A method for identifying sensitivity of marine benthic invertebrates to ocean acidification through a biological traits approach

Gray, Peter, Garcia, Clement, Robinson, Carol ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3033-4565 and Bremner, Julie (2022) A method for identifying sensitivity of marine benthic invertebrates to ocean acidification through a biological traits approach. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 79 (7). 2117–2125. ISSN 1054-3139

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Abstract

Ocean acidification poses a major threat to the structure and diversity of marine ecosystems. The marine seabed sustains important ecosystem functions and so understanding the sensitivity to increased pCO2 within benthic invertebrates is critical for informing future management strategies. Here, we explore a traits-based approach for estimating sensitivity of benthic taxa to ocean acidification, using data from the western area of the North Sea. We selected 56 taxa across 11 taxonomic groups representative of the various habitats found in the region. Biological traits considered sensitive to elevated pCO2 were identified from literature review and the taxa were scored for each trait to produce a total relative sensitivity (TRS) index. We investigated differences in sensitivity between the taxa and across habitats and explored whether sensitivity was spatially aggregated. Our analyses indicated that benthic species are sensitive to acidification, with 51 % of the taxa scoring in the top three TRS bands. overall with hot spots of sensitivity distributed across the region but corresponding ‘cold spots’ (low sensitivity) more spatially restricted. The opportunities and limitations of the approach are discussed.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in ICES Journal of Marine Science following peer review. The version of record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsac146
Uncontrolled Keywords: benthic invertebrates,biological traits analysis,climate change,ocean acidification,the north sea,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics,aquatic science,oceanography,ecology,sdg 14 - life below water ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 07 Jul 2022 13:30
Last Modified: 08 Mar 2024 23:30
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/86012
DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsac146

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