For my M.S. Thesis, I studied the effects of ocean acidification on crustose coralline algae in the Mo'orea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Site. I examined the capacity of fleshy and turf algae to act as ecological 'buffers' to ocean acidification. Specifically, I assessed whether their photosynthetic moderation of carbonate chemistry had the capacity to mitigate negative acidification effects on coralline algae. The synthesis of results from five mesocosm and field experiments demonstrated that fleshy and turf algae can create more alkaline conditions, but the negative effects (e.g. shading, abrasion) outweigh the positive.