UC Davis Researchers Find Creatures Dissolving From Warming Ocean Waters

Rose bulb anemone” by Marco Verch licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source: New Atlas

One of the most pronounced impacts of global warming and climate change is found in the earth’s oceans, with unique ecosystems falling apart, corals dying from dramatic bleaching, and the creatures dependent on those systems also are suffering.

Now U.C. Davis researchers found that “warming and acidifying” ocean waters can cause invertebrate organisms to dissolve.

Researchers conducted an experiment using organisms that grow on kelp, and exposed them to different water temperatures and acidities. They found that the organisms that grew in the warmer waters and that were exposed to acidic waters dissolved within months.

Researchers were astonished and said that their expectations were that the organism would “thin” –not completely dissolve.

Read full story at: New Atlas

Environment, News
Environment, News