scholarly journals Feedbacks and responses of coral calcification on the Bermuda reef system to seasonal changes in biological processes and ocean acidification

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 2509-2530 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Bates ◽  
A. Amat ◽  
A. J. Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Coral Calcification ◽  
Reef System ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Reef Ecosystem

Abstract. Despite the potential impact of ocean acidification on ecosystems such as coral reefs, surprisingly, there is very limited field data on the relationships between calcification and seawater carbonate chemistry. In this study, contemporaneous in situ datasets of seawater carbonate chemistry and calcification rates from the high-latitude coral reef of Bermuda over annual timescales provide a framework for investigating the present and future potential impact of rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems in their natural environment. A strong correlation was found between the in situ rates of calcification for the major framework building coral species Diploria labyrinthiformis and the seasonal variability of [CO32-] and aragonite saturation state Ωaragonite, rather than other environmental factors such as light and temperature. These field observations provide sufficient data to hypothesize that there is a seasonal "Carbonate Chemistry Coral Reef Ecosystem Feedback" (CREF hypothesis) between the primary components of the reef ecosystem (i.e., scleractinian hard corals and macroalgae) and seawater carbonate chemistry. In early summer, strong net autotrophy from benthic components of the reef system enhance [CO32-] and Ωaragonite conditions, and rates of coral calcification due to the photosynthetic uptake of CO2. In late summer, rates of coral calcification are suppressed by release of CO2 from reef metabolism during a period of strong net heterotrophy. It is likely that this seasonal CREF mechanism is present in other tropical reefs although attenuated compared to high-latitude reefs such as Bermuda. Due to lower annual mean surface seawater [CO32-] and Ωaragonite in Bermuda compared to tropical regions, we anticipate that Bermuda corals will experience seasonal periods of zero net calcification within the next decade at [CO32-] and Ωaragonite thresholds of ~184 μmoles kg−1 and 2.65. However, net autotrophy of the reef during winter and spring (as part of the CREF hypothesis) may delay the onset of zero NEC or decalcification going forward by enhancing [CO32-] and Ωaragonite. The Bermuda coral reef is one of the first responders to the negative impacts of ocean acidification, and we estimate that calcification rates for D. labyrinthiformis have declined by >50% compared to pre-industrial times.

scholarly journals The interaction of ocean acidification and carbonate chemistry on coral reef calcification: evaluating the carbonate chemistry Coral Reef Ecosystem Feedback (CREF) hypothesis on the Bermuda coral reef

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 7627-7672 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Bates ◽  
A. Amat ◽  
A. J. Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Coral Reef Ecosystem ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Coral Calcification ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Reef Ecosystem

Abstract. Despite the potential impact of ocean acidification on ecosystems such as coral reefs, surprisingly, there is very limited field data on the relationships between calcification and carbonate chemistry. In this study, contemporaneous in situ datasets of carbonate chemistry and calcification rates from the high-latitude coral reef of Bermuda over annual timescales provide a framework for investigating the present and future potential impact of rising pCO2 and ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems in their natural environment. A strong correlation was found between the in situ rates of calcification for the major framework building coral species Diploria labyrinthiformis and the seasonal variability of [CO32-] and Ωaragonite, rather than other environmental factors such as light and temperature. These field observations also provide sufficient data to hypothesize that there is a seasonal "Carbonate Chemistry Coral Reef Ecosystem Feedback" (CREF hypothesis) between the primary components of the reef ecosystem (i.e. scleractinian hard corals and macroalgae) and carbonate chemistry. In early summer, strong net autotrophy from benthic components of the reef system enhance [CO32-] and Ωaragonite conditions, and rates of coral calcification due to the photosynthetic uptake of CO2. In late summer, rates of coral calcification are suppressed by release of CO2 from reef metabolism during a period of strong net heterotrophy. It is likely that this seasonal CREF mechanism is present in other tropical reefs although attenuated compared to high-latitude reefs such as Bermuda. Due to lower annual mean surface seawater [CO32-] and Ωaragonite in Bermuda compared to tropical regions, we anticipate that Bermuda corals will experiences seasonal periods of zero net calcification within the next decade at [CO32-] and Ωaragonite thresholds of ~184 mmoles kg−1 and 2.65. The Bermuda coral reef is one of the first responders to the negative impacts of ocean acidification, and we estimate that calcification rates for D. labyrinthiformis have declined by >50% compared to pre-industrial times.

scholarly journals The role of ocean acidification in <i>Emiliania huxleyi</i> coccolith thinning in the Mediterranean Sea

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2857-2869 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. S. Meier ◽  
L. Beaufort ◽  
S. Heussner ◽  
P. Ziveri
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Emiliania Huxleyi ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Surface Ocean ◽  
Nw Mediterranean ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry

