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Biotic and Human Vulnerability to Projected Changes in Ocean Biogeochemistry over the 21st Century

ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University

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Title Biotic and Human Vulnerability to Projected Changes in Ocean Biogeochemistry over the 21st Century
Names Mora, Camilo (creator)
Wei, Chih-Lin (creator)
Rollo, Audrey (creator)
Amaro, Teresa (creator)
Baco, Amy R. (creator)
Billett, David (creator)
Bopp, Laurent (creator)
Chen, Qi (creator)
Collier, Mark (creator)
Danovaro, Roberto (creator)
Gooday, Andrew J. (creator)
Grupe, Benjamin M. (creator)
Halloran, Paul R. (creator)
Ingels, Jeroen (creator)
Jones, Daniel O. B. (creator)
Levin, Lisa A. (creator)
Nakano, Hideyuki (creator)
Norling, Karl (creator)
Ramirez-Llodra, Eva (creator)
Rex, Michael (creator)
Ruhl, Henry A. (creator)
Smith, Craig R. (creator)
Sweetman, Andrew K. (creator)
Thurber, Andrew R. (creator)
Tjiputra, Jerry F. (creator)
Usseglio, Paolo (creator)
Watling, Les (creator)
Wu, Tongwen (creator)
Yasuhara, Moriaki (creator)
Date Issued 2013-10-15 (iso8601)
Note This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by the Public Library of Science. The published article can be found at: http://www.plosbiology.org/.
Abstract Ongoing greenhouse gas emissions can modify climate processes and induce shifts in ocean temperature, pH, oxygen
concentration, and productivity, which in turn could alter biological and social systems. Here, we provide a synoptic global
assessment of the simultaneous changes in future ocean biogeochemical variables over marine biota and their broader
implications for people. We analyzed modern Earth System Models forced by greenhouse gas concentration pathways until
2100 and showed that the entire world’s ocean surface will be simultaneously impacted by varying intensities of ocean
warming, acidification, oxygen depletion, or shortfalls in productivity. In contrast, only a small fraction of the world’s ocean
surface, mostly in polar regions, will experience increased oxygenation and productivity, while almost nowhere will there be
ocean cooling or pH elevation. We compiled the global distribution of 32 marine habitats and biodiversity hotspots and
found that they would all experience simultaneous exposure to changes in multiple biogeochemical variables. This
superposition highlights the high risk for synergistic ecosystem responses, the suite of physiological adaptations needed to
cope with future climate change, and the potential for reorganization of global biodiversity patterns. If co-occurring
biogeochemical changes influence the delivery of ocean goods and services, then they could also have a considerable effect
on human welfare. Approximately 470 to 870 million of the poorest people in the world rely heavily on the ocean for food,
jobs, and revenues and live in countries that will be most affected by simultaneous changes in ocean biogeochemistry.
These results highlight the high risk of degradation of marine ecosystems and associated human hardship expected in a
future following current trends in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
Genre Article
Access Condition http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
Identifier Mora C, Wei C-L, Rollo A, Amaro T, Baco AR, et al. (2013) Biotic and Human Vulnerability to Projected Changes in Ocean Biogeochemistry over the 21st Century. PLoS Biology 11(10): e1001682. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001682

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