Pollock study raises acid ocean questions

According to Alaska Newspapers Inc. (via The Bristol Bay Times), scientists at a NOAA Fisheries lab have discovered that pollock respond to increases in habitat acidity (caused by increased levels of atmospheric CO2) by increasing the level of bicarbonate in their bloodstreams. "Bicarbonate is just a buffer -- it's like drinking Milk of Magnesia when you have a stomach ache. It buffers the acid in your stomach," explained Jeremy Mathis, a chemical oceanographer from University of Alaska Fairbanks. As is often the case in scientific inquiry, the finding just created more questions. Not the least of which is where the pollock are getting the bicarbonate. Mathis said fish can take the substance in through their gills, but the could also be taking it from their own bones. No matter where they get it, said Mathis, it still amounts to energy not spent on feeding, growing or reproducing. Bone tests on the fish will be ready in August, but to more accurately monitor the pH levels in Alaska's oceans, Mathis is also creating a "Citizens Science Program" that will collect seawater samples taken by Bering Sea crabbers at first, and he hopes to expand around the state in coming years. Read much more, here.