Global and local anthropogenic stressors such as climate change, acidification, overfishing, and pollution are expected to shift the benthic community composition of coral reefs from dominance by calcifying organisms to dominance by non‐calcifying algae. These changes could reduce the ability of coral reef ecosystems to maintain positive net calcium carbonate accretion. However, relationships between community composition and calcification rates remain unclear. We performed field experiments to quantify the metabolic rates of the two most dominant coral reef substrate types, live coral and dead coral substrate colonized by a mixed algal assemblage, using a novel underwater respirometer. Our results revealed that calcification rates in the daytime were similar for the live coral and dead coral substrate communities. However, in the dark, while live corals continued to calcify at slower rates, the dead coral substrate communities exhibited carbonate dissolution. Daytime net photosynthesis of the dead coral substrate communities was up to five times as much as for live corals, which we hypothesize may have created favorable conditions for the precipitation of carbonate minerals. We conclude that: (1) calcification from dead coral substrate communities can contribute to coral reef community calcification during the day, and (2) dead coral substrate communities can also contribute to carbonate mineral dissolution at night, decreasing ecosystem calcification over a diel cycle. This provides evidence that reefs could shift from slow, long‐term accretion of calcium carbonate to a state where large daily cycling of calcium carbonate occurs, but with little or no long‐term accumulation of the carbonate minerals needed to sustain the reef against erosional forces.
Continue reading ‘Unexpected role of communities colonizing dead coral substrate in the calcification of coral reefs’Posts Tagged 'corals'
Unexpected role of communities colonizing dead coral substrate in the calcification of coral reefs
Published 18 March 2021 Science ClosedTags: BRcommunity, calcification, chemistry, corals, dissolution, field, photosynthesis, respiration, South Pacific
The coral conservation crisis: interacting local and global stressors reduce reef resiliency and create challenges for conservation solutions
Published 11 March 2021 Science ClosedTags: biological response, corals, review
Coral reefs are one of the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Humans rely on these coral reef ecosystems to provide significant ecological and economic resources; however, coral reefs are threatened by numerous local and global anthropogenic factors that cause significant environmental change. The interactions of these local and global human impacts may increase the rate of coral reef degradation. For example, there are many local influences (i.e., sedimentation and submarine groundwater discharge) that may exacerbate coral bleaching and mortality. Therefore, researchers and resource managers cannot limit their narratives and actions to mitigating a sole stressor. With the continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions, management strategies and restoration techniques need to account for the scale at which environmental change occurs. This review aims to outline the various local and global anthropogenic stressors threatening reef resiliency and address the recent disagreements surrounding present-day conservation practices. Unfortunately, there is no one solution to preserve and restore all coral reefs. Each coral reef region is challenged by numerous interactive stressors that affect its ecosystem response, recovery, and services in various ways. This review discusses, while global reef degradation occurs, local solutions should be implemented to efficiently protect the coral reef ecosystem services that are valuable to marine and terrestrial environments.
Continue reading ‘The coral conservation crisis: interacting local and global stressors reduce reef resiliency and create challenges for conservation solutions’Porites calcifying fluid pH on seasonal to diurnal scales
Published 9 March 2021 Science ClosedTags: biological response, chemistry, corals, field, morphology, North Pacific, physiology
Coral resilience to ocean acidification is largely determined by the degree of physiological control corals can exert on their calcifying fluid carbonate chemistry. In this study, the boron isotopic composition (δ11B) of a Porites colony growing on a reef flat on Kiritimati Island in the equatorial central Pacific is examined to quantify the sensitivity of calcifying fluid pH (pHcf) to ambient environmental conditions. Skeletal δ11B along the growth axis of one annual growth band was determined with bulk analysis and by laser ablation (LA) MC‐ICP‐MS. Furthermore, the oxygen and carbon isotopic composition, trace element ratios, and skeletal density was quantified. Sclerochronological data were interpreted in the context of simultaneous recordings of reef flat seawater pH (pHsw), temperature, salinity, and water depth, and by measurements of these parameters on the fore‐reef. A recent model of pHcf upregulation, after optimization with seasonally resolved data, was used to simulate pHcf variability on a diurnal scale. Results showed that on a seasonal scale, Porites pHcf is upregulated compared to ambient seawater: both bulk and LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS derived δ11B resulted in a mean pHcf of 8.35 pH units. Calcifying fluid pH upregulation primarily followed variations in seawater temperatures that is likely related to the control of temperature on calcification rate. On the reef flat, the diurnal range in pHsw was substantially higher (0.29 pH units) than on the fore‐reef (0.07 pH units). However, model results suggest that the high diurnal variability in reef flat pHsw had only a limited effect on the variability in Porites pHcf.
