scholarly journals Calcification in free-living coralline algae is strongly influenced by morphology: Implications for susceptibility to ocean acidification

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Schubert ◽  
Laurie C. Hofmann ◽  
Antonella C. Almeida Saá ◽  
Anderson Camargo Moreira ◽  
Rafael Güntzel Arenhart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Branch Length ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
General View ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractRhodolith beds built by free-living coralline algae are important ecosystems for marine biodiversity and carbonate production. Yet, our mechanistic understanding regarding rhodolith physiology and its drivers is still limited. Using three rhodolith species with different branching morphologies, we investigated the role of morphology in species’ physiology and the implications for their susceptibility to ocean acidification (OA). For this, we determined the effects of thallus topography on diffusive boundary layer (DBL) thickness, the associated microscale oxygen and pH dynamics and their relationship with species’ metabolic and light and dark calcification rates, as well as species’ responses to short-term OA exposure. Our results show that rhodolith branching creates low-flow microenvironments that exhibit increasing DBL thickness with increasing branch length. This, together with species’ metabolic rates, determined the light-dependent pH dynamics at the algal surface, which in turn dictated species’ calcification rates. While these differences did not translate in species-specific responses to short-term OA exposure, the differences in the magnitude of diurnal pH fluctuations (~ 0.1–1.2 pH units) between species suggest potential differences in phenotypic plasticity to OA that may result in different susceptibilities to long-term OA exposure, supporting the general view that species’ ecomechanical characteristics must be considered for predicting OA responses.

scholarly journals Short-term responses to ocean acidification: effects on relative abundance of eukaryotic plankton from the tropical Timor Sea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Rahlff ◽  
Sahar Khodami ◽  
Lisa Voskuhl ◽  
Matthew P. Humphreys ◽  
Christian Stolle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Hypervariable Region ◽  
18S Rrna Gene ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Timor Sea ◽  
Decreasing Ph ◽  
Species Specific

ABSTRACTAnthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions drive climate change and pose one of the major challenges of our century. The effects of increased CO2 in the form of ocean acidification (OA) on the communities of marine planktonic eukaryotes in tropical regions such as the Timor Sea are barely understood. Here, we show the effects of high CO2 (pCO2=1823±161 μatm, pHT=7.46±0.05) versus in situ CO2 (pCO2=504±42 μatm, pHT=7.95±0.04) seawater on the community composition of marine planktonic eukaryotes immediately and after 48 hours of treatment exposure in a shipboard microcosm experiment. Illumina sequencing of the V9 hypervariable region of 18S rRNA (gene) was used to study the eukaryotic community composition. Down-regulation of extracellular carbonic anhydrase occurred faster in the high CO2 treatment. Increased CO2 significantly suppressed the relative abundances of different eukaryotic operational taxonomic units (OTUs), including important primary producers. These effects were consistent between abundant (DNA-based) and active (cDNA-based) taxa after 48 hours, e.g., for the diatoms Trieres chinensis and Stephanopyxis turris. Effects were also very species-specific among different diatoms. Planktonic eukaryotes showed adaptation to the CO2 treatment over time, but many OTUs were adversely affected by decreasing pH. OA effects might fundamentally impact the base of marine biodiversity, suggesting profound outcomes for food web functioning in the future ocean.

scholarly journals From laboratory manipulations to earth system models: predicting pelagic calcification and its consequences

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 3455-3480 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ridgwell ◽  
D. N. Schmidt ◽  
C. Turley ◽  
C. Brownlee ◽  
M. T. Maldonado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Empirical Relationship ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Model Parameterization ◽  
C Cycle ◽  
Calcite Saturation ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
A Minor

