Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
Ocean acidification is perceived to be a major threat for many calcifying organisms, including scleractinian corals. Here we investigate (1) whether past exposure to low pH environments associated with CO2 vents could increase corals tolerance to low pH and (2) whether zooxanthellate corals are more tolerant to low pH than azooxanthellate corals. To test these hypotheses, two Mediterranean colonial corals Cladocora caespitosa (zooxanthellate) and Astroides calycularis (azooxanthellate) were collected from CO2 vents and reference sites and incubated in the laboratory under present-day (pH on the total scale, pHT 8.07) and low pH conditions (pHT 7.70). Rates of net calcification, dark respiration and photosynthesis were monitored during a six-month experiment. Monthly net calcification was assessed every 27 to 35 d using the buoyant weight technique, whereas light and dark net calcification was estimated using the alkalinity anomaly technique during 1 h incubations. Neither species showed any change in net calcification rates, respiration, and photosynthesis regardless of their environmental history, pH treatment and trophic strategy. Our results indicate that C. caespitosa and A. calycularis could tolerate future ocean acidification conditions for at least 6 months. These results will aid in predicting species' future responses to ocean acidification, and thus improve the management and conservation of Mediterranean corals.
Keywords:
Alkalinity, total; Alkalinity, total, standard deviation; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Aragonite saturation state, standard deviation; Astroides calycularis; Benthic animals; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Bicarbonate ion, standard deviation; Calcification/Dissolution; Calcification rate, standard error; Calcification rate of calcium carbonate; Calcite saturation state; Calcite saturation state, standard deviation; Calculated using seacarb; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Calculated using seacarb after Orr et al. (2018); Carbon, inorganic, dissolved; Carbon, inorganic, dissolved, standard deviation; Carbonate ion; Carbonate ion, standard deviation; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide, standard deviation; Cladocora caespitosa; Cnidaria; Coast and continental shelf; Containers and aquaria (20-1000 L or 〈 1 m**2); Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Fugacity of carbon dioxide in seawater, standard deviation; Gross photosynthesis rate, oxygen; Laboratory experiment; Mediterranean Sea; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Origin; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide, standard deviation; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; pH, standard deviation; Photosynthesis rate of oxygen, standard error; Potentiometric; Potentiometric titration; Primary production/Photosynthesis; Registration number of species; Replicates; Respiration; Respiration rate, oxygen; Respiration rate, oxygen, standard error; Salinity; Salinity, standard deviation; Single species; Species; Temperate; Temperature, water; Temperature, water, standard deviation; Treatment; Type; Uniform resource locator/link to reference
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 456 data points
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