Continue reading ‘Porites calcifying fluid pH on seasonal to diurnal scales’Impact of ocean acidification on ecosystem functioning and services in habitat-forming species and marine ecosystems
Published 26 February 2021 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, corals, otherprocess
Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to impact habitat-forming species (HFS), with cascading effects on the whole marine ecosystem and related services that are seldom quantified. Here, the changes in HFSs biomass due to OA are modeled using a food web ecosystem model, and the trophic and non-trophic cascading effects on the marine community are investigated. The food web model represents a well-studied coastal marine protected area in the NW Mediterranean Sea where coralligenous reefs and Posidonia oceanica meadows constitute important HFS. The model is used to implement 5 scenarios of habitat degradation, that is, reduction of HFS biomass, induced by increasing OA and to quantify the potential changes in ecosystem properties and indicators of ecosystem services over the next 100 years. The changes in ecosystem indicators highlight a decrease in the size of the system and a reorganization of energy flows suggesting a high degree of ecosystem development. All the proxies for ecosystem services show significant decreases in their values. Although representing only a portion of the possible impacts of OA, the findings are consistent with the idea that ecological systems can react to OA effects to maintain the level of ecosystem development, but the new organization might not be optimal from an anthropocentric viewpoint.
Continue reading ‘Impact of ocean acidification on ecosystem functioning and services in habitat-forming species and marine ecosystems’Feedback mechanisms stabilise degraded turf algal systems at a CO2 seep site
Published 17 February 2021 Science ClosedTags: abundance, algae, biological response, BRcommunity, chemistry, community composition, corals, field, North Pacific, otherprocess, reproduction, vents
Human activities are rapidly changing the structure and function of coastal marine ecosystems. Large-scale replacement of kelp forests and coral reefs with turf algal mats is resulting in homogenous habitats that have less ecological and human value. Ocean acidification has strong potential to substantially favour turf algae growth, which led us to examine the mechanisms that stabilise turf algal states. Here we show that ocean acidification promotes turf algae over corals and macroalgae, mediating new habitat conditions that create stabilising feedback loops (altered physicochemical environment and microbial community, and an inhibition of recruitment) capable of locking turf systems in place. Such feedbacks help explain why degraded coastal habitats persist after being initially pushed past the tipping point by global and local anthropogenic stressors. An understanding of the mechanisms that stabilise degraded coastal habitats can be incorporated into adaptive management to better protect the contribution of coastal systems to human wellbeing.
Continue reading ‘Feedback mechanisms stabilise degraded turf algal systems at a CO2 seep site’Transgenerational effects on the coral Pocillopora damicornis microbiome under ocean acidification
Published 16 February 2021 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, corals, North Pacific, otherprocess, physiology, prokaryotes, protists
Reef-building corals are inhabited by functionally diverse microorganisms which play important roles in coral health and persistence in the Anthropocene. However, our understanding of the complex associations within coral holobionts is largely limited, particularly transgenerational exposure to environmental stress, like ocean acidification. Here we investigated the microbiome development of an ecologically important coral Pocillopora damicornis following transgenerational exposure to moderate and high pCO2 (partial pressure of CO2) levels, using amplicon sequencing and analysis. Our results showed that the Symbiodiniaceae community structures in adult and juvenile had similar patterns, all of which were dominated by Durusdinium spp., previously known as clade D. Conversely, prokaryotic communities varied between adults and juveniles, possibly driven by the effect of host development. Surprisingly, there were no significant changes in both Symbiodiniaceae and prokaryotic communities with different pCO2 treatments, which was independent of the life history stage. This study shows that ocean acidification has no significant effect on P. damicornis microbiome, and warrants further research to test whether transgenerational acclimation exists in coral holobiont to projected future climate change.
