Sam Connors
Ap Bio Current Event
Ocean acidification weighing heavily upon marine algae
Ocean acidification poses a huge problem for algae and other calcium carbonate marine organisms. Exposure to corrosive waters can reduce their performance and in turn, their impact on marine biodiversity. Even a small loss of skeletal calcification can have a significant impact and leave algae at risk of losing access to light and nutrients. Further discoveries regarding ocean acidification were made by a team of scientists from Plymouth University, the University of Washington, and the University of Palermo during fieldwork at volcanic vents in the Mediterranean and subsequent laboratory testing. They visited three sites with low, medium, and high concentrations of CO2 to survey the appearance and presence of green algae called "mermaid's wineglass." When specimens were scanned under an electron microscope, they found that those from areas of low CO2 had stronger stems due to an intact sheath of aragonite, while those in acidic waters had had theirs eroded and pitted and were up to 32% less calcified. Further tests revealed that the algae in the acidic environments were up to 40% less stiff and 40% droopier. Professor Hall Spencer described the importance of this revelation: "A less rigid stem droops towards the seafloor likely reducing the distance spores can travel away from the cup. The cup is also photosynthetic, so bending may reorient it away from light and increase shading by neighbours, thereby reducing the scope for growth."
Ocean acidification is not news, nor is its impact on organisms, specifically with calcium carbonate shells. However, this team of scientists looked further than the impact and analyzed the consequences. "Many ocean acidification studies show reduced calcification at high CO2, but do not examine the consequences for organismal performance," said one of the scientists, Professor Laura Newcomb. The information from their research establishes the linkages between calcification and performance, which are vital if organisms are to survive in a high CO2 world. The research which highlights the harm being done to organisms also provides reason for carbon sequestration to no longer be an alternative to climate change. It seems like a viable, even smart, way to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere, but it clearly has corrosive side effects.
This article was both fascinating and well-written. It stated the problems that have arisen with ocean acidification in the beginning, then explored them further after describing the experiments done by the team from Plymouth University, the University of Washington, and the University of Palermo. This strengthened the points of the article and made it easy to follow. Another great thing this article included was 2 pictures of algae. The first showed a healthy that inhabited low CO2 concentrations, and the other showed a droopier, more discolored algae in higher CO2 concentrations.
While it was well-written, I still found some grammar issues. When the author mentioned their paper, Ocean acidification bends the Mermaid's wineglass, he forgot to italicize it. This is only a small issue, but it hurts the validity of the article as a whole. Another thing that annoyed me was the long quotes that seemed a little redundant. They were certainly necessary to include because they were insightful and relevant, but they were long and included in almost every paragraph. Otherwise, this article was very insightful and interesting.
"Ocean Acidification Weighing Heavily upon Marine Algae." Ocean Acidification Weighing Heavily upon Marine Algae. Phys.org, 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <http://phys.org/news/2015-09-ocean-acidification-heavily-marine-algae.html>.
Sam,
ReplyDeleteI thought you did an excellent job opening your review. You provided enough background information for me to understand the rest of the review while still keeping it brief and to the point. I also thought your inclusion of a quote from a marine biologist featured in the article was an excellent addition in regards to your summary of the article. It provided an appeal to credibility while introducing facts at the same time in a concise and efficient manner. Lastly, I felt you did an excellent job reviewing the article. You were clearly on the ball as you noticed the small grammatical issues. I also felt that you did a good job pointing out that these issues, even though they are small, do pose issues to the article itself.
One thing I thought you could have done better is connect the findings of the article to the outside world. I do not know a lot about ocean acidification, so I do not entirely grasp the importance and abundance of it in regards to our planet as a whole. The only other thing I feel you could have improved on is you are missing some capitalization in your title; I thought you did an excellent job.
You had a lot of information in your review, but what I found really interesting was how much of an impact these acidic waters had. As you said, algae in acidic water was up to 32% less calcified and 40% less stiff, which seemed like a significant amount to me.
Again, great job.
"Ocean Acidification Weighing Heavily upon Marine Algae." Ocean Acidification Weighing Heavily upon Marine Algae. Phys.org, 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. .
ReplyDeleteThere are many aspects of Sam’s review that worked. The first thing was the inclusion of the two pictures from the original article. These pictures added to the reading experience and helped us visually understand. The second thing I enjoyed was his breakdown of difficult scientific terms to understand. Terms such as “calcification, ocean acidification, or photosynthetic,” were explained to readers in depth. Lastly I enjoyed the wide variety of facts presented to us in the review; such as, “Many ocean acidification studies show reduced calcification at high CO2… Even a small loss of skeletal calcification can have a significant impact and leave algae at risk of losing access to light and nutrients.”
Although this review is extremely educational and helpful there are two points in which improvement could be made. One way this could be improved is the more specific discussion of the way this affects us. I was not sure about how directly these issues correlate to humans, and would enjoy hearing them. The second thing would be in the criticism portion of the review. The critiques were on grammatic errors whereas I would have enjoyed his critique of the scientific evidence in the article.
One thing that stood out to me from the review/article was the idea that the acidic oceans can affect even the most basic organisms and those can throw the whole ecosystem off. This idea that each species in an ecosystem plays a key role is really eye opening. All in all a very good review.
Sam, I really enjoyed reading your review of the article “Ocean Acidification Weighing Heavily upon Marine Algae.” I thought your review had a few strong aspects. One, I liked how you added the pictures. This helped me visualize much easier what you were explaining in your review. Second, your review was direct to the point. You added enough facts and information from the article to inform me of this topic, but not too much that it overwhelmed me. Lastly, I liked how you quoted a scientist from your article. This helped to improve the strength of your review. Although your review was great, there are a few things you could improve on to make it even better. If you capitalized your title, your entire review would appear stronger. Second, if you critiqued more the information and evidence in the article in addition to the grammatical mistakes. One thing I learned from your review was how such small exposures can have such a large impact on marine biodiversity. I never really thought about this issue before reading your review. This is a huge problem that must be addressed. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your review.
ReplyDeleteSam, I think that this is an incredibly strongly written article. You did a good job of evaluating the situation and explaining it to the reader. While at some points it seemed a bit boring as it is sort of a cumbersome topic, you made it brief enough to be to the point. The inclusion of quotes was also a good addition it added credibility to your information and added flair. The pictures were also well placed and a nice touch to give the reader an accurate representation of the problem at hand. If I had to critique you summary it would be on your reason to care about the topic. While it is a big issue connecting it more to our lives at home would have been helpful. Also proofreading it may have helped due to some errors found within. I really enjoyed this article and found it very interesting. It is an important issue that more people need to be aware about. Even if it is only affecting basic ocean organisms now it will affect the entire ecosystem later.
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