A free lecture at Bishop Museum next week will center on ocean acidification and coral reefs.

The lecture runs 4 to 5 p.m. March 13 in the Paki I conference room.

Paul Jokiel, of the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, will talk about how rising atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are expected to cause changes in the oceans that could affect marine animals. The ocean absorbs carbon dioxide,

Recent long-term studies show that ocean acidification by absorption of carbon dioxide could severely affect reef organisms over the next century.

For more information, call 847-8256.