Pteropods from the Caribbean Sea: variations in calcification as an indicator of past ocean carbonate saturation

Type Article
Date 2012
Language English
Author(s) Wall-Palmer D.1, Hart M. B.1, Smart C. W.1, Sparks R. S. J.2, Le Friant A.3, Boudon G.3, Deplus Christine3, Komorowski J. C.3
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Plymouth, Sch Geog Earth & Environm Sci, Plymouth PL4 8AA, Devon, England.
2 : Univ Bristol, Dept Earth Sci, Bristol BS8 1RJ, Avon, England.
3 : Inst Phys Globe Paris, F-75238 Paris 05, France.
Source Biogeosciences (1726-4170) (Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh), 2012 , Vol. 9 , N. 1 , P. 309-315
DOI 10.5194/bg-9-309-2012
WOS© Times Cited 31
Abstract The aragonite shell-bearing thecosome pteropods are an important component of the oceanic plankton. However, with increasing pCO(2) and the associated reduction in oceanic pH (ocean acidification), thecosome pteropods are thought to be particularly vulnerable to shell dissolution. The distribution and preservation of pteropods over the last 250 000 years have been investigated in marine sediment cores from the Caribbean Sea close to the island of Montserrat. Using the Limacina Dissolution Index (LDX), fluctuations in pteropod calcification through the most recent glacial/interglacial cycles are documented. By comparison to the oxygen isotope record (global ice volume), we show that pteropod calcification is closely linked to global changes in pCO(2) and pH and is, therefore, a global signal. These data are in agreement with the findings of experiments upon living pteropods, which show that variations in pH can greatly affect aragonitic shells. The results of this study provide information which may be useful in the prediction of future changes to the pteropod assemblage caused by ocean acidification.
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Wall-Palmer D., Hart M. B., Smart C. W., Sparks R. S. J., Le Friant A., Boudon G., Deplus Christine, Komorowski J. C. (2012). Pteropods from the Caribbean Sea: variations in calcification as an indicator of past ocean carbonate saturation. Biogeosciences, 9(1), 309-315. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-309-2012 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00215/32656/