Marine Ecology Progress Series
MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11072
copiedOrganic carbon fluxes mediated by corals at elevated pCO2 and temperature
- Stephen Levas
- Andréa G. Grottoli
- Mark E. Warner
- Wei-Jun Cai
- James Bauer
- Verena Schoepf
- Justin H. Baumann
- Yohei Matsui
- Colin Gearing
- Todd F. Melman
- Kenneth D. Hoadley
- Daniel T. Pettay
- Xinping Hu
- Qian Li
- Hui Xu
- Yongchen Wang
ABSTRACT: Increasing ocean acidification (OA) and seawater temperatures pose significant threats to coral reefs globally. While the combined impacts of OA and seawater temperature on coral biology and calcification in corals have received significant study, research to date has largely neglected the individual and combined effects of OA and seawater temperature on coral-mediated organic carbon (OC) fluxes. This is of particular concern as dissolved and particulate OC (DOC and POC, respectively) represent large pools of fixed OC on coral reefs. In the present study, coral-mediated POC and DOC, and the sum of these coral-mediated flux rates (total OC, TOC = DOC + POC) as well as the relative contributions of each to coral metabolic demand were determined for 2 species of coral, Acropora millepora and Turbinaria reniformis, at 2 levels of pCO2 (382 and 741 µatm) and seawater temperatures (26.5 and 31.0°C). Independent of temperature, DOC fluxes decreased significantly with increases in pCO2 in both species, resulting in more DOC being retained by the corals and only representing between 19 and 6% of TOC fluxes for A. millepora and T. reniformis. At the same time, POC and TOC fluxes were unaffected by elevated temperature and/or pCO2. These findings add to a growing body of evidence that certain species of coral may be less at risk to the impacts of OA and temperature than previously thought.
KEYWORDS
Stephen Levas (Corresponding Author)
- School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Andréa G. Grottoli (Co-author)
- School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Mark E. Warner (Co-author)
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE 19958, USA
Wei-Jun Cai (Co-author)
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE 19958, USA
James Bauer (Co-author)
- Aquatic Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Verena Schoepf (Co-author)
- School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Justin H. Baumann (Co-author)
- School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Yohei Matsui (Co-author)
- School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Colin Gearing (Co-author)
- School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Todd F. Melman (Co-author)
- Reef Systems Coral Farm, New Albany, OH 43054, USA
Kenneth D. Hoadley (Co-author)
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE 19958, USA
Daniel T. Pettay (Co-author)
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE 19958, USA
Xinping Hu (Co-author)
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30601, USA
Qian Li (Co-author)
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30601, USA
Hui Xu (Co-author)
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30601, USA
Yongchen Wang (Co-author)