Continue reading ‘Transgenerational effects on the coral Pocillopora damicornis microbiome under ocean acidification’Unexpected high abundance of aragonite-forming Nanipora (Octocorallia: Helioporacea) at an acidified volcanic reef in southern Japan
Published 3 February 2021 Science ClosedTags: biological response, BRcommunity, corals, field, North Pacific, vents
Nanipora Miyazaki & Reimer, 2015 is a recently discovered genus of aragonite-skeleton producing octocorals closely related to the blue coral genus Heliopora de Blainville, 1830. Since its discovery, Nanipora has been reported from coral reefs in Okinawa, Japan, and Thailand, and from seagrass beds in the northern South China Sea. However, it remains little known and studied. Here, we report on the unexpected discovery of an abundance of Nanipora colonies in shallow waters less than 2-m deep around a CO2 vent from the uninhabited volcanic island of Iwotorishima, Okinawa, in southern Japan. Nanipora colonies were found covering both coral rubble and hard substrates, alongside a few soft coral and zoantharian species. Polyps were pale white in color with none brown or darker in coloration as in some recent reports. As the original description of N. kamurai from Zamami Island in Okinawa describes the species as azooxanthellate, as the current Iwotorishima specimens also appear to be, and recently reported specimens from Thailand, Dongsha Atoll, and Yaeyama are zooxanthellate, it may be that there are more than one Nanipora species; the type species N. kamurai that is also likely at Iwotorishima, and a zooxanthellate species that constitutes the other records. Although Nanipora is not well studied, its presence at this volcanic CO2 seep suggests it has the ability to survive under unique and extreme environmental conditions, rendering it as a potentially important subject of study in the face of increasing ocean acidification.
Continue reading ‘Unexpected high abundance of aragonite-forming Nanipora (Octocorallia: Helioporacea) at an acidified volcanic reef in southern Japan’Potential local adaptation of corals at acidified and warmed Nikko Bay, Palau
Published 27 January 2021 Science ClosedTags: abundance, adaptation, algae, biogeochemistry, biological response, calcification, chemistry, community composition, corals, crustaceans, field, otherprocess, photosynthesis, porifera, respiration, South Pacific, zooplankton
Ocean warming and acidification caused by the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide are now thought to be major threats to coral reefs on a global scale. Here we evaluated the environmental conditions and benthic community structures in semi-closed Nikko Bay at the inner reef area in Palau, which has high p CO 2 and seawater temperature conditions with high zooxanthellate coral coverage. This bay is a highly sheltered system with organisms showing low connectivity with surrounding environments, making this bay a unique site for evaluating adaptation and acclimatization responses of organisms to warmed and acidified environments. Seawater p CO 2 /Ω arag showed strong graduation ranging from 380 to 982 µatm (Ω arag : 1.79-3.66) and benthic coverage, including soft corals and turf algae, changed along with Ω arag while hard coral coverage did not. In contrast to previous studies, net calcification was maintained in Nikko Bay even under very low mean Ω arag (2.44). Reciprocal transplantation of the dominant coral Porites cylindrica showed that the calcification rate of corals from Nikko Bay did not change when transplanted to a reference site, while calcification of reference site corals decreased when transplanted to Nikko Bay. Corals transplanted out of their origin sites also showed the highest interactive respiration (R) and lower photosynthesis (P) to respiration (P:R). The results of this study give important insights about the potential local acclimatization and adaptation capacity of corals to different environmental conditions including p CO 2 and temperature.