Abstract. The variation in pH-dependent calcification responses of coccolithophores paint a highly incoherent picture, particularly for the most commonly cultured "species", Emiliania huxleyi. The disparity between magnitude and even sign of the calcification change at higher CO2 (lower pH), raises challenges to quantifying future carbon cycle changes and feedbacks, by introducing significant uncertainty in parameterizations used for global models. Putting aside the possibility of methodological differences that introduce an experimental bias, we highlight two pertinent observations that can help resolve conflicting interpretations: (1) a calcification "optimum" in environmental conditions (pH) has been observed in other coccolithophore species, and (2) there exists an unambiguous direction to the CO2-calcification response across mesocosm and shipboard incubations. We propose that an equivalence can be drawn between integrated ecosystem calcification as a function of pH (or other carbonate system parameter such as calcite saturation state) and a widely used description of plankton growth rate vs. temperature – the "Eppley curve". This provides a conceptual framework for reconciling available experimental manipulations as well as a quasi-empirical relationship for ocean acidification impacts on carbonate production that can be incorporated into models. By analogy to the Eppley curve temperature vs. growth rate relationship, progressive ocean acidification in the future may drive a relatively smooth ecosystem response through transition in dominance from more to less heavily calcified coccolithophores in addition to species-specific calcification changes. However, regardless of the model parameterization employed, on a century time-scale, the CO2-calcification effect is a minor control of atmospheric CO2 compared to other C cycle feedbacks or to fossil fuel emissions.

scholarly journals Calculating the global contribution of coralline algae to carbon burial

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 7845-7877 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. H. van der Heijden ◽  
N. A. Kamenos
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Crustose Coralline Algae ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Storage Potential ◽  
Potential Carbon

Abstract. The ongoing increase in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is changing the global marine environment and is causing warming and acidification of the oceans. Reduction of CO2 to a sustainable level is required to avoid further marine change. Many studies investigate the potential of marine carbon sinks (e.g. seagrass) to mitigate anthropogenic emissions, however, information on storage by coralline algae and the beds they create is scant. Calcifying photosynthetic organisms, including coralline algae, can act as a CO2 sink via photosynthesis and CaCO3 dissolution and act as a CO2 source during respiration and CaCO3 production on short-term time scales. Long-term carbon storage potential might come from the accumulation of coralline algae deposits over geological time scales. Here, the carbon storage potential of coralline algae is assessed using meta-analysis of their global organic and inorganic carbon production and the processes involved in this metabolism. Organic and inorganic production were estimated at 330 g C m−2 yr−1 and 880 g CaCO3 m−2 yr−1 respectively giving global organic/inorganic C production of 0.7/1.8 × 109 t C yr−1. Calcium carbonate production by free-living/crustose coralline algae (CCA) corresponded to a sediment accretion of 70/450 mm kyr−1. Using this potential carbon storage by coralline algae, the global production of free-living algae/CCA was 0.4/1.2 × 109 t C yr−1 suggesting a total potential carbon sink of 1.6 × 109 t C yr−1. Coralline algae therefore have production rates similar to mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses representing an as yet unquantified but significant carbon store, however, further empirical investigations are needed to determine the dynamics and stability of that store.

scholarly journals Long-term modifications of coastal defences enhance marine biodiversity

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
GUSTAVO M. MARTINS ◽  
STUART R. JENKINS ◽  
ANA I. NETO ◽  
STEPHEN J. HAWKINS ◽  
RICHARD C. THOMPSON
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Ecological Benefits ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Habitat Enhancement ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Rule Based Approach

SUMMARYRealization that hard coastal infrastructures support lower biodiversity than natural habitats has prompted a wealth of research seeking to identify design enhancements offering ecological benefits. Some studies showed that artificial structures could be modified to increase levels of diversity. Most studies, however, only considered the short-term ecological effects of such modifications, even though reliance on results from short-term studies may lead to serious misjudgements in conservation. In this study, a seven-year experiment examined how the addition of small pits to otherwise featureless seawalls may enhance the stocks of a highly-exploited limpet. Modified areas of the seawall supported enhanced stocks of limpets seven years after the addition of pits. Modified areas of the seawall also supported a community that differed in the abundance of littorinids, barnacles and macroalgae compared to the controls. Responses to different treatments (numbers and size of pits) were species-specific and, while some species responded directly to differences among treatments, others might have responded indirectly via changes in the distribution of competing species. This type of habitat enhancement can have positive long-lasting effects on the ecology of urban seascapes. Understanding of species interactions could be used to develop a rule-based approach to enhance biodiversity.

