title: Ocean acidification reduces sperm flagellar motility in broadcast spawning reef invertebrates.
abstract: Ocean acidification is now recognized as a threat to marine ecosystems; however, the effect of ocean acidification on fertilization in marine organisms is still largely unknown. In this study, we focused on sperm flagellar motility in broadcast spawning reef invertebrates (a coral and a sea cucumber). Below pH 7.7, the pH predicted to occur within the next 100 years, sperm flagellar motility was seriously impaired in these organisms. Considering that sperm flagellar motility is indispensable for transporting the paternal haploid genome for fertilization, fertilization taking place in seawater may decline in the not too distant future. Urgent surveys are necessary for a better understanding of the physiological consequences of ocean acidification on sperm flagellar motility in a wide range of marine invertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 905-0227, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suwa
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iguchi
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005407:Flagella / Q000502:physiology*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012616:Sea Cucumbers / Q000502:physiology*; D012623:Seawater; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical
chemical_list: D000143:Acids