Response of Benthic Tropical Marine Macroalgae to Ocean Acidification ...

• Main Authors: Page, Heather, McCoy, Sophie, Spencer, Robert, Burnham, Katherine, Hewett, Clay, Johnson, Maggie
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: SEANOE 2023
• Subjects: macroalgae; ocean acidification; coral reef; photophysiology; climate change; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17882/95125; https://www.seanoe.org/data/00839/95125/

Macroalgae can modify coral reef ecosystem structure and function through a variety of mechanisms, including mediation of biogeochemistry through photosynthesis and the associated production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Although DOC plays a critical role in sponge and microbial loops and coastal carbon cycling, high concentrations can be detrimental to corals and have negative consequences for reef assemblages. Ocean and coastal acidification have the potential to fuel photosynthesis and may alter macroalgal DOC production, but this has not been widely studied across taxa and regions. We exposed fleshy (Dictyota spp.) and calcifying (Halimeda tuna) macroalgae to ambient and low seawater pH for 25 days in an outdoor experimental system in the Florida Keys. We quantified algal growth, calcification, photophysiology, and DOC production across pH treatments. We observed no significant differences in the growth or photophysiology of either species between treatments, except for lower chlorophyll b ...