Effects of future climate on coral-coral competition.
As carbon dioxide (CO2) levels increase, coral reefs and other marine systems will be affected by the joint stressors of ocean acidification (OA) and warming. The effects of these two stressors on coral physiology are relatively well studied, but their impact on biotic interactions between corals ar...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:80e664987f8a42699a8223d01f7a15e5 2023-05-15T17:50:51+02:00 Effects of future climate on coral-coral competition. Nicole K Johnston Justin E Campbell Valerie J Paul Mark E Hay 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235465 https://doaj.org/article/80e664987f8a42699a8223d01f7a15e5 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235465 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0235465 https://doaj.org/article/80e664987f8a42699a8223d01f7a15e5 PLoS ONE, Vol 15, Iss 8, p e0235465 (2020) Medicine R Science Q article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235465 2022-12-31T11:37:24Z As carbon dioxide (CO2) levels increase, coral reefs and other marine systems will be affected by the joint stressors of ocean acidification (OA) and warming. The effects of these two stressors on coral physiology are relatively well studied, but their impact on biotic interactions between corals are poorly understood. While coral-coral interactions are less common on modern reefs, it is important to document the nature of these interactions to better inform restoration strategies in the face of climate change. Using a mesocosm study, we evaluated whether the combined effects of ocean acidification and warming alter the competitive interactions between the common coral Porites astreoides and two other mounding corals (Montastraea cavernosa or Orbicella faveolata) common in the Caribbean. After 7 days of direct contact, P. astreoides suppressed the photosynthetic potential of M. cavernosa by 100% in areas of contact under both present (~28.5°C and ~400 μatm pCO2) and predicted future (~30.0°C and ~1000 μatm pCO2) conditions. In contrast, under present conditions M. cavernosa reduced the photosynthetic potential of P. astreoides by only 38% in areas of contact, while under future conditions reduction was 100%. A similar pattern occurred between P. astreoides and O. faveolata at day 7 post contact, but by day 14, each coral had reduced the photosynthetic potential of the other by 100% at the point of contact, and O. faveolata was generating larger lesions on P. astreoides than the reverse. In the absence of competition, OA and warming did not affect the photosynthetic potential of any coral. These results suggest that OA and warming can alter the severity of initial coral-coral interactions, with potential cascading effects due to corals serving as foundation species on coral reefs. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 15 8 e0235465 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Nicole K Johnston Justin E Campbell Valerie J Paul Mark E Hay Effects of future climate on coral-coral competition. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
As carbon dioxide (CO2) levels increase, coral reefs and other marine systems will be affected by the joint stressors of ocean acidification (OA) and warming. The effects of these two stressors on coral physiology are relatively well studied, but their impact on biotic interactions between corals are poorly understood. While coral-coral interactions are less common on modern reefs, it is important to document the nature of these interactions to better inform restoration strategies in the face of climate change. Using a mesocosm study, we evaluated whether the combined effects of ocean acidification and warming alter the competitive interactions between the common coral Porites astreoides and two other mounding corals (Montastraea cavernosa or Orbicella faveolata) common in the Caribbean. After 7 days of direct contact, P. astreoides suppressed the photosynthetic potential of M. cavernosa by 100% in areas of contact under both present (~28.5°C and ~400 μatm pCO2) and predicted future (~30.0°C and ~1000 μatm pCO2) conditions. In contrast, under present conditions M. cavernosa reduced the photosynthetic potential of P. astreoides by only 38% in areas of contact, while under future conditions reduction was 100%. A similar pattern occurred between P. astreoides and O. faveolata at day 7 post contact, but by day 14, each coral had reduced the photosynthetic potential of the other by 100% at the point of contact, and O. faveolata was generating larger lesions on P. astreoides than the reverse. In the absence of competition, OA and warming did not affect the photosynthetic potential of any coral. These results suggest that OA and warming can alter the severity of initial coral-coral interactions, with potential cascading effects due to corals serving as foundation species on coral reefs. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nicole K Johnston Justin E Campbell Valerie J Paul Mark E Hay |
author_facet |
Nicole K Johnston Justin E Campbell Valerie J Paul Mark E Hay |
author_sort |
Nicole K Johnston |
title |
Effects of future climate on coral-coral competition. |
title_short |
Effects of future climate on coral-coral competition. |
title_full |
Effects of future climate on coral-coral competition. |
title_fullStr |
Effects of future climate on coral-coral competition. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of future climate on coral-coral competition. |
title_sort |
effects of future climate on coral-coral competition. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235465 https://doaj.org/article/80e664987f8a42699a8223d01f7a15e5 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 15, Iss 8, p e0235465 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235465 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0235465 https://doaj.org/article/80e664987f8a42699a8223d01f7a15e5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235465 |
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PLOS ONE |
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15 |
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8 |
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e0235465 |
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