Effects of low pH and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus
Cold-Water Corals (CWCs), and most marine calcifiers, are especially threatened by ocean acidification (OA) and the decrease in the carbonate saturation state of seawater. The vulnerability of these organisms, however, also involves other global stressors like warming, deoxygenation or changes in se...
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crpeerj:10.7717/peerj.8236 2024-06-02T08:12:38+00:00 Effects of low pH and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus Martínez-Dios, Ariadna Pelejero, Carles López-Sanz, Àngel Sherrell, Robert M. Ko, Stanley Häussermann, Verena Försterra, Günter Calvo, Eva GEODESMO Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Fundación Endesa y Fundación San Ignacio de Huinay and SCORE Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, which included a Formación de Personal Investigador 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8236 https://peerj.com/articles/8236.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/8236.xml https://peerj.com/articles/8236.html en eng PeerJ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ PeerJ volume 8, page e8236 ISSN 2167-8359 journal-article 2020 crpeerj https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8236 2024-05-07T14:13:53Z Cold-Water Corals (CWCs), and most marine calcifiers, are especially threatened by ocean acidification (OA) and the decrease in the carbonate saturation state of seawater. The vulnerability of these organisms, however, also involves other global stressors like warming, deoxygenation or changes in sea surface productivity and, hence, food supply via the downward transport of organic matter to the deep ocean. This study examined the response of the CWC Desmophyllum dianthus to low pH under different feeding regimes through a long-term incubation experiment. For this experiment, 152 polyps were incubated at pH 8.1, 7.8, 7.5 and 7.2 and two feeding regimes for 14 months. Mean calcification rates over the entire duration of the experiment ranged between −0.3 and 0.3 mg CaCO 3 g −1 d −1 . Polyps incubated at pH 7.2 were the most affected and 30% mortality was observed in this treatment. In addition, many of the surviving polyps at pH 7.2 showed negative calcification rates indicating that, in the long term, CWCs may have difficulty thriving in such aragonite undersaturated waters. The feeding regime had a significant effect on skeletal growth of corals, with high feeding frequency resulting in more positive and variable calcification rates. This was especially evident in corals reared at pH 7.5 (Ω A = 0.8) compared to the low frequency feeding treatment. Early life-stages, which are essential for the recruitment and maintenance of coral communities and their associated biodiversity, were revealed to be at highest risk. Overall, this study demonstrates the vulnerability of D. dianthus corals to low pH and low food availability. Future projected pH decreases and related changes in zooplankton communities may potentially compromise the viability of CWC populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification PeerJ Publishing PeerJ 8 e8236 |
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PeerJ Publishing |
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English |
description |
Cold-Water Corals (CWCs), and most marine calcifiers, are especially threatened by ocean acidification (OA) and the decrease in the carbonate saturation state of seawater. The vulnerability of these organisms, however, also involves other global stressors like warming, deoxygenation or changes in sea surface productivity and, hence, food supply via the downward transport of organic matter to the deep ocean. This study examined the response of the CWC Desmophyllum dianthus to low pH under different feeding regimes through a long-term incubation experiment. For this experiment, 152 polyps were incubated at pH 8.1, 7.8, 7.5 and 7.2 and two feeding regimes for 14 months. Mean calcification rates over the entire duration of the experiment ranged between −0.3 and 0.3 mg CaCO 3 g −1 d −1 . Polyps incubated at pH 7.2 were the most affected and 30% mortality was observed in this treatment. In addition, many of the surviving polyps at pH 7.2 showed negative calcification rates indicating that, in the long term, CWCs may have difficulty thriving in such aragonite undersaturated waters. The feeding regime had a significant effect on skeletal growth of corals, with high feeding frequency resulting in more positive and variable calcification rates. This was especially evident in corals reared at pH 7.5 (Ω A = 0.8) compared to the low frequency feeding treatment. Early life-stages, which are essential for the recruitment and maintenance of coral communities and their associated biodiversity, were revealed to be at highest risk. Overall, this study demonstrates the vulnerability of D. dianthus corals to low pH and low food availability. Future projected pH decreases and related changes in zooplankton communities may potentially compromise the viability of CWC populations. |
author2 |
GEODESMO Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Fundación Endesa y Fundación San Ignacio de Huinay and SCORE Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, which included a Formación de Personal Investigador |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Martínez-Dios, Ariadna Pelejero, Carles López-Sanz, Àngel Sherrell, Robert M. Ko, Stanley Häussermann, Verena Försterra, Günter Calvo, Eva |
spellingShingle |
Martínez-Dios, Ariadna Pelejero, Carles López-Sanz, Àngel Sherrell, Robert M. Ko, Stanley Häussermann, Verena Försterra, Günter Calvo, Eva Effects of low pH and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus |
author_facet |
Martínez-Dios, Ariadna Pelejero, Carles López-Sanz, Àngel Sherrell, Robert M. Ko, Stanley Häussermann, Verena Försterra, Günter Calvo, Eva |
author_sort |
Martínez-Dios, Ariadna |
title |
Effects of low pH and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus |
title_short |
Effects of low pH and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus |
title_full |
Effects of low pH and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus |
title_fullStr |
Effects of low pH and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of low pH and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus |
title_sort |
effects of low ph and feeding on calcification rates of the cold-water coral desmophyllum dianthus |
publisher |
PeerJ |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8236 https://peerj.com/articles/8236.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/8236.xml https://peerj.com/articles/8236.html |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
PeerJ volume 8, page e8236 ISSN 2167-8359 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8236 |
container_title |
PeerJ |
container_volume |
8 |
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e8236 |
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1800759141988302848 |