Review of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Plan (2013)

APPENDIX C

Acronyms and Terminology

ACRONYMS

TERMINOLOGY

As mentioned in Chapter 2, it is essential that attention be given to the choice and use of terminology. Some of the most fundamental terminology used in the field of ocean acidification can be confusing and lead to improper conclusions. Of particular importance are the terms used to discuss fundamental acid-base relationships. For example, great care is needed to employ acid-base terminology appropriately and, as discussed in Theme 6; an effort should be made to explain this terminology to non-scientists in a way that provides an accurate image of the processes and mechanisms of ocean acidification. The terms “acid” and “acidic” have specific chemical meaning. A reduction in pH does not necessarily mean that the solution in question, e.g., seawater, has in fact become acidic (i.e.,

greater concentration of protons (H⁺) than hydroxide ion). These terms may best be reserved for those exceptional conditions where seawater can actually become acidic (at CO₂ vents or in manipulation experiments). Similarly, the term ‘alkalinity’ is best replaced with ‘total alkalinity’ and explained for nonscientific audiences. Another term that is often used ambiguously due to its different meanings in different disciplines is adaptation. Whenever this term is used, it is essential to be explicit whether adaptation refers to biological adaptation or to human efforts to adapt to ocean acidification (e.g., through infrastructure or policy changes). In addition, ‘mitigation’ in the context of climate change refers to limiting carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, the Strategic Plan could be improved by using the term ‘mitigation’ or ‘to mitigate’ only in the context of lowering carbon dioxide emissions and not in the context of decreasing the impacts of ocean acidification. In that context, ‘adaptation’ is the more appropriate term as it refers to human interventions through changes in infrastructure or management of the marine resources. In Theme 2 terms such as ‘keystone species,’ ‘bellwether species,’ ‘indicator species’ are used seemingly interchangeable, despite the fact that ‘keystone species’ and ‘indicator species’ do not refer to the same concept. The inconsistent use of these terms needs to be reviewed in Theme 2 and confusion can be minimized by using terms more consistently with their original definitions. Given these issues, the committee offers the following definitions for the purpose of this report and suggest versions of these definitions be provided in the Strategic Plan:

Adaptation: “Adjustment in natural or human systems to a new or changing environment that exploits beneficial opportunities or moderates negative effects” (NRC, 2010).

Hydrogen Ion Concentration: “The hydrogen ion concentration in seawater is reported as pH=-lg[H⁺]” (Riebesell et al., 2010).

Indicator Species: “A species whose presence, absence, or relative well-being in a given environment is a sign of the overall health of its ecosystem. By monitoring the condition and behavior of an indicator species, scientists can determine how changes in the environment are likely to affect other species that are more difficult to study.”¹

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¹ Indicator species. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Science Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/indicator species (accessed: December 14, 2012).

Total Alkalinity: “The total alkalinity of a sea water sample is defined as the number of moles of hydrogen ion equivalent to the excess of proton acceptors (bases formed from weak acids with a dissociation constant K ≤ 10–4.5 at 25°C and zero ionic strength) over proton donors (acids with K > 10–4.5) in 1 kilogram of sample” (Dickson, 1981).