Effects of ultraviolet radiation on marine ecosystems

Stratospheric ozone depletion, now on a global scale, is causing renewed concern about the consequences of increased levels of ultraviolet radiation (UV‐B in particular) reaching the Earth's biosphere. UV‐B interacts directly with DNA and a variety of other cellular constituents, generating several photoproducts that have deleterious effects on the living cells. Even without ozone depletion, ambient levels of UV‐B radiation across latitudes, altitudes and depth in the water column may influence life at all levels of organization from sub‐cellular and cellular, to individuals, communities and ecosystems. The present review focuses on the impact of UV‐B on the marine organisms that have been studied most, i.e. phytoplankton and to a lesser extent on zooplankton and the higher trophic levels in the marine ecosystem. These studies have shown that increased levels of UV‐B affect photosynthetic activity, cause decrease in growth and metabolic rates, impair nitrogen assimilation, inhibit the motility and orientation of freely motile organisms and bleach the photopig‐ments. Additionally, increase in UV‐B is likely to alter community diversity as well as species composition. Investigators have speculated that any shifts in the species composition could likely bring about changes in trophic interaction as well as global climate change. Considerable caution, however, should be exercised when extrapolating the results of experiments carried out in the laboratory under artificial conditions and using artificial light to mimic natural solar radiation to the real world, i.e. the ocean. Further, while considerable progress has been made towards a better understanding of the effects of UV radiation on aquatic organisms, there are still wide gaps in our knowledge that need to be addressed. Foremost among these is how the marine communities and ecosystems are likely to respond to changes in UV‐B as the stratospheric ozone depletion continues well into the next century

Biology · Biosphere · Ecosystem · Marine ecosystem · Nutrient · Ozone · Ozone Depletion · Ozone layer · Phytoplankton · Trophic level · Zooplankton · Chemistry · Ecology · Environmental Chemistry · Environmental Science · Marine and coastal ecosystems · Marine and coastal plant biology · Marine Biology and Ecology Research

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