Teissier, 29680 Roscoff, France

Nature, 2011, vol. 476, issue 7358, 80-83

Abstract: Phytoplankton response to ocean acidification The nature of the response of calcifying organisms, such as coccolithophores, to ocean acidification as a result of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is key to predictions of the future carbon cycle and its feedback on anthropogenic change. Laboratory experiments shed little light on the matter as they usually follow the response of a selected strain to just a few changed parameters. By analysing both contemporary surface water samples and fossil sediment cores, Beaufort et al. show that an increase in dissolved CO2 causes a decrease in calcification rates, and that the abundance of heavily calcified coccolithophore morphotypes is dependent on carbonate chemistry. The surprising discovery of heavily calcified Emiliania huxleyi in modern waters with low pH, however, indicates the complexity of the marine response to increasing CO2.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10295

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