scholarly journals Author Correction: Calcification in free‑living coralline algae is strongly influenced by morphology: Implications for susceptibility to ocean acidification

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Schubert ◽  
Laurie C. Hofmann ◽  
Antonella C. Almeida Saá ◽  
Anderson Camargo Moreira ◽  
Rafael Güntzel Arenhart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Free Living

scholarly journals Reviews and syntheses: Calculating the global contribution of coralline algae to total carbon burial

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 6429-6441 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. H. van der Heijden ◽  
N. A. Kamenos
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Crustose Coralline Algae ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Storage Potential ◽  
Potential Carbon

Abstract. The ongoing increase in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is changing the global marine environment and is causing warming and acidification of the oceans. Reduction of CO2 to a sustainable level is required to avoid further marine change. Many studies investigate the potential of marine carbon sinks (e.g. seagrass) to mitigate anthropogenic emissions, however, information on storage by coralline algae and the beds they create is scant. Calcifying photosynthetic organisms, including coralline algae, can act as a CO2 sink via photosynthesis and CaCO3 dissolution and act as a CO2 source during respiration and CaCO3 production on short-term timescales. Long-term carbon storage potential might come from the accumulation of coralline algae deposits over geological timescales. Here, the carbon storage potential of coralline algae is assessed using meta-analysis of their global organic and inorganic carbon production and the processes involved in this metabolism. Net organic and inorganic production were estimated at 330 g C m−2 yr−1 and 900 g CaCO3 m−2 yr−1 respectively giving global organic/inorganic C production of 0.7/1.8 × 109 t C yr−1. Calcium carbonate production by free-living/crustose coralline algae (CCA) corresponded to a sediment accretion of 70/450 mm kyr−1. Using this potential carbon storage for coralline algae, the global production of free-living algae/CCA was 0.4/1.2 × 109 t C yr−1 suggesting a total potential carbon sink of 1.6 × 109 tonnes per year. Coralline algae therefore have production rates similar to mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses representing an as yet unquantified but significant carbon store, however, further empirical investigations are needed to determine the dynamics and stability of that store.

scholarly journals Community structure and carbonate production of a temperate rhodolith bank from Arvoredo Island, southern Brazil

2004 ◽  
Vol 52 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 207-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas F. M. Gherardi
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Carbonate Content ◽  
Production Rates ◽  
Percentage Cover ◽  
Coralline Red Algae ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Random Dispersal ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Main Bank

A small (100,000 m²) rhodolith bank located at the Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve (Santa Catarina, Brazil) has been surveyed to determine the main bank components, the community structure, and carbonate production rates. Data from five photographic transects perpendicular to Arvoredo Island shore were complemented with sediment samples and shallow cores, all collected by scuba diving. The main bank component is the unattached, nongeniculate, coralline red algae Lithophyllum sp., used as substrate by the zoanthid Zoanthus sp. Percentage cover of living and dead coralline algae, zoanthids and sediment patches account for nearly 98% of the investigated area. Classification and ordination of samples showed that differences in the proportion of live and dead thalli of Lithophyllum sp. determine the relative abundances of zoanthids. Results also indicate that similarity of samples is high and community gradients are subtle. Significant differences in percentage cover along transects are concentrated in the central portion of the bank. Low carbonate content of sediments from deeper samples suggests low rates of recruitment and dispersal of coralline algae via fragmentation. However, carbonate production of Lithophyllum sp ranging from 55-136.3 g m-2 yr-1 agrees with production rates reported for other temperate settings. In the long run, rhodolith density at Arvoredo Is. is likely to be dependent upon random dispersal of spores and/or fragments from other source areas.

