An Updated Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity CBD Technical Series No
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Secretariat of the CBD Technical Series Convention on No. 75 Biological Diversity 75 An Updated Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity CBD Technical Series No. 75 AN UPDATED SYNTHESIS OF THE IMPACTS OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ON MARINE BIODIVERSITY The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the copyright holders concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This publication may be reproduced for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. The Secretariat of the Convention would appreciate receiving a copy of any publications that use this document as a source. Reuse of the figures is subject to permission from the original rights holders. Published by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. ISBN 92-9225-527-4 (print version); ISBN 92-9225-528-2 (web version) Copyright © 2014, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Citation: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2014). An Updated Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity (Eds: S. Hennige, J.M. Roberts & P. Williamson). Montreal, Technical Series No. 75, 99 pages For further information, contact: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity World Trade Centre, 413 Rue St. Jacques, Suite 800, Montréal, Quebec,Canada H2Y 1N9 Tel: +1 (514) 288 2220 Fax: +1 (514) 288 6588 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.cbd.int Cover images, top to bottom: Katharina Fabricius; N. Bednarsek; IGBP, IOC, SCOR; S.Hennige/J.M. Roberts Typesetting: Em Dash Design Acknowledgments The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity acknowledges with appreciation the generous financial support received from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for undertak- ing and coordinating the research for this updated synthesis as well as the European Commission for the production of this publication. The Secretariat also wishes to thank the following editors, lead authors and reviewers for their contributions, together with the Secretariat staff who edited the draft report and coordinated the production of this publication: Editors Sebastian Hennige, J. Murray Roberts and Phillip Williamson Lead authors Tracy Aze, James Barry, Richard Bellerby, Luke Brander, Maria Byrne, Sam Dupont, Jean-Pierre Gattuso, Samantha Gibbs, Lina Hansson, Caroline Hattam, Chris Hauton, Jon Havenhand, Jan Helge Fossa, Christopher Kavanagh, Haruko Kurihara, Richard Matear, Felix Mark, Frank Melzner, Philip Munday, Barbara Niehoff, Paul Pearson, Katrin Rehdanz, Sylvie Tambutte, Carol Turley, Alexander Venn, Michel Warnau, and Jeremy Young (Additional details given in the Annex on page 99). Reviewers The following countries, organizations and individuals are amongst those who kindly provided comments on an initial draft of this report: • Countries: Canada, Colombia, France, Honduras, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America. • Organizations: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. • Individual Experts: Jelle Bijma (Germany), Rob Dunbar (USA), Richard Feely (USA), Kunshan Gao(China), Cliff Law (New Zealand), Thomas Malone (USA), Chou Loke Ming (Singapore); Donna Roberts (Australia), Rashid Sumaila (Canada), Shirayama Yoshihisa (Japan). TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................. 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 7 1. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................11 1.1 Mandate of this review ................................................................................................ 12 1.2 What is ocean acidification? ......................................................................................... 13 1.3 Re-visiting key knowledge gaps identified in the previous CBD review .............................. 18 2. SCIENTIFIC AND POLICY FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................20 2.1 Steps toward global recognition and international scientific collaboration ......................... 20 2.2 Intergovernmental interest in ocean acidification and actions to date ................................ 22 3. GLOBAL STATUS AND FUTURE TRENDS OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION .........................................................27 3.1 Variability .................................................................................................................. 27 3.2 Modelled simulations of future ocean acidification .......................................................... 29 3.3 Current status of global observations ............................................................................. 32 4. WHAT THE PAST CAN TELL US — PALEO-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH .....................................................36 4.1 Reconstructing past ocean acidification events ............................................................... 37 4.2 The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum – A natural past “experiment” in ocean acidification ............................................................................................................... 37 4.3 The impact of past ocean acidification upon calcifiers ..................................................... 38 4.4 Using the geological record to inform our understanding of ocean acidification .................. 39 4.5 Timescales of ocean acidification .................................................................................. 39 5. PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ......................................................................42 5.1 Ocean acidification and cellular processes ..................................................................... 42 5.2 Fertilization, early life and settlement ........................................................................... 44 5.3 Sensory capacity and behaviour ................................................................................... 46 5.4 Immune responses and disease ..................................................................................... 47 6. IMPACTS OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ON BENTHIC COMMUNITIES ...........................................................54 6.1 Corals ....................................................................................................................... 55 6.2. Molluscs .................................................................................................................... 58 6.3 Echinoderms .............................................................................................................. 59 6.4 Macroalgae, seagrass and benthic microbiota ................................................................. 59 7. IMPACTS OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ON PELAGIC COMMUNITIES ..........................................................65 7.1. Plankton ................................................................................................................... 65 7.2 Fish, squid and cuttlefish ............................................................................................. 70 8. IMPACTS OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ON BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND LIVELIHOODS ..78 8.1 Ocean biogeochemistry and climate .............................................................................. 78 8.2 Ecosystem services ...................................................................................................... 81 8.3 Economic and livelihood impacts ................................................................................. 83 9. FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................88 9.1 Technical challenges: from individuals to ecosystems ...................................................... 88 9.2 Theoretical challenges and future priorities .................................................................... 90 9.3 Advances in sensing, monitoring and emerging technologies ........................................... 92 10. CONCLUSIONS ...........................................................................................................................96 ANNEX .....................................................................................................................................99 FOREWORD Marine and coastal biodiversity – ecosystems, species and genetic material – provide enormous benefits for human well-being. Hundreds of millions of people rely directly on marine biodiversity for their livelihoods. Oceans are criti- cal to many important global geo-chemical processes, such as climate regulation and carbon cycling. Ocean ecosystems provide critical life supporting services to the global popu- lation and underpin global productivity and well-being. However, the oceans are facing major threats due to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.