Abstract. Ocean acidification is a result of the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere into the ocean and has been identified as a major environmental and economic threat. The release of several thousands of petagrams of carbon over a few hundred years will have an overwhelming effect on surface ocean carbon reservoirs. The recorded and anticipated changes in seawater carbonate chemistry will presumably affect global oceanic carbonate production. Coccolithophores as the primary calcifying phytoplankton group, and especially Emiliania huxleyi as the most abundant species have shown a reduction of calcification at increased CO2 concentrations for the majority of strains tested in culture experiments. A reduction of calcification is associated with a decrease in coccolith weight. However, the effect in monoclonal cultures is relatively small compared to the strong variability displayed in natural E. huxleyi communities, as these are a mix of genetically and sometimes morphologically distinct types. Average coccolith weight is likely influenced by the variability in seawater carbonate chemistry in different parts of the world's oceans and on glacial/interglacial time scales due to both physiological effects and morphotype selectivity. An effect of the ongoing ocean acidification on E. huxleyi calcification has so far not been documented in situ. Here, we analyze E. huxleyi coccolith weight from the NW Mediterranean Sea in a 12-year sediment trap series, and surface sediment and sediment core samples using an automated recognition and analyzing software. Our findings clearly show (1) a continuous decrease in the average coccolith weight of E. huxleyi from 1993 to 2005, reaching levels below pre-industrial (Holocene) and industrial (20th century) values recorded in the sedimentary record and (2) seasonal variability in coccolith weight that is linked to the coccolithophore productivity. The observed long-term decrease in coccolith weight is most likely a result of the changes in the surface ocean carbonate system. Our results provide the first indications of an in situ impact of ocean acidification on coccolithophore weight in a natural E. huxleyi population, even in the highly alkaline Mediterranean Sea.

scholarly journals The role of ocean acidification in <i>Emiliania huxleyi</i> coccolith thinning in the Mediterranean Sea

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 19701-19730 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. S. Meier ◽  
L. Beaufort ◽  
S. Heussner ◽  
P. Ziveri
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Emiliania Huxleyi ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
Surface Ocean ◽  
Nw Mediterranean ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry

Abstract. Ocean acidification is a result of the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere into the ocean and has been identified as a major environmental and economic threat. The release of several thousands of petagrams of carbon over a few hundred years will overwhelm the capacity of the surface ocean reservoirs to absorb carbon. The recorded and anticipated changes in seawater carbonate chemistry will presumably affect the global oceanic carbonate production. Coccolithophores as the primary calcifying phytoplankton group, and especially Emiliania huxleyi as the most abundant species have shown a reduction of calcification at increased CO2 concentrations for the majority of strains tested in culture experiments. A reduction of calcification is associated with a decrease in coccolith weight. However, the effect in monoclonal cultures is relatively small compared to the strong variability displayed in natural E. huxleyi communities, as these are a mix of genetically and sometimes morphologically distinct types. Average coccolith weight is likely influenced by the variability in seawater carbonate chemistry in different parts of the worlds' oceans and on glacial/interglacial time scales due to both physiological effects and morphotype selectivity. An effect of the ongoing ocean acidification on E. huxleyi calcification has so far not been documented in situ. Here, we analyze E. huxleyi coccolith weight from the NW Mediterranean Sea in a 12 yr sediment trap series, and surface sediment and sediment core samples using an automated recognition and analyzing software. Our findings clearly show (1) a continuous decrease in the average coccolith weight of E. huxleyi from 1993 to 2005, reaching levels below pre-industrial Holocene and industrial 20th century values recorded in the sedimentary record, and (2) seasonal variability in coccolith weight that is linked to the coccolithophore production. The observed long-term decrease in coccolith weight is most likely a result of the changes in the surface ocean carbonate system. Our results provide first indications of an in situ impact of ocean acidification on coccolithophore weight in a natural E. huxleyi population even in the highly alkaline Mediterranean Sea.

scholarly journals Thermal stress reduces pocilloporid coral resilience to ocean acidification by impairing control over calcifying fluid chemistry

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. eaba9958
Author(s):  
Maxence Guillermic ◽  
Louise P. Cameron ◽  
Ilian De Corte ◽  
Sambuddha Misra ◽  
Jelle Bijma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Stress ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Pocillopora Damicornis ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Negative Interaction ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Stylophora Pistillata ◽  
Coral Calcification ◽  
Influence Of Temperature On ◽  
Different Time Scales

The combination of thermal stress and ocean acidification (OA) can more negatively affect coral calcification than an individual stressors, but the mechanism behind this interaction is unknown. We used two independent methods (microelectrode and boron geochemistry) to measure calcifying fluid pH (pHcf) and carbonate chemistry of the corals Pocillopora damicornis and Stylophora pistillata grown under various temperature and pCO2 conditions. Although these approaches demonstrate that they record pHcf over different time scales, they reveal that both species can cope with OA under optimal temperatures (28°C) by elevating pHcf and aragonite saturation state (Ωcf) in support of calcification. At 31°C, neither species elevated these parameters as they did at 28°C and, likewise, could not maintain substantially positive calcification rates under any pH treatment. These results reveal a previously uncharacterized influence of temperature on coral pHcf regulation—the apparent mechanism behind the negative interaction between thermal stress and OA on coral calcification.

