Summary
Two decades of mesocosm studies document generally negative effects of ocean acidification (OA) on adult sea urchin growth, feeding performance, skeletal structure, and strength. Whether experimental observations hold true in natural systems will determine whether they can be extrapolated to predict responses under ecologically relevant contexts. Here, we employ a suite of imaging, chemical, and mechanical techniques to examine the skeletal properties of two closely related sea urchin species (genus <i>Echinometra</i>) living at a natural carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) seep in Japan. Test plates and spines from urchins living under elevated CO<sub>2</sub> conditions were thinner, more porous, and had less biomineral than those at reference sites; however, tooth structure was resilient to
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