Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
As the surface ocean equilibrates with rising atmospheric CO2, the pH of surface seawater is decreasing with potentially negative impacts on coral calcification. A critical question is whether corals will be able to adapt or acclimate to these changes in seawater chemistry. We use high precision CT scanning of skeletal cores of Porites astreoides, an important Caribbean reef-building coral, to show that calcification rates decrease significantly along a natural gradient in pH and aragonite saturation (Omega arag). This decrease is accompanied by an increase in skeletal erosion and predation by boring organisms. The degree of sensitivity to reduced Oarag measured on our field corals is consistent with that exhibited by the same species in laboratory CO2 manipulation experiments. We conclude that the Porites corals at our field site were not able to acclimatize enough to prevent the impacts of local ocean acidification on their skeletal growth and development, despite spending their entire lifespan in low pH, low Omega arag seawater.
Keywords:
Alkalinity, total; Alkalinity, total, standard deviation; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Aragonite saturation state, standard deviation; Benthic animals; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Calcification/Dissolution; Calcification rate; Calcification rate, ratio; Calcification rate, standard deviation; Calcification rate, standard error; Calcite saturation state; Calculated using CO2SYS; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon, inorganic, dissolved; Carbon, inorganic, dissolved, standard deviation; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Cnidaria; Density; Density, standard deviation; Density, standard error; Field observation; Figure; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Growth/Morphology; Linear extension; Linear extension, standard deviation; Linear extension, standard error; North Atlantic; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; Porites astreoides; Salinity; Single species; Species; Temperature, water; Thickness; Thickness, standard deviation; Thickness, standard error; Treatment; Tropical; Volume ratio
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 479 data points
