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The role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment

Coccolithophorids are enigmatic plankton that produce calcium carbonate coccoliths, which over geological time have buried atmospheric CO(2) into limestone, changing both the atmosphere and geology of the Earth. However, the role of coccoliths for the proliferation of these organisms remains unclear...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Flynn, Kevin J., Clark, Darren R., Wheeler, Glen
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Royal Society 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4936047/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27358373
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1099
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author Flynn, Kevin J.
Clark, Darren R.
Wheeler, Glen
author_facet Flynn, Kevin J.
Clark, Darren R.
Wheeler, Glen
author_sort Flynn, Kevin J.
collection PubMed
description Coccolithophorids are enigmatic plankton that produce calcium carbonate coccoliths, which over geological time have buried atmospheric CO(2) into limestone, changing both the atmosphere and geology of the Earth. However, the role of coccoliths for the proliferation of these organisms remains unclear; suggestions include roles in anti-predation, enhanced photosynthesis and sun-screening. Here we test the hypothesis that calcification stabilizes the pH of the seawater proximate to the organisms, providing a level of acidification countering the detrimental basification that occurs during net photosynthesis. Such bioengineering provides a more stable pH environment for growth and fits the empirical evidence for changes in rates of calcification under different environmental conditions. Under this scenario, simulations suggest that the optimal production ratio of inorganic to organic particulate C (PIC : POC(prod)) will be lower (by approx. 20%) with ocean acidification and that overproduction of coccoliths in a future acidified ocean, where pH buffering is weaker, presents a risk to calcifying cells.
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spelling pubmed-49360472016-07-15 The role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment Flynn, Kevin J. Clark, Darren R. Wheeler, Glen Proc Biol Sci Research Articles Coccolithophorids are enigmatic plankton that produce calcium carbonate coccoliths, which over geological time have buried atmospheric CO(2) into limestone, changing both the atmosphere and geology of the Earth. However, the role of coccoliths for the proliferation of these organisms remains unclear; suggestions include roles in anti-predation, enhanced photosynthesis and sun-screening. Here we test the hypothesis that calcification stabilizes the pH of the seawater proximate to the organisms, providing a level of acidification countering the detrimental basification that occurs during net photosynthesis. Such bioengineering provides a more stable pH environment for growth and fits the empirical evidence for changes in rates of calcification under different environmental conditions. Under this scenario, simulations suggest that the optimal production ratio of inorganic to organic particulate C (PIC : POC(prod)) will be lower (by approx. 20%) with ocean acidification and that overproduction of coccoliths in a future acidified ocean, where pH buffering is weaker, presents a risk to calcifying cells. The Royal Society 2016-06-29 /pmc/articles/PMC4936047/ /pubmed/27358373 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1099 Text en © 2016 The Authors. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Articles
Flynn, Kevin J.
Clark, Darren R.
Wheeler, Glen
The role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment
title The role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment
title_full The role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment
title_fullStr The role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment
title_full_unstemmed The role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment
title_short The role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment
title_sort role of coccolithophore calcification in bioengineering their environment
topic Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4936047/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27358373
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1099
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