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Evidence for an effective defence against ocean acidification in the key bioindicator pteropod Limacina helicina
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Evidence for an effective defence against ocean acidification in the key bioindicator pteropod Limacina helicina

ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE, v 80(5), p1329
29 Jun 2023
url
https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad059View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

The pteropod Limacina helicina has become an important bioindicator species for the negative impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on marine ecosystems. However, pteropods diversified during earlier high CO2 periods in Earth history and currently inhabit regions that are naturally corrosive to their shells, suggesting that they possess mechanisms to survive unfavourable conditions. Recent work, which is still under considerable debate, has proposed that the periostracum, a thin organic coating on the outer shell, protects pteropods from shell dissolution. Here, we provide direct evidence that shows that damage to the L. helicina periostracum results in dissolution of the underlying shell when exposed to corrosive water for similar to 8 d, while an intact periostracum protects the shell from dissolution under the same conditions. This important first line of defence suggests that pteropods are more resistant to OA-induced shell dissolution than is generally accepted.

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9 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#14 Life Below Water
#13 Climate Action

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Fisheries
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Oceanography
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