Continue reading ‘Potential local adaptation of corals at acidified and warmed Nikko Bay, Palau’Late afternoon seasonal transition to dissolution in a coral reef: an early warning of a net dissolving ecosystem?
Published 20 January 2021 Science ClosedTags: biogeochemistry, biological response, BRcommunity, calcification, chemistry, corals, dissolution, field, physiology, primary production, respiration, South Pacific
There are concerns that reefs will transition from net calcifying to net dissolving in the near future due to decreasing calcification and increasing dissolution rates. Here we present in situ rates of net ecosystem calcification (NEC) and net ecosystem production (NEP) on a coral reef flat using a slack‐water approach. Up until dusk, the reef was net calcifying in most months but shifted to net dissolution in austral summer, coinciding with high respiration rates and a lower aragonite saturation state (Ωarag). The estimated sediment contribution to NEC ranged from 8 – 21 % during the day and 45 – 78 % at night, indicating that high rates of sediment dissolution may cause the transition to reef dissolution. This late afternoon seasonal transition to negative NEC may be an early warning sign of the reef shifting to a net dissolving state and may be occurring on other reefs.
Continue reading ‘Late afternoon seasonal transition to dissolution in a coral reef: an early warning of a net dissolving ecosystem?’Greater mitochondrial energy production provides resistance to ocean acidification in “winning” hermatypic corals
Published 20 January 2021 Science ClosedTags: adaptation, biological response, BRcommunity, chemistry, corals, field, North Pacific, otherprocess, physiology, protists, South Pacific, vents
Coral communities around the world are projected to be negatively affected by ocean acidification. Not all coral species will respond in the same manner to rising CO2 levels. Evidence from naturally acidified areas such as CO2 seeps have shown that although a few species are resistant to elevated CO2, most lack sufficient resistance resulting in their decline. This has led to the simple grouping of coral species into “winners” and “losers,” but the physiological traits supporting this ecological assessment are yet to be fully understood. Here using CO2 seeps, in two biogeographically distinct regions, we investigated whether physiological traits related to energy production [mitochondrial electron transport systems (ETSAs) activities] and biomass (protein contents) differed between winning and losing species in order to identify possible physiological traits of resistance to ocean acidification and whether they can be acquired during short-term transplantations. We show that winning species had a lower biomass (protein contents per coral surface area) resulting in a higher potential for energy production (biomass specific ETSA: ETSA per protein contents) compared to losing species. We hypothesize that winning species inherently allocate more energy toward inorganic growth (calcification) compared to somatic (tissue) growth. In contrast, we found that losing species that show a higher biomass under reference pCO2 experienced a loss in biomass and variable response in area-specific ETSA that did not translate in an increase in biomass-specific ETSA following either short-term (4–5 months) or even life-long acclimation to elevated pCO2 conditions. Our results suggest that resistance to ocean acidification in corals may not be acquired within a single generation or through the selection of physiologically resistant individuals. This reinforces current evidence suggesting that ocean acidification will reshape coral communities around the world, selecting species that have an inherent resistance to elevated pCO2.
