Effects of elevated pCO2 on dissolution of coral carbonates by microbial euendoliths

• Published in: Global Biogeochemical Cycles
• Main Authors: Tribollet, Aline, Godinot, C., Atkinson, M., Langdon, C.
• Other Authors: Biosphere 2 Center, University of Arizona, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), Columbia University New York, Caractérisation et modélisation des échanges dans des lagons soumis aux influences terrigènes et anthropiques (CAMELIA), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD Nouvelle-Calédonie )-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD Guyane )
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Biogeochemical cycles; processes; and modeling (0412; 0414; 0793; 1615; 4912); Oceanography: General: Coral reef systems (4916); Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Benthic processes; benthos (0408); Global Change: Impacts of global change (1225); carbonate dissolution; coral reefs; elevated pCO2; microbial euendoliths; microalgae; ocean acidification; [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph]; [SDU.STU.GP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geophysics [physics.geo-ph]; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00937269; https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GB003286

International audience Eight-month-old blocks of the coral Porites lobata colonized by natural Hawaiian euendolithic and epilithic communities were experimentally exposed to two different aqueous pCO2 treatments, 400 ppmv and 750 ppmv, for 3 months. The chlorophyte Ostreobium quekettii dominated communities at the start and at the end of the experiment (65-90%). There were no significant differences in the relative abundance of euendolithic species, nor were there any differences in bioeroded area at the surface of blocks (27%) between pCO2 treatments. The depth of penetration of filaments of O. quekettii was, however, significantly higher under 750 ppmv (1.4 mm) than under 400 ppmv (1 mm). Consequently, rates of carbonate dissolution measured under elevated pCO2 were 48% higher than under ambient pCO2 (0.46 kg CaCO3 dissolved m-2 a-1 versus 0.31 kg m-2 a-1). Thus, biogenic dissolution of carbonates by euendoliths in coral reefs may be a dominant mechanism of carbonate dissolution in a more acidic ocean.