How does ocean acidification affect the creatures that live underwater?
Calcium carbonate is a material used throughout the ocean, and acidic oceans make this material less available. Calcium carbonate is used to make seashells, so everything that makes a home from shells will struggle a little harder, and theyll have to live in a home that is of poorer quality, more brittle, and more delicate. This is a big deal because there are so many organisms that use calcium carbonate, including coral, clams, mussels, crabs, shrimps, and barnacles. Tiny plankton and other animals at the bottom of the food chain use calcium carbonate as well.