Continue reading ‘Greater mitochondrial energy production provides resistance to ocean acidification in “winning” hermatypic corals’Dichotomy between regulation of coral bacterial communities and calcification physiology under ocean acidification conditions
Published 14 January 2021 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, corals, field, molecular biology, North Pacific, physiology, prokaryotes, vents
Ocean acidification (OA) threatens the growth and function of coral reef ecosystems. A key component to coral health is the microbiome, but little is known about the impact of OA on coral microbiomes. A submarine CO2 vent at Maug Island in the Northern Marianas Islands provides a natural pH gradient to investigate coral responses to long-term OA conditions. Three coral species (Pocillopora eydouxi, Porites lobata, and Porites rus) were sampled from three sites where mean seawater pH is 8.04, 7.98, and 7.94. We characterized coral bacterial communities (using 16S rRNA gene sequencing) and determined pH of the extracellular calcifying fluid (ECF) (using skeletal boron isotopes) across the seawater pH gradient. Bacterial communities of both Porites species stabilized (decreases in community dispersion) with decreased seawater pH, coupled with large increases in the abundance of Endozoicomonas, an endosymbiont. P. lobata experienced a significant decrease in ECF pH near the vent, whereas P. rus experienced a trending decrease in ECF pH near the vent. By contrast, Pocillopora exhibited bacterial community destabilization (increases in community dispersion), with significant decreases in Endozoicomonas abundance, while its ECF pH remained unchanged across the pH gradient. Our study shows that OA has multiple consequences on Endozoicomonas abundance and suggests that Endozoicomonas abundance may be an indicator of coral response to OA. We reveal an interesting dichotomy between two facets of coral physiology (regulation of bacterial communities and regulation of calcification), highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to understanding coral health and function in a changing ocean.
Continue reading ‘Dichotomy between regulation of coral bacterial communities and calcification physiology under ocean acidification conditions’Effects of ocean acidification on coral endolithic bacterial communities in Isopora palifera and Porites lobata
Published 12 January 2021 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, BRcommunity, community composition, corals, laboratory, molecular biology, mortality, North Pacific, otherprocess, prokaryotes, protists
Endolithic microbes in coral reefs may act as a nutrient source for their coral hosts. Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations are causing ocean acidification (OA), which may affect marine organisms and ecosystems, especially calcifying organisms such as reef-building corals. However, knowledge of how OA affects marine microbes remains limited, and little research has been done on how coral endolithic communities respond to shifting environmental baselines. In this study, the endolithic communities of two common shallow water coral species, Isopora palifera and Porites lobata, were examined to investigate the microbial community dynamics under OA treatments. The colonies were placed in an environment with a partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) of 1,000 or 400 ppm (control) for 2 months. Several I. palifera colonies bleached and died at 1,000 ppm pCO2, but the P. lobata colonies remained unaffected. Inversely, the endolithic community in P. lobata skeletons showed significant changes after OA treatment, whereas no significant dynamics were observed among the I. palifera endoliths. Our findings suggest that the skeletal structures of different coral species may play a key role in corals host and endoliths under future high-OA scenarios.
Continue reading ‘Effects of ocean acidification on coral endolithic bacterial communities in Isopora palifera and Porites lobata’Thermal stress reduces pocilloporid coral resilience to ocean acidification by impairing control over calcifying fluid chemistry
Published 11 January 2021 Science ClosedTags: biogeochemistry, biological response, calcification, corals, laboratory, multiple factors, physiology, South Pacific, temperature
The combination of thermal stress and ocean acidification (OA) can more negatively affect coral calcification than an individual stressors, but the mechanism behind this interaction is unknown. We used two independent methods (microelectrode and boron geochemistry) to measure calcifying fluid pH (pHcf) and carbonate chemistry of the corals Pocillopora damicornis and Stylophora pistillata grown under various temperature and pCO2 conditions. Although these approaches demonstrate that they record pHcf over different time scales, they reveal that both species can cope with OA under optimal temperatures (28°C) by elevating pHcf and aragonite saturation state (Ωcf) in support of calcification. At 31°C, neither species elevated these parameters as they did at 28°C and, likewise, could not maintain substantially positive calcification rates under any pH treatment. These results reveal a previously uncharacterized influence of temperature on coral pHcf regulation—the apparent mechanism behind the negative interaction between thermal stress and OA on coral calcification.
