Is the sea squirt Ciona robusta robust to decreasing pH? It depends.

As atmospheric CO₂ levels continues to soar, the average pH of the surface ocean looks to decrease. To assess resilience in these rapidly changing environments, we turned to the cosmopolitan, biofouling, invasive Ciona robusta to see how, if at all, this ascidian's early development was affected. At near future conditions (pH 7.7) C. robusta fertilized and developed in manners similar to those in control (pH 8.0), but growth was stunted in extreme pH level of 6.8. What's even more interesting is that the impacts of reduced pH on development varied throughout the ascidian's ontogeny: hatching appears to be the most pH- sensitive stage. #ClimateCrisis #academictwitter #SLAC

Read the full article, published by Zoological Studies, here

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