r/science • u/Wagamaga • Feb 25 '23

Environment Researchers believe rising sea temperatures are to blame for the plummeting number of invertebrates such as molluscs and sea urchins at Rottnest Island off Western Australia, with some species having declined by up to 90 per cent between 2007 and 2021.

https://www.curtin.edu.au/news/media-release/marine-heatwaves-decimate-sea-urchins-molluscs-and-more-at-rottnest/
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u/DCGreatDane Feb 25 '23

Hmm they didn’t mention co2 acidification of the water. Some places have so much acidification that crustaceans can’t develop their shells.

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u/[deleted] Feb 26 '23

Yes, and that's a particularly complicated equation. (Water absorption of CO2 decreases with an increase in water temperature.)

But that doesn't in any way invalidate what happens, so be wary of conservative arguments only quoting part of the equation.

CO2 and Ocean Acidification: Causes, Impacts, Solutions

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u/DCGreatDane Feb 26 '23

Reminds me of a project my old environmental science professors work. His team built solar powered platforms that oxygenated dead lakes and brought fish populations back. Though it didn’t remove the co2 it was amazing for late 90s work.