Coral cores collected nearby the Atlantic Ocean Acidification Test-bed (AOAT) at La Parguera, Puerto Rico were used to characterize the relationship between paleo-variations in coral growth and calcification and seawater pH via the boron isotope proxy. This study addressed impacts of ocean acidification in a geological context to quantify baseline variability in growth and pH and assess the historical response of coral ecosystems to increased atmospheric CO2 and enhance on-going AOAT observations.

Surface runoff and submarine groundwater discharge in particular are known vectors to the coastal ocean of elevated nutrients and contaminants leading to eutrophication, algal overgrowth, and coral disease. Freshwater discharging directly from submarine groundwater vents off of Kahekili Beach Park, Kaanapali, in West Maui contains elevated nutrient concentrations and lower pH values. Coral cores were collected in July 2013 from the shallow reef at Kahekili in Kaanapali, West Maui, Hawaii from scleractinian Porites lobata to specifically addresses the relationship between coral reef health and compounding stressors from contaminated submarine groundwater discharge.

Surface runoff and submarine groundwater discharge in particular are known vectors to the coastal ocean of elevated nutrients and contaminants leading to eutrophication, algal overgrowth, and coral disease. Freshwater discharging directly from submarine groundwater vents off of Kahekili Beach Park, Kaanapali, in West Maui contains elevated nutrient concentrations and lower pH values. Coral cores were collected in July 2013 from the shallow reef at Kahekili in Kaanapali, West Maui, Hawaii from scleractinian Porites lobata to specifically addresses the relationship between coral reef health and compounding stressors from contaminated submarine groundwater discharge.

Understanding the vulnerability of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification is a critical issue, especially in the Southern Ocean (SO), which is likely to be the one of the first, and most severely affected regions. Since the industrial revolution, ~30% of anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the global oceans. Average surface seawater pH levels have already decreased by 0.1 and are projected to decline by ~0.3 by the year 2100. This process, known as ocean acidification (OA), is shallowing the saturation horizon, which is the depth below which calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolves, likely increasing the vulnerability of many resident marine calcifiers to dissolution. The negative impact of OA may be seen first in species depositing more soluble CaCO3 mineral phases such as aragonite and high-Mg calcite (HMC). Ocean warming could further exacerbate the effects of OA in these particular species. Here we combine a review and a quantitative meta-analysis to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about skeletal mineralogy of major taxonomic groups of SO marine calcifiers and to make projections about how OA might affect a broad range of SO taxa. We consider a species' geographic range, skeletal mineralogy, biological traits, and potential strategies to overcome OA. The meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of the OA on a range of biological responses such as shell state, development and growth rate illustrates that the response variation is largely dependent on mineralogical composition. Species-specific responses due to mineralogical composition indicate that taxa with calcitic, aragonitic, and HMC skeletons, could be at greater risk to expected future carbonate chemistry alterations, and low-Mg calcite (LMC) species could be mostly resilient to these changes. Environmental and biological control on the calcification process and/or Mg content in calcite, biological traits, and physiological processes are also expected to influence species-specific responses. Citation: Figuerola B, Hancock AM, Bax N, Cummings VJ, Downey R, Griffiths HJ, Smith J and Stark JS (2021) A Review and Meta-Analysis of Potential Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Calcifiers From the Southern Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci.8:584445. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.584445

Understanding the vulnerability of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification is a critical issue, especially in the Southern Ocean (SO), which is likely to be the one of the first, and most severely affected regions. Since the industrial revolution, ~30% of anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the global oceans. Average surface seawater pH levels have already decreased by 0.1 and are projected to decline by ~0.3 by the year 2100. This process, known as ocean acidification (OA), is shallowing the saturation horizon, which is the depth below which calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolves, likely increasing the vulnerability of many resident marine calcifiers to dissolution. The negative impact of OA may be seen first in species depositing more soluble CaCO3 mineral phases such as aragonite and high-Mg calcite (HMC). Ocean warming could further exacerbate the effects of OA in these particular species. Here we combine a review and a quantitative meta-analysis to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about skeletal mineralogy of major taxonomic groups of SO marine calcifiers and to make projections about how OA might affect a broad range of SO taxa. We consider a species' geographic range, skeletal mineralogy, biological traits, and potential strategies to overcome OA. The meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of the OA on a range of biological responses such as shell state, development and growth rate illustrates that the response variation is largely dependent on mineralogical composition. Species-specific responses due to mineralogical composition indicate that taxa with calcitic, aragonitic, and HMC skeletons, could be at greater risk to expected future carbonate chemistry alterations, and low-Mg calcite (LMC) species could be mostly resilient to these changes. Environmental and biological control on the calcification process and/or Mg content in calcite, biological traits, and physiological processes are also expected to influence species-specific responses. Citation: Figuerola B, Hancock AM, Bax N, Cummings VJ, Downey R, Griffiths HJ, Smith J and Stark JS (2021) A Review and Meta-Analysis of Potential Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Calcifiers From the Southern Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci.8:584445. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.584445