scholarly journals Effect of elevated CO<sub>2</sub> on the dynamics of particle attached and free living bacterioplankton communities in an Arctic fjord

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 10725-10755 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sperling ◽  
J. Piontek ◽  
G. Gerdts ◽  
A. Wichels ◽  
H. Schunck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Intergenic Spacer ◽  
Extracellular Enzyme ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Organic Substrates ◽  
Viral Lysis ◽  
Free Living ◽  
High Co2 ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Abstract. The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) results in acidification of the oceans, expected to lead to the fastest drop in ocean pH in the last 300 million years, if anthropogenic emissions are continued at present rate. Due to higher solubility of gases in cold waters and increased exposure to the atmosphere by decreasing ice cover, the Arctic Ocean will be among the areas most strongly affected by ocean acidification. Yet, the response of the plankton community of high latitudes to ocean acidification has not been studied so far. This work is part of the Arctic campaign of the European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA) in 2010, employing 9 in situ mesocosms of about 45 000 l each to simulate ocean acidification in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard (78°56.2' N 11°53.6' E). In the present study, we investigated effects of elevated CO2 on the composition and richness of particle attached (PA; >3 μm) and free living (FL; <3 μm >0.2 μm) bacterial communities by Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) in 6 of the mesocosms and the surrounding fjord, ranging from 185 to 1050 initial μatm pCO2. ARISA was able to resolve about 20–30 bacterial band-classes per sample and allowed for a detailed investigation of the explicit richness. Both, the PA and the FL bacterioplankton community exhibited a strong temporal development, which was driven mainly by temperature and phytoplankton development. In response to the breakdown of a picophytoplankton bloom (phase 3 of the experiment), number of ARISA-band classes in the PA-community were reduced at low and medium CO2 (∼180–600 μatm) by about 25%, while it was more or less stable at high CO2 (∼ 650–800 μatm). We hypothesise that enhanced viral lysis and enhanced availability of organic substrates at high CO2 resulted in a more diverse PA-bacterial community in the post-bloom phase. Despite lower cell numbers and extracellular enzyme activities in the post-bloom phase, bacterial protein production was enhanced in high CO2-treatments, suggesting a positive effect of community richness on this function and on carbon cycling by bacteria.

scholarly journals Mineralogical response of the Mediterranean crustose coralline alga <i>Lithophyllum cabiochae</i> to near-future ocean acidification and warming

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merinda C. Nash ◽  
Sophie Martin ◽  
Jean-Pierre Gattuso
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Crustose Coralline Alga ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Coralline Alga ◽  
Magnesium Calcite ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Strong Control ◽  
Near Future

Abstract. Red calcareous coralline algae are thought to be among organisms the most vulnerable to ocean acidification due to the high solubility of their magnesium calcite skeleton. Although, skeletal mineralogy is proposed to change as CO2 and temperature continues rising, there is currently very little information available on the response of coralline algal carbonate mineralogy to near-future changes in pCO2 and temperature. Here we present results from a one-year controlled laboratory experiment to test mineralogical responses to pCO2 and temperature in the Mediterranean crustose coralline alga (CCA) Lithophyllum cabiochae. Our results show that Mg incorporation is mainly constrained by temperature (+1 mol% MgCO3 for an increase of 3 °C) and there was no response to pCO2. This suggests that L. cabiochae thalli have the ability to buffer calcifying medium against ocean acidification, enabling them to continue to deposit Mg-calcite with a significant mol% MgCO3 under elevated pCO2. Analyses of CCA dissolution chips showed a decrease in Mg content after 1 year for all treatments but this was not affected by pCO2 nor by temperature. Our findings suggest that biological processes exert a strong control on calcification on Mg-calcite and that CCA may be more resilient under rising CO2 than previously thought. However, previously demonstrated increased skeletal dissolution with ocean acidification will still have major consequences for the stability and maintenance of Mediterranean coralligenous habitats.

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