Response of Mediterranean coralline algae to ocean acidification and elevated temperature

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 2089-2100 ◽  
Author(s):  
SOPHIE MARTIN ◽  
JEAN-PIERRE GATTUSO
Keyword(s):  
Elevated Temperature ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Coralline Algae

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.

Global warming offsets the ecophysiological stress of ocean acidification on temperate crustose coralline algae

2020 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 111324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju-Hyoung Kim ◽  
Nahyun Kim ◽  
Hanbi Moon ◽  
Sukyeon Lee ◽  
So Young Jeong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Crustose Coralline Algae

Growth response of an early successional assemblage of coralline algae and benthic diatoms to ocean acidification

2014 ◽  
Vol 161 (7) ◽  
pp. 1687-1696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca K. James ◽  
Christopher D. Hepburn ◽  
Christopher E. Cornwall ◽  
Christina M. McGraw ◽  
Catriona L. Hurd
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Growth Response ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Benthic Diatoms

Ocean acidification weakens the structural integrity of coralline algae

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 2804-2812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Ragazzola ◽  
Laura C. Foster ◽  
Armin Form ◽  
Philip S.L. Anderson ◽  
Thor H. Hansteen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Coralline Algae

Ocean acidification as a multiple driver: how interactions between changing seawater carbonate parameters affect marine life

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catriona L. Hurd ◽  
John Beardall ◽  
Steeve Comeau ◽  
Christopher E. Cornwall ◽  
Jonathan N Havenhand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Carbonate System ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Marine Life ◽  
Key Terms

‘Multiple drivers’ (also termed ‘multiple stressors’) is the term used to describe the cumulative effects of multiple environmental factors on organisms or ecosystems. Here, we consider ocean acidification as a multiple driver because many inorganic carbon parameters are changing simultaneously, including total dissolved inorganic carbon, CO2, HCO3–, CO32–, H+ and CaCO3 saturation state. With the rapid expansion of ocean acidification research has come a greater understanding of the complexity and intricacies of how these simultaneous changes to the seawater carbonate system are affecting marine life. We start by clarifying key terms used by chemists and biologists to describe the changing seawater inorganic carbon system. Then, using key groups of non-calcifying (fish, seaweeds, diatoms) and calcifying (coralline algae, coccolithophores, corals, molluscs) organisms, we consider how various physiological processes are affected by different components of the carbonate system.

scholarly journals High light alongside elevated PCO2 alleviates thermal depression of photosynthesis in a hard coral (Pocillopora acuta)

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (20) ◽  
pp. jeb223198
Author(s):  
Robert A. B. Mason ◽  
Christopher B. Wall ◽  
Ross Cunning ◽  
Sophie Dove ◽  
Ruth D. Gates
Keyword(s):  
Elevated Temperature ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Dark Respiration ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
High Light ◽  
Photochemical Quenching ◽  
Strong Light

ABSTRACTThe absorbtion of human-emitted CO2 by the oceans (elevated PCO2) is projected to alter the physiological performance of coral reef organisms by perturbing seawater chemistry (i.e. ocean acidification). Simultaneously, greenhouse gas emissions are driving ocean warming and changes in irradiance (through turbidity and cloud cover), which have the potential to influence the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs. Here, we explored whether physiological impacts of elevated PCO2 on a coral–algal symbiosis (Pocillopora acuta–Symbiodiniaceae) are mediated by light and/or temperature levels. In a 39 day experiment, elevated PCO2 (962 versus 431 µatm PCO2) had an interactive effect with midday light availability (400 versus 800 µmol photons m−2 s−1) and temperature (25 versus 29°C) on areal gross and net photosynthesis, for which a decline at 29°C was ameliorated under simultaneous high-PCO2 and high-light conditions. Light-enhanced dark respiration increased under elevated PCO2 and/or elevated temperature. Symbiont to host cell ratio and chlorophyll a per symbiont increased at elevated temperature, whilst symbiont areal density decreased. The ability of moderately strong light in the presence of elevated PCO2 to alleviate the temperature-induced decrease in photosynthesis suggests that higher substrate availability facilitates a greater ability for photochemical quenching, partially offsetting the impacts of high temperature on the photosynthetic apparatus. Future environmental changes that result in moderate increases in light levels could therefore assist the P. acuta holobiont to cope with the ‘one–two punch’ of rising temperatures in the presence of an acidifying ocean.

Rapid dissolution of shells of weakly calcified Antarctic benthic macroorganisms indicates high vulnerability to ocean acidification

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 449-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
James B. McClintock ◽  
Robert A. Angus ◽  
Michelle R. Mcdonald ◽  
Charles D. Amsler ◽  
Shane A. Catledge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Coralline Alga ◽  
Compensatory Mechanisms ◽  
Dissolution Rates ◽  
Rapid Dissolution ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Species

AbstractAntarctic calcified macroorganisms are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification because many are weakly calcified, the dissolution rates of calcium carbonate are inversely related to temperature, and high latitude seas are predicted to become undersaturated in aragonite by the year 2100. We examined the post-mortem dissolution rates of aragonitic and calcitic shells from four species of Antarctic benthic marine invertebrates (two bivalves, one limpet, one brachiopod) and the thallus of a limpet shell-encrusting coralline alga exposed to acidified pH (7.4) or non-acidified pH (8.2) seawater at a constant temperature of 4°C. Within a period of only 14–35 days, shells of all four species held in pH 7.4 seawater had suffered significant dissolution. Despite calcite being 35% less soluble in seawater than aragonite, there was surprisingly, no consistent pattern of calcitic shells having slower dissolution rates than aragonitic shells. Outer surfaces of shells held in pH 7.4 seawater exhibited deterioration by day 35, and by day 56 there was exposure of aragonitic or calcitic prisms within the shell architecture of three of the macroinvertebrate species. Dissolution of coralline algae was confirmed by differences in weight loss in limpet shells with and without coralline algae. By day 56, thalli of the coralline alga held in pH 7.4 displayed a loss of definition of the conceptacle pores and cracking was evident at the zone of interface with limpet shells. Experimental studies are needed to evaluate whether there are adequate compensatory mechanisms in these and other calcified Antarctic benthic macroorganisms to cope with anticipated ocean acidification. In their absence, these organisms, and the communities they comprise, are likely to be among the first to experience the cascading impacts of ocean acidification.

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