Return to questions list Other Marine Animals?
The rate at which mussels and oysters build their shells is also lower in a high CO2 (low pH) environment, which could have dire consequences on the aquaculture of molluscs, an industry of 12 million tonnes per year and a market value of over $10.5 billion US dollars (8). Higher marine life forms, animals such as invertebrates and even fish may be affected by lower pH environments through acidosis (an increase in carbonic acid in the body fluids causing lower pH values in blood) leading to lowered resistance, metabolic depression, behavioural depression affecting physical activity and reproduction, and asphyxiation (9). Cephalopods such as squid seem to be particularly sensitive to CO2 increases because their energy-demanding way of swimming requires a good supply of oxygen to the blood, which is impaired by lowered blood pH values. Depending on the effect of other stressors like warmer temperatures, sensitivities may differ between life stages of a species, with larvae possibly being
