Today we had our flight to Baltra from Guayaquil. From Baltra, we had to take a ferry over to Santa Cruz. Before checking into our hotel, we went to los gemelos and the tortoise sanctuary where we ate lunch. Los Gemelos was a set of two sinkholes. There, Jonathan told us about the invasive flora species that were located there such as the introduced species of cedar tree that was used to make beautiful furniture. At the sanctuary, we were able to go explore the lava tunnels. Once we got settled into our rooms, we changed to go to Las Grietas which was a grotto-like area. The water was a beautiful, rich blue color which we were dying to swim in. Unfortunately, we got there a little too late and were not allowed to swim. Instead, we went to a few lookout areas and then we went and stopped at the beach on the way back to cool off.
After this, we had dinner and then had a presentation from Isabel. She talked about her work on ocean acidification. She talked about how people are trying to use GMaRE to improve knowledge about marine and coastal ecosystems. This effort was a joint project from the Charles Darwin Foundation and ESPOL. She also talked about ocean acidification and some of the research that is being done on Roca Redonda. The three things that were being examined were pH, total alkalinity, and dissolved organic carbon. Overall, I think that it is interesting to see how difficult it is for researchers to stay on the islands and conduct longer termed projects and that the government is being very strict with how they can try to reintroduce coral.
After this, we had dinner and then had a presentation from Isabel. She talked about her work on ocean acidification. She talked about how people are trying to use GMaRE to improve knowledge about marine and coastal ecosystems. This effort was a joint project from the Charles Darwin Foundation and ESPOL. She also talked about ocean acidification and some of the research that is being done on Roca Redonda. The three things that were being examined were pH, total alkalinity, and dissolved organic carbon. Overall, I think that it is interesting to see how difficult it is for researchers to stay on the islands and conduct longer termed projects and that the government is being very strict with how they can try to reintroduce coral.
Expansion of knowledge
Ocean acidification in coral reefs
A main topic discussed in the presentation tonight was ocean acidification and how it impacts coral. The article, “Combined effects of warming and ocean acidification on coral reef Foraminifera Marginopora vertebralis and Heterostegina depressa,” talked about the stressors that ocean acidification has on corals. Two species of coral were observed in this study in which the researchers had mimicked their natural environment and modified them in order to mimic ocean acidification. Figure one shows the survivorship curves of the two species of coral at varying conditions of the progression of ocean acidification.
Ocean acidification
Since there is more carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere, the ocean has been taking in more carbon dioxide. This process is slowing down global climate change that is felt on land. The term ocean acidification earned its name kn 2003 when scientists had seen a rapid increase in carbon dioxide in the water and thus a lowering of its pH. Since the ocean is becoming more acidic, many parts of the ocean are decreasing in biodiversity. Figure two shows the relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide and seawater. The article talks about since there is an increase in carbon dioxide and the water absorbs it, the water and carbon dioxide combine to make carbonic acid. Carbonic acid is considered a weak acid, but it still reacts and releases those hydrogen ions.
Figure two: A scatterplot graph showing the differences between the pH and carbon dioxide levels of seawater and the carbon dioxide levels of the atmosphere.
Works cited
Bennett, J., Ocean Portal Team, & Noaa. (2019, June 20). Ocean Acidification. Retrieved from https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification
Schmidt, C., Kucera, M. & Uthicke, S. Combined effects of warming and ocean acidification on coral reef Foraminifera Marginopora vertebralis and Heterostegina depressa . Coral Reefs 33, 805–818 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-014-1151-4
Schmidt, C., Kucera, M. & Uthicke, S. Combined effects of warming and ocean acidification on coral reef Foraminifera Marginopora vertebralis and Heterostegina depressa . Coral Reefs 33, 805–818 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-014-1151-4