Understanding the vulnerability of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification is a critical issue, especially in the Southern Ocean (SO), which is likely to be the one of the first, and most severely affected regions. Since the industrial revolution, ~30% of anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the global oceans. Average surface seawater pH levels have already decreased by 0.1 and are projected to decline by ~0.3 by the year 2100. This process, known as ocean acidification (OA), is shallowing the saturation horizon, which is the depth below which calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolves, likely increasing the vulnerability of many resident marine calcifiers to dissolution. The negative impact of OA may be seen first in species depositing more soluble CaCO3 mineral phases such as aragonite and high-Mg calcite (HMC). Ocean warming could further exacerbate the effects of OA in these particular species. Here we combine a review and a quantitative meta-analysis to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about skeletal mineralogy of major taxonomic groups of SO marine calcifiers and to make projections about how OA might affect a broad range of SO taxa. We consider a species' geographic range, skeletal mineralogy, biological traits, and potential strategies to overcome OA. The meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of the OA on a range of biological responses such as shell state, development and growth rate illustrates that the response variation is largely dependent on mineralogical composition. Species-specific responses due to mineralogical composition indicate that taxa with calcitic, aragonitic, and HMC skeletons, could be at greater risk to expected future carbonate chemistry alterations, and low-Mg calcite (LMC) species could be mostly resilient to these changes. Environmental and biological control on the calcification process and/or Mg content in calcite, biological traits, and physiological processes are also expected to influence species-specific responses. Citation: Figuerola B, Hancock AM, Bax N, Cummings VJ, Downey R, Griffiths HJ, Smith J and Stark JS (2021) A Review and Meta-Analysis of Potential Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Calcifiers From the Southern Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci.8:584445. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.584445

Understanding the vulnerability of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification is a critical issue, especially in the Southern Ocean (SO), which is likely to be the one of the first, and most severely affected regions. Since the industrial revolution, ~30% of anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the global oceans. Average surface seawater pH levels have already decreased by 0.1 and are projected to decline by ~0.3 by the year 2100. This process, known as ocean acidification (OA), is shallowing the saturation horizon, which is the depth below which calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolves, likely increasing the vulnerability of many resident marine calcifiers to dissolution. The negative impact of OA may be seen first in species depositing more soluble CaCO3 mineral phases such as aragonite and high-Mg calcite (HMC). Ocean warming could further exacerbate the effects of OA in these particular species. Here we combine a review and a quantitative meta-analysis to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about skeletal mineralogy of major taxonomic groups of SO marine calcifiers and to make projections about how OA might affect a broad range of SO taxa. We consider a species' geographic range, skeletal mineralogy, biological traits, and potential strategies to overcome OA. The meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of the OA on a range of biological responses such as shell state, development and growth rate illustrates that the response variation is largely dependent on mineralogical composition. Species-specific responses due to mineralogical composition indicate that taxa with calcitic, aragonitic, and HMC skeletons, could be at greater risk to expected future carbonate chemistry alterations, and low-Mg calcite (LMC) species could be mostly resilient to these changes. Environmental and biological control on the calcification process and/or Mg content in calcite, biological traits, and physiological processes are also expected to influence species-specific responses. Citation: Figuerola B, Hancock AM, Bax N, Cummings VJ, Downey R, Griffiths HJ, Smith J and Stark JS (2021) A Review and Meta-Analysis of Potential Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Calcifiers From the Southern Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci.8:584445. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.584445

This dataset includes lab-based measurements of ocean acidification on Caribbean bioeroders (endolithic algae and reef-excavating sponges) collected on Cheeca Rocks Reef, Florida Keys, Northwest Atlantic Ocean, from 2018-06-11 to 2018-07-12. Caribbean coral reef ecosystems have entered a state of net erosion in response to ocean acidification (OA) due to a combination of reduced carbonate production and enhanced bioerosion. The negative response of coral reef calcifiers to OA has been well-established, whereas OA-enhanced bioerosion is relatively poorly understood. Microboring algae and macroboring sponges are both major contributors to coral reef carbonate budgets (Perry et al., 2012). Microboring algae use exclusively chemical (extracellular ion transport) means (Garcia-Pichel, 2006) to break down carbonate framework, whereas macroboring sponges use a combination of both chemical (enzymatic dissolution) and mechanical (substrate dislodgment) methods (Rutzler and Rieger, 1973) to erode reef framework. Prior studies have found that both microboring algae and macroboring sponges appear to benefit from OA through both enhanced bioerosion and physiological fitness, but have disproportionally focused on the responses of Pacific Ocean species. Here, we independently evaluated the OA-response of two Caribbean bioeroders to quantify the impact of OA on their physiology and bioerosion rates.