Ocean acidification impacts on a pelagic ecosystem
The effects of ocean acidification on a pelagic community and their impacts on food webs and biogeochemical cycles were studied in a long-term mesocosm experiment conducted in the Gullmar Fjord at the west coast of Sweden. With a duration of 107 days this study is unique, as it covers the full winter-to-summer plankton community succession, synchronous in all mesocosms and in phase with the succession in the surrounding fjord water. A mosaic of responses was observed at various levels of the food web, which affected trophic interactions and elemental fluxes.
Image Credit: Ulf Riebesell, GEOMAR