Jinni Wu¹ , Xiaoying Xu¹ , Limei Wu²

1 Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, China
2 Zhuji Zhicheng Trading Co., Ltd, Zhuji, 311800, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Marine Science, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 1   doi: 10.5376/ijms.2024.14.0003
Received: 05 Dec., 2023    Accepted: 10 Jan., 2024    Published: 20 Feb., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Wu J.N., Xu X.Y., and Wu L.M., 2024, The physiological and ecological effects between ocean acidification and coral reefs, International Journal of Marine Science, 14(1): 14-20 (doi: 10.5376/ijms.2024.14.0003)

In recent decades, the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere has continued to rise, leading to global changes such as global warming and ocean acidification. The CO₂ in the atmosphere is dissolved in the ocean through water gas exchange to achieve water gas balance. The continuously increasing CO₂ concentration changes the marine hydrochemical system, especially breaking the original carbonate equilibrium system, reducing the pH value, carbonate ion concentration, and calcium carbonate saturation in seawater, leading to ocean acidification. A normal seawater hydrochloric acid system can promote the biological activity of coral reef ecosystems, while ocean acidification not only leads to a decrease in the calcification rate of calcified organisms in coral reef systems, but also leads to dissolution phenomena in coral reef systems. This review analyzes the phenomenon of ocean acidification, understands the ecological effects of coral reef systems in the process of ocean acidification, proposes corresponding protection measures, and hopes to strengthen the protection of the ocean and coral reef systems globally.

Ocean acidification; Coral reefs; Ecological effect