Continue reading ‘Thermal stress reduces pocilloporid coral resilience to ocean acidification by impairing control over calcifying fluid chemistry’Life-long coral skeletal acclimatization at CO2 vents in Papua New Guinea reveals species- and environment-specific effects
Published 6 January 2021 Science ClosedTags: adaptation, biological response, calcification, corals, field, morphology, otherprocess, South Pacific, vents
The responses of corals and other marine calcifying organisms to ocean acidification (OA) are variable and span from no effect to severe responses. Here we investigated the effect of long-term exposure to OA on skeletal parameters of four tropical zooxanthellate corals living at two CO2 vents in Papua New Guinea, namely in Dobu and Upa Upasina. The skeletal porosity of Galaxea fascicularis, Acropora millepora, and Pocillopora damicornis was higher (from 17% to 38%, depending on the species) at the seep site compared to the control only at Upa Upasina. Massive Porites showed no differences at any of the locations. Pocillopora damicornis also showed a ~ 7% decrease of micro-density and an increase of the volume fraction of the larger pores, a decrease of the intraskeletal organic matrix content with an increase of the intraskeletal water content, and no variation in the organic matrix related strain and crystallite size. The fact that the skeletal parameters varied only at one of the two seep sites suggests that other local environmental conditions interact with OA to modify the coral skeletal parameters. This might also contribute to explain the great deal of responses to OA reported for corals and other marine calcifying organisms.
Continue reading ‘Life-long coral skeletal acclimatization at CO2 vents in Papua New Guinea reveals species- and environment-specific effects’Potential acclimatization and adaptive responses of adult and trans-generation coral larvae from a naturally acidified habitat
Published 31 December 2020 Science ClosedTags: adaptation, biological response, calcification, chemistry, corals, field, laboratory, morphology, mortality, otherprocess, photosynthesis, physiology, protists, reproduction, respiration, South Pacific
Coral reefs are one of the most susceptible ecosystems to ocean acidification (OA) caused by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). OA is suspected to impact the calcification rate of corals as well as multiple early life stages including larval and settlement stages. Meanwhile, there is now a strong interest in evaluating if organisms have the potential for acclimatization or adaptation to OA. Here, by taking advantage of a naturally acidified site in Nikko Bay, Palau where corals are presumably exposed to high CO2 conditions for their entire life history, we tested if adult and the next-generation larvae of the brooder coral Pocillopora acuta originating from the high-CO2 site are more tolerant to high CO2 conditions compared to the individuals from a control site. Larvae released from adults collected from the high-CO2 site within the bay and a control site outside the bay were reciprocally cultivated under experimental control or high-CO2 seawater conditions to evaluate their physiology. Additionally, reciprocal transplantation of adult P. acuta corals were conducted between the high-CO2 and control sites in the field. The larvae originating from the control site showed lower Chlorophyll-a content and lipid percentages when reared under high-CO2 compared to control seawater conditions, while larvae originating from the high-CO2 site did not. Additionally, all 10 individuals of adult P. acuta from control site died when transplanted within the bay, while all P. acuta corals within the bay survived at both control and high-CO2 site. Furthermore, P. acuta within the bay showed higher calcification and net photosynthesis rates when exposed to the condition they originated from. These results are one of the first results that indicate the possibility that the long-living corals could enable to show local adaptation to different environmental conditions including high seawater pCO(2).
