Combined Effects of near-future temperature increase and ocean acidification on coral reef foraminifera Marginopora vertebralis and Heterostegina depressa. (NERP TE 5.2, AIMS and MARUM)

• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Ocean Data Network
• Subjects: biota; ocean acidification; Benthic Foraminifera; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://researchdata.edu.au/combined-effects-near-aims-marum/678877

This dataset measures 5 effects of temperature and pH stressors (individual and combined) on tropical Foraminifera. The effects measured are: respiration, survivorship, growth, chl-a content and photochemistry. The study was conducted in 2011 and the data is provided as 5 single sheet spreadsheets. Warming and changes in ocean carbonate chemistry alter marine coastal ecosystems at an accelerating pace. Here we investigate the individual effects as well as the interaction of two stressors, temperature and pH on two species of benthic coral reef Foraminifera. This study consisted of a 7 week aquarium experiment manipulating temperature and pH changes and measuring survivorship, growth, photosynthesis, respiration and chl-a content in these benthic coral reef Foraminifera. Method: Specimens were collected from Orpheus Island in the central Great Barrier Reef in September 2011. H. depressa was collected at a depth of 8–12 m from coral rubble at Cattle Bay (18°34’08’’ S 146°28’55’’ E) and M. vertebralis at a depth of 0–1 m (below Lowest Astronomical Tide) from turf algae-covered rocks at Hazard Bay (18°38’58’’ S 146°29’11’’ E). Both species were acclimated to laboratory conditions in tanks with moderate flow-through conditions (same as used in experimental setup) under low-light conditions (10 µmol photons m-2 s-1) for a period of 3 weeks. 12 flow-through aquaria (working volume 17.5 L) were installed in a constant temperature room, and the experiment was carried out over a period of 53 d. Specimens were kept inside custom made flow-through housings in each aquarium to achieve higher flow conditions more closely mimicking their habitat than in previous experiments. Flow-through housings contained two levels made from two standard 6-well cell culturing plates with flow-through lids. Twenty-four specimens (four specimens per well) of H. depressa were put in the lower level and the same number of M. vertebralis in the top level. For each temperature (28 and 31 ºC) and pCO2 level (~790 µatm, pHNIST 7.9 and ~490 µatm, ...