How Ocean Acidification Affect Jellyfish
Ocean Acidification
Climate change’s equally evil twin seems to be ocean acidification. 25 percent of the CO2 dissolves into the ocean instead of being in the air. When the industrial era started over 525 billion tons of CO2 were absorbed (22 million tons per day). Scientists at first thought that we were good because it warms the planet, but that’s not the case. The ocean is becoming more acidic than ever because of the CO2. 200 years later the water temperature increased by 30 percent. Rivers usually keep the ocean stable because they have to carry all of the chemicals, but they haven’t been able to keep up with all of this CO2. As a matter of fact some of these animals’ shells dissolve in this acidic seawater which doesn’t help at all. With …show more content…
They play big roles in the food web and in the carbon cycle. After a zooplankton dies and sink to the sea floor, their bodies still carry their shells and are turned into rock or sediment. Since zooplankton can reproduce so fast they can adapt to acidity better than bigger creatures. The only thing that we are not sure of is will acidification affect jellyfish. It’s possible that jellyfish can start to dominate the ecosystem if they can thrive in warm acidic water.
Plants and algae are more than capable to thrive under acidic conditions. Seagrasses - form shallow water ecosystems along coasts that serve as nurseries for many larger fish, and can be home to many smaller organisms. Different species grow better in these acidic conditions. Coralline Algae - build calcium carbonate skeletons and help cement coral reefs. Coralline algae took 92 percent less area which smothers and damages coral reefs. Fish are also able to feel the effects of the acidic water. Fish have the ability to take in carbonic acid and put their bodies into overdrive so they can balance out the acid in the water. Clownfish can avoid noisy predators but don’t flee from threatening noises. In acidic water, clownfish aren’t able to smell their homes if they’re too far. It depends on the fish species on how a fish can adapt to the …show more content…
Us as humans are the cause for this global warming which contains the CO2 and rises the Earth’s temperature. There are only a handful of organisms that are bothered by global warming such as coral. Coral tends to bleach when the temperature rises. Krill is also affected by global warming and they are one of the main bases of the food chain. As the earth warms the water expands and gets higher. This can cause a safety hazard for humans, plants and animals. Can also create powerful storms on low-lying areas. The warmer the surface of the water it will make it easier for small ocean storms to enlarge and become more dangerous than what they already are. These storms also make it dangerous for marine ecosystems and gives sensitive habitats less time to recover. Another cause for warmer ocean temperatures can be from marine diseases. If the water gets warm it gives outside species and bacteria a window to flourish in areas where they were excluded. The risen temperature starts to melt the polar ice shelves below sea level. Scientist also are worried about the ocean conveyer belt getting tampered with. This conveyer belt somehow controls Earth’s temperature, but of that goes then we will experience tragic climate changes. We need to drop these ocean temperatures and invest into these greenhouse gases. it doesn’t even matter if dropped CO2 emissions to zero, it would take decades or longer for the gases we already
Climate change’s equally evil twin seems to be ocean acidification. 25 percent of the CO2 dissolves into the ocean instead of being in the air. When the industrial era started over 525 billion tons of CO2 were absorbed (22 million tons per day). Scientists at first thought that we were good because it warms the planet, but that’s not the case. The ocean is becoming more acidic than ever because of the CO2. 200 years later the water temperature increased by 30 percent. Rivers usually keep the ocean stable because they have to carry all of the chemicals, but they haven’t been able to keep up with all of this CO2. As a matter of fact some of these animals’ shells dissolve in this acidic seawater which doesn’t help at all. With …show more content…
They play big roles in the food web and in the carbon cycle. After a zooplankton dies and sink to the sea floor, their bodies still carry their shells and are turned into rock or sediment. Since zooplankton can reproduce so fast they can adapt to acidity better than bigger creatures. The only thing that we are not sure of is will acidification affect jellyfish. It’s possible that jellyfish can start to dominate the ecosystem if they can thrive in warm acidic water.
Plants and algae are more than capable to thrive under acidic conditions. Seagrasses - form shallow water ecosystems along coasts that serve as nurseries for many larger fish, and can be home to many smaller organisms. Different species grow better in these acidic conditions. Coralline Algae - build calcium carbonate skeletons and help cement coral reefs. Coralline algae took 92 percent less area which smothers and damages coral reefs. Fish are also able to feel the effects of the acidic water. Fish have the ability to take in carbonic acid and put their bodies into overdrive so they can balance out the acid in the water. Clownfish can avoid noisy predators but don’t flee from threatening noises. In acidic water, clownfish aren’t able to smell their homes if they’re too far. It depends on the fish species on how a fish can adapt to the …show more content…
Us as humans are the cause for this global warming which contains the CO2 and rises the Earth’s temperature. There are only a handful of organisms that are bothered by global warming such as coral. Coral tends to bleach when the temperature rises. Krill is also affected by global warming and they are one of the main bases of the food chain. As the earth warms the water expands and gets higher. This can cause a safety hazard for humans, plants and animals. Can also create powerful storms on low-lying areas. The warmer the surface of the water it will make it easier for small ocean storms to enlarge and become more dangerous than what they already are. These storms also make it dangerous for marine ecosystems and gives sensitive habitats less time to recover. Another cause for warmer ocean temperatures can be from marine diseases. If the water gets warm it gives outside species and bacteria a window to flourish in areas where they were excluded. The risen temperature starts to melt the polar ice shelves below sea level. Scientist also are worried about the ocean conveyer belt getting tampered with. This conveyer belt somehow controls Earth’s temperature, but of that goes then we will experience tragic climate changes. We need to drop these ocean temperatures and invest into these greenhouse gases. it doesn’t even matter if dropped CO2 emissions to zero, it would take decades or longer for the gases we already