Micro-CT analysis of the Caribbean octocoral Eunicea flexuosa subjected to elevated pCO2

• Main Authors: Enochs, I C, Manzello, Derek P, Wirshing, H H, Carlton, R, Serafy, J
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2016
• Subjects: Alkalinity; total; standard error; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Area; Attenuation coefficient; Benthic animals; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Calcite saturation state; Calculated using CO2SYS; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon; inorganic; dissolved; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Cnidaria; Coast and continental shelf; Containers and aquaria (20-1000 L or < 1 m**2); Counts; Dry air column-averaged mixing ratio of carbon dioxide; Eunicea flexuosa; Extension rate; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Growth/Morphology; Laboratory experiment; Light attenuation coefficient; Linear extension; North Atlantic; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.867565; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.867565

Rising anthropogenic carbon dioxide has resulted in a drop in ocean pH, a phenomenon known as ocean acidification (OA). These acidified waters have many ramifications for diverse marine biota, especially those species which precipitate calcium carbonate skeletons. The permanence of coral reef ecosystems is therefore closely related to OA stress as habitat-forming corals will exhibit reduced calcification and growth. Relatively little is known concerning the fate of other constituent taxa which may either suffer concomitant declines or be competitively favoured in acidified waters. Here, we experimentally (49 d) test the effects of next century predictions for OA (pH = 7.75, pCO2 = 1081 µatm) vs. near-present-day conditions (pH = 8.01, pCO2 = 498 µatm) on the common Caribbean octocoral Eunicea flexuosa. We measure linear extension of this octocoral and use a novel technique, high-resolution micro-computed tomography, to measure potential differences in the morphology of calcified internal skeletal structures (sclerites) in a 2 mm apical section of each branch. Despite the use of highly accurate procedures, we found no significant differences between treatments in either the growth of E. flexuosa branches or the structure of their sclerites. Our results suggest a degree of resilience to OA stress and provide evidence that this octocoral species may persist on Caribbean coral reefs, despite global change.