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Theme: Climate ChangeOcean acidification and biodiversity.Prof. Jason Hall SpencerUniversity of Plymouth, UK.Volcanic carbon dioxide vents are being used as natural laboratories tostudy the effects of ocean acidification on a variety of coastal ecosystemsas well as individual organisms. At volcanic sites in Mexico, Greece, Italyand Papua New Guinea vents enrich seawater carbon dioxide levels andalter calcification, recruitment, growth, survival and species interactions inthe acidified waters. Many species of macroalgae, seagrass, foraminiferans,corals, polychaetes, crustaceans, molluscs and bryozoans are remarkablytolerant of long-term exposures to high and variable carbon dioxide levelsat the Ischia vents (e.g. min 309, mean 854, max 1908 µ atm pCO2).However, a fall in mean pH 8.1 to mean pH 7.7 has detrimental effects on therecruitment of benthic organisms from the plankton with 30% fewer speciesin adult populations at mean pH 7.7 than in adjacent areas at mean pH 8.1.Important groups, such as coralline algae, calcified foraminiferans and seaurchins are common outside the vents but absent from areas with mean pH