Ocean acidification has a detrimental effect on shelled organisms. Ocean acidification reduces the organism's ability to take up carbonate, an essential building block in seawater, that is used to build shells and skeletons of marine organisms like clams, oysters, coral and some plankton (CoastAdapt, 2017). The absence of Carbonate significantly reduces the strength and density of calcifying organisms (shelled organisms and organisms that use calcification such as sea urchins) (CoastAdapt, 2017). The effects of ocean acidification may even begin to dissolve existing shells of organisms. Due to the rapid change in ocean acidity calcifying organisms are not able to adjust to the changes in their environment and can lead to rapid drops in shelled organisms population (CoastAdapt, 2017).