Seawater carbonate chemistry and calcification during experiments with corals, 2003 ...

• Main Authors: Marubini, Francesca, Ferrier-Pagès, Christine, Cuif, Jean-Pierre
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2003
• Subjects: Acropora verweyi; Animalia; Benthic animals; Benthos; Biomass/Abundance/Elemental composition; Cnidaria; Coast and continental shelf; Containers and aquaria 20-1000 L or < 1 m**2; Galaxea fascicularis; Growth/Morphology; Laboratory experiment; Not applicable; Pavona cactus; Single species; Temperate; Turbinaria reniformis; Experiment; European network of excellence for Ocean Ecosystems Analysis EUR-OCEANS; European Project on Ocean Acidification EPOCA; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre OA-ICC; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.819631; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.819631

Biogenic calcification is influenced by the concentration of available carbonate ions. The recent confirmation of this for hermatypic corals has raised concern over the future of coral reefs because [CO3] is a decreasing function of increasing pCO2 in the atmosphere. As one of the overriding features of coral reefs is their diversity, understanding the degree of variability between species in their ability to cope with a change in [CO3] is a priority. We cultured four phylogenetically and physiologically different species of hermatypic coral (Acropora verweyi, Galaxea fascicularis, Pavona cactus and Turbinaria reniformis) under 'normal' (280 µmol/kg) and 'low' (140 µmol/kg) carbonate-ion concentrations. The effect on skeletogenesis was investigated quantitatively (by calcification rate) and qualitatively (by microstructural appearance of growing crystalline fibres using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)). The 'low carbonate' treatment resulted in a significant suppression of calcification rate and a ... : Supplement to: Marubini, Francesca; Ferrier-Pagès, Christine; Cuif, Jean-Pierre (2003): Suppression of skeletal growth in scleractinian corals by decreasing ambient carbonate-ion concentration: a cross-family comparison. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 270(1511), 179-184 ...