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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