Effects of Ocean Acidification on calcification and biochemical balance of the Mediterranean red coral Corallium rubrum ...

• Main Authors: Bramanti, Lorenzo, Movilla, Juancho, Guron, Maricel, Calvo, Eva, Gori, Andrea, Dominguez-Cariò, Carlos, Grinyó, Jordi, Lopez-Sanz, Angel, Martinez-Quintana, Angela, Pelejero, Carles, Ziveri, Patrizia, Rossi, Sergio
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2013
• Subjects: Experiment; Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a Changing Climate MedSeA; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.819362; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.819362

We evaluated the effects of low pH on Corallium rubrum from aquaria experiments. Several colonies of C. rubrum were long-term maintained for 314 days in aquaria at two different pH levels (8.10 and 7.81, pHT). Calcification rate, spicule morphology, major biochemical constituents (protein, carbohydrates and lipids) and fatty acids composition were measured periodically. Exposure to lower pH conditions caused a significant decrease in the skeletal growth rate in comparison to the control treatment. Similarly, the spicule morphology clearly differed between both treatments at the end of the experiment, with aberrant shapes being observed only under the acidified conditions. On the other hand, while total organic matter was significantly higher under low pH conditions, no significant differences were detected between treatments regarding total carbohydrate, lipid, protein and fatty acid composition. However, the lower variability found among samples maintained in acidified conditions relative to controls, ... : Supplement to: Bramanti, Lorenzo; Movilla, Juancho; Guron, Maricel; Calvo, Eva; Gori, Andrea; Dominguez-Cariò, Carlos; Grinyó, Jordi; Lopez-Sanz, Angel; Martinez-Quintana, Angela; Pelejero, Carles; Ziveri, Patrizia; Rossi, Sergio (2013): Detrimental effects of ocean acidification on the economically important Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum). Global Change Biology, 19(6), 1897-1908 ...