A new Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS)-led study has found that Antarctic krill are resilient to the increasing acidification of the ocean as it absorbs more C02 from the atmosphere due to anthropogenic carbon emissions.
Krill are one of the most abundant organisms on Earth and a critical part of the Southern Ocean marine ecosystem. While previous studies indicate some life stages of Antarctic krill may be vulnerable to ocean acidification, the research published in the Nature journal Communications Biology found that adult krill were largely unaffected by ocean acidification levels predicted within the next 100-300 years.
The study’s lead author, IMAS PhD student Jess Ericson, pictured, said the long-term laboratory study was the first of its kind. “Our study found that adult krill can survive, grow and mature when exposed for up to one year to ocean acidification levels that can be expected this century,” Ms Ericson said.
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