Ocean acidification is predicted to impair marine calcifiers' abilities to produce shells and skeletons. We conducted laboratory experiments investigating the impacts of CO₂‐induced ocean acidification (pCO₂ = 478–519, 734–835, 8,980–9,567; Ω_calcite = 7.3–5.7, 5.6–4.3, 0.6–0.7) on calcification rates of two estuarine calcifiers involved in a classic predator‐prey model system: adult Panopeus herbstii (Atlantic mud crab) and juvenile Crassostrea virginica (eastern oyster). Both oyster and crab calcification rates significantly decreased at the highest pCO₂ level. Notably, however, oysters maintained positive net calcification rates in the highest pCO₂ treatment that was undersaturated with respect to calcite, while mud crabs exhibited net dissolution (i.e., net loss of shell mass) in calcite‐undersaturated conditions. Secondary electron imaging of oyster shells revealed minor microstructural alterations in the moderate‐pCO₂ treatment, and major microstructural and macrostructural changes (including shell dissolution, delamination of periostracum) in the high‐pCO₂ treatment. These results underscore the threat that ocean acidification poses for marine organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells, illustrate the strong biological control that some marine calcifiers exert over their shell‐building process, and shows that ocean acidification differentially impacts the crab and oyster species involved in this classical predator‐prey model system.

中文翻译：

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东部牡蛎比其泥蟹捕食者更能抵抗极端海洋酸化

预计海洋酸化会损害海洋钙化剂生产贝壳和骨骼的能力。我们进行了实验室实验，研究了CO ₂引起的海洋酸化（p CO ₂  = 478–519、734–835、8,980–9,567；Ω_方解石 = 7.3–5.7、5.6–4.3、0.6–0.7）的影响。在经典的捕食者－捕食者模型系统中涉及到两个河口钙化剂：成年的Panopeus herbtii（大西洋泥蟹）和未成年的Crassostrea virginica（东部牡蛎）。最高p CO _2时，牡蛎和螃蟹钙化率均显着降低水平。然而，值得注意的是，牡蛎在方解石不饱和的最高pCO ₂处理（对方解石而言是不饱和的）中保持了正的净钙化率，而泥蟹在方解石不饱和的情况下表现出了净溶解（即壳质量的净损失）。蚝壳的二次电子成像显示在中度次要微观结构的改变p CO ₂在高处理，主要微观结构和宏观结构变化（包括外壳溶解，角质层的脱层）p CO ₂治疗。这些结果强调了海洋酸化对生产碳酸钙壳的海洋生物的威胁，说明了一些海洋钙化剂在其壳构建过程中发挥了强大的生物控制作用，并表明海洋酸化对参与该过程的蟹和牡蛎种类有不同的影响。经典的捕食者－猎物模型系统。