Starfish may surprisingly benefit from global warming
May 31st, 2009 - 3:32 pm ICT by ANILondon, May 31 (ANI): While many studies have predicted that global warming will cause widespread disruptions to ecosystems, a new study has found that a species of starfish may benefit from rising ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations.
Previous studies have concluded that sea animals with calcified shells or skeletons, such as starfish, will suffer as carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels dissolves in the sea, making the water more acidic and destroying the calcium carbonate on which the creatures depend.
However, Pisaster ochraceus, a species of sea star, may ride out the climate storm, reports New Scientist.
For the study, Rebecca Gooding and colleagues at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, exposed sea stars to rising temperatures and water acidity.
The researchers found that the sea stars thrived in temperatures of up to 21 degree Celsius and atmospheric CO2 concentrations of up to 780 parts per million - beyond predicted rises for the next century.
Gooding and colleagues say that the sea star seems to survive because its calcium is nodular, so unlike species with continuous shells or skeletons it can compensate for a lack of carbonate by growing more fleshy tissue instead.
However the team warned against assuming that global warming will have the same impact across groups of similar species.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)
- Make more efforts to tackle rising ocean acidity, say European scientists - May 20, 2010
- How climate change and pollution affect ocean chemistry - Jun 20, 2010
- Could corals survive more acidic oceans? - Apr 02, 2012
- Elevated water temperature and higher CO2 boosts growth of key sea star species - Jun 02, 2009
- Carbon emissions speed up ocean acidification - Jan 23, 2012
- Tropical fish adapt to rising sea temperatures - Dec 06, 2011
- Oceans acidification peaks in 300 mn years - Mar 04, 2012
- CO2 threatens fish's very survival in oceans - Jan 16, 2012
- Global warming threatens coral growth in Red Sea - Jul 16, 2010
- Scientists estimate sea level rise by studying past carbon dioxide levels - May 02, 2011
- Some ocean dwellers can increase shell production in CO2 rich environment - Dec 02, 2009
- Shellfish threatened by rising levels of CO2 - May 27, 2009
- CO2 emission needs to be curbed to limit ocean acidification: Experts - Aug 21, 2010
- Ancient fossils hold clues for predicting future climate change - Apr 09, 2011
- Carbon emissions lead to dangerous changes in oceans - Apr 02, 2010
Tags: atmospheric co2 concentrations, burning fossil fuels, calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide concentrations, degree celsius, disruptions, global warming, national academy of sciences, new scientist, ocean temperatures, proceedings of the national academy, proceedings of the national academy of sciences, sea animals, sea star, sea stars, shells, skeletons, university of british columbia, vancouver canada, water acidity