Carbon concentration mechanisms in Canary Islands macroalgae and their implications for future benthic community structure under ocean acidification
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In recent decades, due to the anthropogenic CO 2 concentration increase in the atmosphere, the chemistry of seawater has been seriously altered, producing the phenomenon known as Ocean Acidification (OA). Of all the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) present in seawater, only 1% is in the form of CO 2 . However, if anthropogenic CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere continue, it will no longer be a limiting resource. Part of the response of marine photosynthetic organisms to these changes depends on their carbon physiology. The presence and effectiveness of carbon concentration mechanisms (CCM) can define the production and growth of macroalgae under OA conditions. Although CCMs are not essential when the seawater concentration of inorganic carbon is high, species that do not use them can see their performance improved. Our goal was to determine the presence or absence of CCMs in a total of 19 species of common macroalgae in the Canary Islands through a pH drift experiment and to establish their primary production rates through incubations and measurements of the O 2 variation. Samples of each species were incubated during 8, 24 and 32 h in isolated containers and under controlled lighting and temperature conditions. Of the 19 species studied, 11 presented CCM and 8 did not present CCM. Five of the eight species that did not show the presence of CCMs in the present study are present in the CO 2 seeps of Fuencaliente and one of them, H. scoparia is a dominant species.
Source: Marine Environmental Research
Institution: Universidad de La Laguna
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,440
Funder: Universidad de La Laguna
OpenAlex ID: W7127137015