Acidification impacts and acclimation potential of Caribbean benthic foraminifera assemblages in naturally discharging low-pH water

Abstract

Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to negatively affect many ecologically important organisms. Here we report the response of Caribbean benthic foraminiferal assemblages to naturally discharging low-pH waters with a composition similar to that expected for the end of the 21st century. At low pH ∼ 7.8 and low saturation state with respect to calcite (Ωcalcite < 4), the relative abundance of hyaline, agglutinated, and symbiont-bearing species increased, indicating higher resistance to potential carbonate chemistry changes. Diversity and other taxonomical metrics (i.e., richness, abundance, and evenness) declined steeply with decreasing pH despite exposure of this ecosystem to low-pH conditions for millennia, suggesting that tropical foraminiferal communities will be negatively impacted under acidification scenarios SSP3-7.0 (Shared Socioeconomic Pathways) and SSP5-8.5. The species Archaias angulatus, a major contributor to sediment production in the Caribbean, was able to calcify at more extreme conditions (7.1 pH) than those projected for the late 21st century, but the calcified tests had a lower average density than those exposed to higher-pH conditions (7.96), indicating that reef foraminiferal carbonate production might decrease this century. Smaller foraminifera were particularly sensitive to low pH, and our results demonstrate their potential use to monitor OA conditions.