Macroalgal communities of gas vents near Ischia island in the Medterranean sea, 2011

There are high levels of uncertainty about how coastal ecosystems will be affected by rapid ocean acidification caused by anthropogenic CO2, due to a lack of data. The few experiments to date have been short-term (< 1 year) and reveal mixed responses depending on the species examined and the culture conditions used. It is difficult to carry out long-term manipulations of CO2 levels, therefore areas with naturally high CO2 levels are being used to help understand which species, habitats and processes are resilient to the effects of ocean acidification, and which are adversely affected. Here we describe the effects of increasing CO2 levels on macroalgal communities along a pH gradient caused by volcanic vents.

由于数据匮乏，目前对于人为源二氧化碳（anthropogenic CO₂）引发的快速海洋酸化将如何影响海岸生态系统，仍存在高度不确定性。迄今为止开展的少量实验均为短期（时长不足1年），且实验结果因所研究物种与培养条件的差异而呈现出不一的响应特征。由于难以对二氧化碳水平实施长期调控操作，学界正借助天然高二氧化碳区域，以厘清哪些物种、生境与生态过程能够抵御海洋酸化的影响，哪些则会受到不利影响。本研究阐述了沿火山喷口引发的pH梯度分布的二氧化碳水平升高对大型海藻群落（macroalgal communities）的影响。