Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
Anthropogenic elevation of atmospheric pCO2 is predicted to cause the pH of surface seawater to decline by 0.3-0.4 units by 2100 AD, causing a 50% reduction in seawater [CO3] and undersaturation with respect to aragonite in high-latitude surface waters. We investigated the impact of CO2-induced ocean acidification on the temperate scleractinian coral Oculina arbuscula by rearing colonies for 60 days in experimental seawaters bubbled with air-CO2 gas mixtures of 409, 606, 903, and 2,856 ppm pCO2, yielding average aragonite saturation states (Omega aragonite) of 2.6, 2.3, 1.6, and 0.8. Measurement of calcification (via buoyant weighing) and linear extension (relative to a 137Ba/138Ba spike) revealed that skeletal accretion was only minimally impaired by reductions in Omega aragonite from 2.6 to 1.6, although major reductions were observed at 0.8 (undersaturation). Notably, the corals continued accreting new skeletal material even in undersaturated conditions, although at reduced rates. Correlation between rates of linear extension and calcification suggests that reduced calcification under Omega aragonite = 0.8 resulted from reduced aragonite accretion, rather than from localized dissolution. Accretion of pure aragonite under each Omega aragonite discounts the possibility that these corals will begin producing calcite, a less soluble form of CaCO3, as the oceans acidify. The corals' nonlinear response to reduced Omega aragonite and their ability to accrete new skeletal material in undersaturated conditions suggest that they strongly control the biomineralization process. However, our data suggest that a threshold seawater [CO3] exists, below which calcification within this species (and possibly others) becomes impaired. Indeed, the strong negative response of O. arbuscula to Omega aragonite= 0.8 indicates that their response to future pCO2-induced ocean acidification could be both abrupt and severe once the critical Omega aragoniteis reached.
Keywords:
Alkalinity, Gran titration (Gran, 1950); Alkalinity, total; Alkalinity, total, standard deviation; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Aragonite saturation state, standard deviation; Benthic animals; Benthos; Bicarbonate; Bicarbonate ion; Bicarbonate ion, standard deviation; Buoyant mass; Buoyant weighing technique according to Davies (1989); Calcification/Dissolution; Calcification rate; 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 ion, standard deviation; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide, standard deviation; Carbon dioxide, total; Cnidaria; Coast and continental shelf; Containers and aquaria (20-1000 L or 〈 1 m**2); EPOCA; EUR-OCEANS; European network of excellence for Ocean Ecosystems Analysis; European Project on Ocean Acidification; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Growth/Morphology; Guildline autosal salinometer; Infrared pCO2 analyzer (Qubit S151); Laboratory experiment; Linear extension; Measured; North Atlantic; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Oculina arbuscula; Partial-immersion mercury-glass thermometer; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; pH, standard deviation; pH meter (Orion); Salinity; Salinity, standard deviation; Sample ID; Single species; Species; Temperate; Temperature, standard deviation; Temperature, water
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 1941 data points
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