EFFECTS OF CARBONATE CHEMISTRY ON SHELL FORMATION

Calcification, the formation of calcium carbonate shell or skeletons, is vital for many organisms. It's well established that shell formation can be quite sensitive to variations in carbonate chemistry. There are a variety of ways the carbonate system may be perturbed in coastal environments including anthropogenic carbon dioxide (ocean acidification), biological activity (respiration, photosynthesis, calcification), or changes to alkalinity due to rain events or river discharge. As each of these processes changes carbonate chemistry differently, I'm interested in determining which carbonate system parameter or combination of parameters drives calcification.

Relevant Publications and Conference Talks

Ninokawa, Aaron Takeo, Saley, Alisha, Shalchi, Roya & Gaylord, Brian. 2020. Experimentally decoupling the carbonate chemistry system reveals multiple controls on shell formation in Mytilus californianus. Contributed talk at the 2020 Western Society of Naturalists virtual meeting.

Ninokawa, Aaron, Takeshita, Yuichiro, Shalchi, Roya, Jellison, Brittany, Jurgens, Laura, & Gaylord, Brian. 2018. Investigating the self-limitation of biological processes in the ecosystem engineer, Mytilus californianus. Contributed talk at the 2018 Western Society of Naturalists meeting in Tacoma, WA, USA.