title: Growth and calcification of marine bryozoans in a changing ocean.
abstract: Bryozoans are colonial benthic marine invertebrate calcifiers, important and especially abundant and diverse in southern hemisphere shelf environments. Large heavily calcified colonies can be up to 50 years old, but most longer-lived bryozoans are limited to 10-20 y. Many smaller species are annual. Radial extension in flat encrusting bryozoans is generally on the order of 1-5 mm/y. Erect calcified species generally grow vertically 2-15 mm/y, though articulated species such as Cellaria may reach rates of 40 mm/y. Corresponding calcification rates are generally 10(1)-10(2) mg/y, but there can be an order of magnitude variation in rate among years in high-latitude bryozoans. Multi-branched bryozoans produce up to 24 g of CaCO3/y. The carbonate produced by bryozoans varies from calcite to aragonite and mixtures of both. Skeletal carbonate mineralogy of bryozoans is complex and appears to be strongly genetically controlled. Global climate change, leading to increasing water temperatures, will generally increase marine bryozoan metabolic rates, and may increase Mg in calcite. On the other hand, decreasing pH (ocean acidification) causes corrosion, changes in mineralogy, and decreased survival. This review of bryozoan growth and calcification allows a general perspective, but also reveals gaps in our knowledge which need to be addressed.
authors: Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand abby.smith@otago.ac.nz.
authors: Abigail M
authors: AM
authors: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000254:growth & development*; D002013:Bryozoa / Q000254:growth & development*; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000378:metabolism; D057231:Climate Change; D009792:Oceans and Seas
chemical_list: D002119:Calcium Carbonate