scholarly journals Ocean acidification effects on in situ coral reef metabolism

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve S. Doo ◽  
Peter J. Edmunds ◽  
Robert C. Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Ocean Acidification

scholarly journals Coral reef ecosystem integrated observing system: In-situ oceanographic observations at the US Pacific islands and atolls

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
RK Hoeke ◽  
JM Gove ◽  
E Smith ◽  
P Fisher-Pool ◽  
M Lammers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Coral Reef Ecosystem ◽  
The Us ◽  
Reef Ecosystem

scholarly journals CO2 sensitivity experiments are not sufficient to show an effect of ocean acidification

2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 926-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul McElhany
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Population Abundance ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Species Sensitivity ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Marine Carbonate ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Experimental Treatments ◽  
Level Effect

The ocean acidification (OA) literature is replete with laboratory studies that report species sensitivity to seawater carbonate chemistry in experimental treatments as an “effect of OA”. I argue that this is unintentionally misleading, since these studies do not actually demonstrate an effect of OA but rather show sensitivity to CO2. Documenting an effect of OA involves showing a change in a species (e.g. population abundance or distribution) as a consequence of anthropogenic changes in marine carbonate chemistry. To date, there have been no unambiguous demonstrations of a population level effect of anthropogenic OA, as that term is defined by the IPCC.

scholarly journals Perturbation experiments to investigate the impact of ocean acidification: approaches and software tools

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 4413-4439 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. Gattuso ◽  
H. Lavigne
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Software Package ◽  
Biological Response ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
R Software ◽  
Seawater Chemistry ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Gas Bubbling ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Although future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry are well constrained, their impact on marine organisms and ecosystems remains poorly known. The biological response to ocean acidification is a recent field of research as most purposeful experiments have only been carried out in the late 1990s. The potentially dire consequences of ocean acidification attract scientists and students with a limited knowledge of the carbonate chemistry and its experimental manipulation. Hence, some guidelines on carbonate chemistry manipulations may be helpful for the growing ocean acidification community to maintain comparability. Perturbation experiments are one of the key approaches used to investigate the biological response to elevated pCO2. They are based on measurements of physiological or metabolic processes in organisms and communities exposed to seawater with normal or altered carbonate chemistry. Seawater chemistry can be manipulated in different ways depending on the facilities available and on the question being addressed. The goal of this paper is (1) to examine the benefits and drawbacks of various manipulation techniques and (2) to describe a new version of the R software package seacarb which includes new functions aimed at assisting the design of ocean acidification perturbation experiments. Three approaches closely mimic the on-going and future changes in the seawater carbonate chemistry: gas bubbling, addition of high-CO2 seawater as well as combined additions of acid and bicarbonate and/or carbonate.

scholarly journals Dynamics of seawater carbonate chemistry, production, and calcification of a coral reef flat, central Great Barrier Reef

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 6747-6758 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Albright ◽  
C. Langdon ◽  
K. R. N. Anthony
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Reef Flat ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Carbonate Chemistry ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Diel Cycles ◽  
Seawater Carbonate Chemistry

Abstract. Ocean acidification is projected to shift coral reefs from a state of net accretion to one of net dissolution this century. Presently, our ability to predict global-scale changes to coral reef calcification is limited by insufficient data relating seawater carbonate chemistry parameters to in situ rates of reef calcification. Here, we investigate diel and seasonal trends in carbonate chemistry of the Davies Reef flat in the central Great Barrier Reef and relate these trends to benthic carbon fluxes by quantifying net ecosystem calcification (nec) and net community production (ncp). Results show that seawater carbonate chemistry of the Davies Reef flat is highly variable over both diel and seasonal cycles. pH (total scale) ranged from 7.92 to 8.17, pCO2 ranged from 272 to 542 μatm, and aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) ranged from 2.9 to 4.1. Diel cycles in carbonate chemistry were primarily driven by ncp, and warming explained 35% and 47% of the seasonal shifts in pCO2 and pH, respectively. Daytime ncp averaged 37 ± 19 mmol C m−2 h−1 in summer and 33 ± 13 mmol C m−2 h−1 in winter; nighttime ncp averaged −30 ± 25 and −7 ± 6 mmol C m−2 h−1 in summer and winter, respectively. Daytime nec averaged 11 ± 4 mmol CaCO3 m−2 h−1 in summer and 8 ± 3 mmol CaCO3 m−2 h−1 in winter, whereas nighttime nec averaged 2 ± 4 mmol and −1 ± 3 mmol CaCO3 m−2 h−1 in summer and winter, respectively. Net ecosystem calcification was highly sensitive to changes in Ωarag for both seasons, indicating that relatively small shifts in Ωarag may drive measurable shifts in calcification rates, and hence carbon budgets, of coral reefs throughout the year.

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