Continue reading ‘Potential acclimatization and adaptive responses of adult and trans-generation coral larvae from a naturally acidified habitat’Responses of branching reef corals Acropora digitifera and Montipora digitata to elevated temperature and pCO2
Published 30 December 2020 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biological response, calcification, corals, laboratory, molecular biology, morphology, North Pacific, otherprocess, photosynthesis, protists
Anthropogenic emission of CO2 into the atmosphere has been increasing exponentially, causing ocean acidification (OA) and ocean warming (OW). The “business-as-usual” scenario predicts that the atmospheric concentration of CO2 may exceed 1,000 µatm and seawater temperature may increase by up to 3 °C by the end of the 21st century. Increases in OA and OW may negatively affect the growth and survival of reef corals. In the present study, we separately examined the effects of OW and OA on the corals Acropora digitifera and Montipora digitata, which are dominant coral species occurring along the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, at three temperatures (28 °C, 30 °C, and 32 °C) and following four pCO2 treatments (400, 600, 800, and 1,000 µatm) in aquarium experiments. In the OW experiment, the calcification rate (p = 0.02), endosymbiont density, and maximum photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) (both p < 0.0001) decreased significantly at the highest temperature (32 °C) compared to those at the lower temperatures (28 °C and 30 °C) in both species. In the OA experiment, the calcification rate decreased significantly as pCO2 increased (p < 0.0001), whereas endosymbiont density, chlorophyll content, and Fv/Fm were not affected. The calcification rate of A. digitifera showed greater decreases from 30 °C to 32 °C than that of M. digitata. The calcification of the two species responded differently to OW and OA. These results suggest that A. digitifera is more sensitive to OW than M. digitata, whereas M. digitata is more sensitive to OA. Thus, differences in the sensitivity of the two coral species to OW and OA might be attributed to differences in the endosymbiont species and high calcification rates, respectively.
Continue reading ‘Responses of branching reef corals Acropora digitifera and Montipora digitata to elevated temperature and pCO2’Chapter: ecological modeling and conservation on the coasts of Mexico
Published 28 December 2020 Science ClosedTags: biological response, corals, North Atlantic, policy, review
Mexico harbors several types of coastal ecosystems both in the Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean) and in the Pacific (tropical and subtropical) on which the regional and national socio-economic development depends. They have been studied through several modeling approaches for management, conservation, and necessary ecological studies. In this chapter, we review and synthesize the most recent and relevant studies conducted, with particular emphasis on coral reefs. In the Caribbean, coral reefs are likely the most rapidly changing ecosystems with a net decline in the cover of reef-building corals accompanied by rapid increases of fleshy macroalgae over the last decades. Remaining coral communities are changing toward weedy coral species that are unlikely to support reef growth and thus provide important services to other species and humans. Since 2015 the Mexican Caribbean coast experienced a massive influx of drifting Sargassum spp. that accumulated on the shores, resulting in a build-up of decaying beach-cast material and near-shore murky brown waters (Sargassum-brown-tides), drastically modifying near-shore waters conditions by reducing light, oxygen (hypoxia or anoxia), and pH. The Gulf of Mexico’s coastal ecosystems have also been under significant threats because of human activities, such as gas and oil extraction, pollution, and fishing. Despite numerous studies conducted in the Pacific, biodiversity knowledge is still incomplete, highly biased toward specific habitats, and often narrow in taxonomic and spatial scope. Concurrently, ecological processes that drive biodiversity have been scarcely disentangled. In spite of sub-optimal conditions for coral calcification (lower alkalinity, upwelling, ENSO, high nutrients concentration) some coral reefs thrive in the Pacific. Calcification rate is disrupted with ENSO events (20–50% drop), but it is not correlated to historical changes in sea surface temperature and it might decrease between 15 and 22% due to ocean acidification.
