Editorial: Ocean acidification in Latin America

Abstract

Ocean acidification is among the most significant threats to marine ecosystemsworldwide, with profound implications for biodiversity, food security, and coastaleconomies (Gattuso et al., 2023). The Latin American region, with its vast coastline(approximately 59,960 km) and productive marine areas, hosts some of the planet’s mostbiodiverse ecosystems, including those in the Humboldt Current, the Tropical WestAtlantic, the Pacific Central-American Coastal regions, the Gulf of California and theSouthwest Atlantic. These ecosystems are critical to livelihoods and climate regulation,supporting diverse habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves, salt marshes, sandy beaches andkelp forests. However, they face significant threats from pollution, degradation, and areparticularly vulnerable to changes in ocean chemistry. The studies compiled in thisResearch Topic of Frontiers in Marine Science provide crucial, up-to-date evidence onthe complex interactions between global climate forcings and intricate local oceanographicvariability, as well as their impacts on economically and ecologically important species,providing a detailed, multidimensional picture of the region’s specific vulnerabilities andresilience mechanisms. This editorial summarizes the 11 studies in this Research Topic,highlighting the advances in understanding OA in Latin America.