How does rising atmospheric CO2 affect marine organisms?

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Volume 18:  November 2015 Archive of CO2 Science Postings

Transgenerational OA Exposure Has Positive Carryover Effects (30 November 2015)
What's good for one generation of oysters appears to also be good for the generations that follow them...

Continental U.S. Hurricane Trends Unimpacted by a 100 ppm Increase in CO2 (27 November 2015)
The 100-ppm (33%) observed increase in atmospheric CO2 over the past century has yielded no discernible impact on U.S. hurricane trends; and that observation suggests there is no compelling reason to believe future increases in CO2 will have any measurable impact either...

Plant Growth Database (27 November 2015)
Our latest result of plant growth responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment obtained from experiments described in the peer-reviewed scientific literature is for Willow (Guo et al., 2015). To access the entire database, click here.

On a Problem with Cultivating Poplar Trees for Biofuel Production (25 November 2015)
A new study suggests that we must look a little deeper into the issue before we leap headlong into implementing a policy that could produce more serious side effects than those of the problem the policy was initially intended to resolve...

Coral Islands Defying the Negative Consequences of Sea Level Rise (24 November 2015)
As climate alarmists continue to predict the demise (i.e., submergence) of various coral islands scattered throughout the world's oceans, the islands appear to be capable of taking care of themselves in this regard...

Ocean Acidification Database (24 November 2015)
The latest addition of peer-reviewed data archived to our database of marine organism responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment is Cinnamon Anemone Fish [Amphiprion melanopus] (Allan et al., 2014; tail width). To access the entire database, click here.

Some Like It Hot! ... But Not, Apparently, Atlantic Hurricanes (24 November 2015)
Yes, some new research -- based upon geochemical assessments of lake sediments -- strongly suggests that these terrifying storms tend to be less frequent and severe the warmer Earth's climate becomes...

Arctic and Antarctic Sea-Ice Behavior: What Do They Teach Us? (20 November 2015)
When sea ice in one of earth's polar regions has been declining for several years, but increasing in the other polar region, it's kind of difficult to support claims of global warming...

Plant Growth Database (19 November 2015)
Our latest result of plant growth responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment obtained from experiments described in the peer-reviewed scientific literature is for Mungbean (Gao et al., 2015). To access the entire database, click here.

Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies Impact Ocean Precipitation (18 November 2015)
After decades of striving to develop climate models capable of accurately predicting the nature of precipitation throughout all parts of the Earth, achieving that goal appears to still be far outside the reach of our much-less-than-perfect abilities...

Rapid Adaptation of a Reef-building Coral to Temperature Stress (17 November 2015)
In addition to acclimation, corals likely have another important tool in adaptation, which can operate over relatively short timescales to allow corals to successfully cope with any future changes in ocean temperature...

Ocean Acidification (Effects on Marine Plants: Macroalgae) -- Summary (17 November 2015)
Most studies of the effects of atmospheric CO2 enrichment on Earth's vegetation have dealt with common terrestrial plants, ranging from grasses to trees, while very few have focused on sizable plants of aquatic realms. This summary reports the results of several research studies that have evaluated the responses of marine macroalgae to elevated levels of atmospheric CO2...

Ocean Acidification Database (17 November 2015)
The latest addition of peer-reviewed data archived to our database of marine organism responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment is Foraminifera [Ammonia aomoriensis] (Haynert and Schonfeld, 2014; temperature = 13°C, salinity = 25 ppt). To access the entire database, click here.

Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment Enhances Soil Cadmium Extraction (16 November 2015)
Plants helping plants. It's nature's way of reducing soil degradation caused by heavy metal pollution of the world's crop lands...

A Diatom's Response to Three Levels of CO2 (16 November 2015)
Once again, the growth-enhancing benefits of CO2 enrichment are noted, but this time in a marine phytoplankton species...

