Dr. Kunshan Gao and his research group has published an article in Nature Communications on October 27^th, entitled “Ocean acidification increases the accumulation of toxic phenolic compounds across trophic levels”.

Abstract: Increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are causing ocean acidification (OA), altering carbonate chemistry with consequences for marine organisms. Here we show that OA increases by 46 to 212% the production of phenolic compounds in phytoplankton grown under the elevated CO₂ concentrations projected for the end of this century, compared to the ambient CO₂ level. At the same time, mitochondrial respiration rate is enhanced at the elevated CO₂ by 130-160% in a single species or mixed phytoplankton assemblage. When fed with phytoplankton cells grown under OA, zooplankton assemblages have significantly higher contents of phenolic compounds, by about 28-48%. The functional consequences of the increased accumulation of toxic phenolic compounds in primary and secondary producers have the potential to have profound consequences for marine ecosystem and seafood quality, with a possibility that fisheries industries could be influenced as a result of progressive ocean changes.

Reference: Peng Jin, Tifeng Wang, Nana Liu, Sam Dupont, John Beardall, Philip W. Boyd, Ulf Riebesell and Kunshan Gao. Ocean acidification increases the accumulation of toxic phenolic compounds across trophic levels. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9714.

Link to full text: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151027/ncomms9714/full/ncomms9714.html#affil-auth