Ocean acidification, a product of CO2 absorption by the world’s oceans, is largely driven by the anthropogenic combustion of fossil fuels and has already lowered the pH of marine ecosystems. Organisms with calcium carbonate shells and skeletons are especially susceptible to increasing environmental acidity due to reduction in the saturation state of CaCO3 that accompanies ocean acidification. Creating a connection between human-mediated changes to our environment and the effect it will have on biota is crucial to establishing an understanding of the potential effects of global climate change. We outline two low-cost laboratory experiments that eloquently mimic the biochemical process of ocean acidification on two timescales, providing educators with hands-on, hypothesis-driven experiments that can easily be conducted in middle and high school biology or environmental science courses.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
April 2015
Research Article|
April 01 2015
Demonstrating the Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Organisms to Support Climate Change Understanding
Amanda L. Kelley,
Amanda L. Kelley
1AMANDA L. KELLEY is a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9620; e-mail: [email protected].
Search for other works by this author on:
Paul R. Hanson,
Paul R. Hanson
2PAUL R. HANSON is a high school biology teacher at Liberty High School, 21945 NW Wagon Way, Hillsboro, OR 97124; e-mail: [email protected].
Search for other works by this author on:
Stephanie A. Kelley
Stephanie A. Kelley
3STEPHANIE A. KELLEY is a high school science teacher at Portland DART School, 546 NE 12th Ave., Portland, OR 97232; e-mail: [email protected].
Search for other works by this author on:
The American Biology Teacher (2015) 77 (4): 258–263.
Citation
Amanda L. Kelley, Paul R. Hanson, Stephanie A. Kelley; Demonstrating the Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Organisms to Support Climate Change Understanding. The American Biology Teacher 1 April 2015; 77 (4): 258–263. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2015.77.4.5
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.