The Red Sea's East-Coast Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age (13 November 2015)
Another in a long line of studies demonstrates that the 20th-century warming of the world was nothing more than the latest phase of an ongoing and natural millennial-scale cycling of alternating warm and cool periods that have visited the world throughout the current interglacial period...

Plant Growth Database (13 November 2015)
Our latest result of plant growth responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment obtained from experiments described in the peer-reviewed scientific literature is for Robusta Poplar (Guo et al., 2015). To access the entire database, click here.

A Little-Realized Welcome Function of Permafrost-Affected Soils (11 November 2015)
Although not much biological activity occurs in frozen soils, there is one phenomenon that is constantly helping to reduce the magnitude of anthropogenic-induced global warming...

The Non-effects of Ocean Acidification on Rock Lobsters (11 November 2015)
Twenty-eight weeks of exposure to normal or acidified seawater conditions yielded no difference in the weight and carapace length of juvenile rock lobsters, suggesting this crustacean will be little impacted by rising CO2 concentrations...

Ocean Acidification Database (11 November 2015)
The latest addition of peer-reviewed data archived to our database of marine organism responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment is Red Rock Shrimp [Lysmata californica] (Taylor et al., 2015; mean total cuticle thickness). To access the entire database, click here.

A 1,000-Year History of Eastern Australia Megadroughts (9 November 2015)
How do they compare with the recent occurrence of the "Big Dry"?...

Elevated CO2 Simulates the Oxygen Production of Marsh Plants to the Benefit of Estuarine Heterotrophs (9 November 2015)
In the future, salt marshes "will play a crucial role in counterbalancing the effects of climate change, in terms of water column oxygenation and in buffering its acidification by withdrawing excess CO2" from the water...

The (Non-) Impacts of Ocean Acidification on an Arctic Bivalve (6 November 2015)
The absence of a negative response in this study demonstrates we are "still far from a consistent picture of the cause-and-effect mechanisms" that determine a marine organism's response to elevated pCO2 and lowered pH. And that reality suggests present policy discussions about what to do, or not do, about ocean acidification are putting the policy cart far ahead of the scientific horse...

Plant Growth Database (6 November 2015)
Our latest result of plant growth responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment obtained from experiments described in the peer-reviewed scientific literature is for Willow (Guo et al., 2015). To access the entire database, click here.

Benefits of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment on Sunflower -- Summary (4 November 2015)
The common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is a large annual forb of the genus Helianthus. As one of the top 35 crops in terms of global food production, it is important to understand how this important agricultural species will respond to increases in the air's CO2 content. This summary reviews the results of several important studies evaluating the impacts of elevated CO2 and other growth-related variables on sunflower plants...

Will Rising Atmospheric CO2 Reduce the Germination Rate of Rice Seeds? (4 November 2015)
The authors of this paper hypothesized that it would, but the evidence from their experiment reveals the growth enhancing benefits of atmospheric CO2 enrichment on rice yields will continue into the future, as seeds from today's cultivars germinate and sprout anew -- without detriment -- into the harvests of tomorrow...

A Quarter-Century of Severe Hailstorms in NSW, Australial (3 November 2015)
Climate models project increases in extreme weather events due to anthropogenic global warming, yet severe hailstorms across the Greater Metropolitan Severe Thunderstorm Warning Area of New South Wales have been decreasing in frequency and magnitude in recent years...

Ocean Acidification Database (3 November 2015)
The latest addition of peer-reviewed data archived to our database of marine organism responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment is Foraminifera [Ammonia aomoriensis] (Haynert and Schonfeld, 2014; temperature = 18°C, salinity = 15 ppt). To access the entire database, click here.

Intraspecific Variation in the Response of Mytilus Chilensis to Ocean Acidification (2 November 2015)
The results of this study "corroborate the increasing evidence that shows that substantial intraspecific variation in response to increments of CO2 levels may also occur, which warns the danger of generalizing the results obtained even within the same species"...