CO2 exposure causes loch’s starfish to dissolve

Scientists have claimed carbondioxideburstsfrom industry and land run-off could cause irreparable damage to marine ecosystems after tests found acute levels of the gas cause starfish to dissolve.

A team of marine scientists carried out a four-day experiment at Loch Sween on Scotland’s west coast to measure the response to short-term carbon dioxide exposure.

Researchers from Heriot-watt and Glasgow universities pumped water enriched with carbon dioxide into chambers placed over the coralline algal ecosystem and monitored the community’s response before, during and after exposure.

The experiment revealed acute exposure led to calcified organisms such as the coralline algae and starfish dissolving.

The study results were published in the Marine Progress Ecology Series.