Characterizing the vulnerability of intertidal organisms in Olympic National Park to ocean acidification

Ocean acidification (OA) poses significant threats to marine animals sensitive to carbonate chemistry changes, particularly in coastal upwelling regions like the Northwest coast of North America. A study on Olympic National Park's intertidal zone reveals that pH decline here occurs an order of magnitude faster than predicted models, raising concerns about biodiversity loss. Researchers assessed the sensitivity of over 700 marine invertebrate and algal species to pH changes using experimental evidence and expert opinion, reinforcing known OA vulnerability patterns for carbonate-structure-building taxa while highlighting gaps in data for understudied species. The study also projects potential impacts on rocky intertidal communities at four long-term monitoring sites based on their composition.

Jones, J. M., Passow, U., & Fradkin, S. C. (2018). Characterizing the vulnerability of intertidal organisms in Olympic National Park to ocean acidification. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 6. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.312