Ocean acidification decreases plankton respiration: evidence from a mesocosm
experiment

Spilling, Kristian; Paul, Allanah J.; Virkkala, Niklas; Hastings, Tom; Lischka, Silke; Stuhr, Annegret; Bermúdez, Rafael; Czerny, Jan; Boxhammer, Tim; Schulz, Kai G.; Ludwig, Andrea; Riebesell, Ulf

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4707-2016

Articles | Volume 13, issue 16

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4707-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Special issue:

Effects of rising CO₂ on a Baltic Sea plankton...

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4707-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 13, issue 16

Research article

|

22 Aug 2016

Research article |

| 22 Aug 2016

Ocean acidification decreases plankton respiration: evidence from a mesocosm experiment

Kristian Spilling, Allanah J. Paul, Niklas Virkkala, Tom Hastings, Silke Lischka, Annegret Stuhr, Rafael Bermúdez, Jan Czerny, Tim Boxhammer, Kai G. Schulz, Andrea Ludwig, and Ulf Riebesell

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4707-2016-supplement

Data sets

KOSMOS Finland 2012 mesocosm study: carbonate chemistry, particulate and dissolved matter pools, and phytoplankton community composition using marker pigments (CHEMTAX) A. Paul, K. G. Schulz, E. P. Achterberg, D. Hellemann, M. Nausch, T. Boxhammer, L. T. Bach, and Y. Trense https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.863032

KOSMOS Finland 2012 mesocosm study: primary production and respiration K. Spilling, A. Paul, N. Virkkala, T. Hastings, S. Lischka, A. Stuhr, R. Bermúdez, J. Czerny, T. Boxhammer, K. G. Schulz, A. Ludwig, A., and U. Riebesell https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.863933

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Short summary

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are reducing the pH in the world's oceans. We determined the plankton community composition and measured primary production, respiration rates and carbon export during an ocean acidification experiment. Our results suggest that increased CO₂ reduced respiration and increased net carbon fixation at high CO₂. This did not, however, translate into higher carbon export, and consequently did not work as a negative feedback mechanism for decreasing pH.