Continue reading ‘Chapter: ecological modeling and conservation on the coasts of Mexico’Volcanic CO2 seep geochemistry and use in understanding ocean acidification
Published 15 December 2020 Science ClosedTags: abundance, algae, annelids, biogeochemistry, BRcommunity, bryozoa, chemistry, cnidaria, community composition, corals, crustaceans, echinoderms, field, fish, Mediterranean, mollusks, otherprocess, phanerogams, phytoplankton, polychaetes, protists, review, vents
Ocean acidification is one of the most dramatic effects of the massive atmospheric release of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution, although its effects on marine ecosystems are not well understood. Submarine volcanic hydrothermal fields have geochemical conditions that provide opportunities to characterise the effects of elevated levels of seawater CO2 on marine life in the field. Here, we review the geochemical aspects of shallow marine CO2-rich seeps worldwide, focusing on both gas composition and water chemistry. We then describe the geochemical effects of volcanic CO2 seepage on the overlying seawater column. We also present new geochemical data and the first synthesis of marine biological community changes from one of the best-studied marine CO2 seep sites in the world (off Vulcano Island, Sicily). In areas of intense bubbling, extremely high levels of pCO2 (> 10,000 μatm) result in low seawater pH (< 6) and undersaturation of aragonite and calcite in an area devoid of calcified organisms such as shelled molluscs and hard corals. Around 100–400 m away from the Vulcano seeps the geochemistry of the seawater becomes analogous to future ocean acidification conditions with dissolved carbon dioxide levels falling from 900 to 420 μatm as seawater pH rises from 7.6 to 8.0. Calcified species such as coralline algae and sea urchins fare increasingly well as sessile communities shift from domination by a few resilient species (such as uncalcified algae and polychaetes) to a diverse and complex community (including abundant calcified algae and sea urchins) as the seawater returns to ambient levels of CO2. Laboratory advances in our understanding of species sensitivity to high CO2 and low pH seawater, reveal how marine organisms react to simulated ocean acidification conditions (e.g., using energetic trade-offs for calcification, reproduction, growth and survival). Research at volcanic marine seeps, such as those off Vulcano, highlight consistent ecosystem responses to rising levels of seawater CO2, with the simplification of food webs, losses in functional diversity and reduced provisioning of goods and services for humans.
Continue reading ‘Volcanic CO2 seep geochemistry and use in understanding ocean acidification’Climate change doubles sedimentation-induced coral recruit mortality
Published 8 December 2020 Science ClosedTags: biological response, corals, laboratory, morphology, mortality, multiple factors, reproduction, South Pacific, temperature
Highlights
- Recruits grown under future climate are twice as sensitive to sediment deposition
- Older recruits survived higher sediment depositions events
- Only recruits grown in current climate survived the highest realistic sedimentation
Abstract
Coral reef replenishment is threatened by global climate change and local water-quality degradation, including smothering of coral recruits by sediments generated by anthropogenic activities. Here we show that the ability of Acropora millepora recruits to remove sediments diminishes under future climate conditions, leading to increased mortality. Recruits raised under future climate scenarios for fourteen weeks (highest treatment: +1.2 °C, pCO2: 950 ppm) showed twofold higher mortality following repeated sediment deposition (50% lethal sediment concentration LC50: 14 – 24 mg cm-2) compared to recruits raised under current climate conditions (LC50: 37 – 51 mg cm-2), depending on recruit age at the time of sedimentation. Older and larger recruits were more resistant to sedimentation and only ten-week-old recruits grown under current climate conditions survived sediment loads typical of dredging operations. This demonstrates that water-quality guidelines for managing sediment concentrations will need to be climate-adjusted to protect future coral recruitment.
Ocean warming and acidification uncouple calcification from calcifier biomass which accelerates coral reef decline
Published 4 December 2020 Science ClosedTags: abundance, biogeochemistry, biological response, BRcommunity, calcification, corals, dissolution, field, mesocosms, multiple factors, photosynthesis, respiration, sediment, South Pacific, temperature
Global climate change will drive declines in coral reefs over coming decades. Yet, the relative role of temperature versus acidification, and the ability of resultant ecosystems to retain core services such as coastal protection, are less clear. Here, we investigate changes to the net chemical balances of calcium carbonate within complex experimental coral reefs over 18 months under conditions projected for 2100 if CO2 emissions continue unmitigated. We reveal a decoupling of calcifier biomass and calcification under the synergistic impact of warming and acidification, that combined with increased night-time dissolution, leads to an accelerated loss of carbonate frameworks. Climate change induced degradation will limit the ability of coral reefs to keep-up with sea level rise, possibly for thousands of years. We conclude that instead of simply transitioning to alternate states that are capable of buffering coastlines, reefs are at risk of drowning leading to critical losses in ecosystem functions.
Continue reading ‘Ocean warming and acidification uncouple calcification from calcifier biomass which accelerates coral reef decline’
