A new study on tropical shallow-water soft corals, known as gorgonians, found that the species were able to calcify1 and grow under elevated carbon dioxide concentrations. These results suggest that Caribbean gorgonian corals may be more resilient to the ocean acidification levels projected by the end of the 21st century than previously2 thought. An international team of scientists, including from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine3 and Atmospheric4 Science, tested the effects of elevated CO2 concentrations on the growth and calcification5 rates of the sea rod, Eunicea fusca, a type of gorgonian or soft coral found throughout the Bahamas, Bermuda, South Florida and into the Gulf6 of Mexico.Researchers collected E. fusca specimens7 from Big Pine Shoals in the Florida Keys to simulate a range of predicted future ocean acidification conditions -- CO2 concentrations from 285-2,568 parts per million -- during a four-week experiment at the UM Rosenstiel Schools Coral Reefs and Climate Change Laboratory. Eunicea fusca showed a negative response to calcification under elevated CO2 concentrations, but growth and calcification did not sTOP under any of the CO2 levels used in the study.Our results suggest that gorgonian coral may be more resilient than other reef-dwelling species to the ocean acidification changes that are expected to occur in the oceans as a result of climate change, said Chris Langdon, UM Rosenstiel Professor and Director of the Coral Reefs and Climate Change Laboratory. These findings will allow us to better predict the future composition of coral reef communities under the current business-as-usual scenario8.The results showed that calcification dramatically declined at extremely high levels of CO2 but not at mid-elevated levels, which led the studys authors to suggest that tropical gorgonian corals may be more resilient to the future levels of ocean acidification expected to occur during this century. Gorgonian corals form complex structures that provide essential habitat for other important reef-dwelling organisms. based upon studies of encrusting coralline algae9 and echinoderms, scientists have suggested that corals with skeletons formed by high-magnesium calcite may be more susceptible10 to the impacts of ocean acidification than aragonite-depositing corals. This is the first study to find that not all high-magnesium calcite-secretors, such as soft corals, are more susceptible than aragonite secretors, such as stony11 reef-building corals.
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1 calcify v.变成石灰质,钙化 参考例句： Old folks can calcify.老年人可能出现钙化现象。 The rock calcified over the centuries.经过几个世纪，石头发生了钙化。
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