Ocean
acidification is a huge climatic disaster that is ongoing due to high levels of
CO2 in the atmosphere that then is absorbed into the ocean and reducing pH
levels of the ocean water, home to millions of marine organisms. This affects
all life within the water, changing their way of living by forcing them to
adapt to new living conditions, or to move to better, more suitable living
conditions.
Marine
food webs are changed greatly when organisms leave their habitats, traveling
possibly hundreds of miles away to new locations, and creating or finding a new
habitat that they find suitable to survive in, or becoming extinct due to the
inability to survive with the current living conditions. This would mean that
the other organisms in their ‘old’ food web, too, would have to adapt to the
less variety of foods available for their taking, making it difficult for them
to survive without adapting to the change. Also, they would be forced to adapt
to the lack of nutrients found within that organism that is no longer within
their locations.

Coral
reefs are living organisms that provide shelter to fish in the sea. They are
homes to thousands of different fish types, and are deeply affected by ocean
acidification. They are found to be one of the most important ecosystems on the
Earth. So what would happen if they were to be killed due to the high amounts
of changes in the pH levels of the ocean water? They could become an unsuitable
habitat for the fish that take shelter, possibly causing these fish to go
extinct. Or even the coral reefs themselves, going extinct as well. These coral
reef habitats are critical to many species of fishes’ lives. Researchers find
ocean acidification to be a big factor in the degradation and collapse of many
of these ecosystems and habitats all over the world.
Ocean
acidification is a real problem, affecting marine ecosystems and marine food
webs all around the world. It can completely change an ecosystem and food web,
or more drastically, over time, destroy it. Many species of organisms could go
extinct and could change the living styles of many other organisms.
Resources and Citations
"Altered
Food Webs." Centerforoceansolutions.org. Center for Ocean Solutions, n.d.
Web. 10 Nov. 2012. http://centerforoceansolutions.org/climate/impacts/cumulative-impacts/altered-food-webs/
.
Moyer,
Ryan P. "Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Growth: Historical
Perspectives from Core-Based Studies." Impacts of Ocean Acidification on
Coral Growth: Historical Perspectives from Core-Based Studies. USGS Science for
a Changing World, Nov. 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2009/11/
.
"Ocean
Acidification." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Sept. 2012. Web. 10
Nov. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_acidification
.
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