Seawater carbonate chemistry and calcification in Caribbean reef-building corals

• Main Authors: Enzor, Laura A, Hankins, Cheryl, Vivian, Deborah N, Fisher, William S, Barron, Mace G
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2018
• Subjects: Alkalinity; total; standard deviation; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Area; Benthic animals; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Buoyant mass; Calcification/Dissolution; Calcification rate of calcium carbonate; Calcite saturation state; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon; inorganic; dissolved; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Change; Cnidaria; Containers and aquaria (20-1000 L or < 1 m**2); Day of experiment; Experiment duration; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Growth/Morphology; Growth rate; Laboratory experiment; Laboratory strains; Montastraea cavernosa; North Atlantic; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Orbicella faveolata; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; Pseudodiploria clivosa; Registration number of species; Salinity; Single species; Species; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.891261; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.891261

Projected increases in ocean pCO2 levels are anticipated to affect calcifying organisms more rapidly and to a greater extent than other marine organisms. The effects of ocean acidification (OA) have been documented in numerous species of corals in laboratory studies, largely tested using flow-through exposure systems. We developed a recirculating ocean acidification exposure system that allows precise pCO2 control using a combination of off-gassing measures including aeration, water retention devices, venturi injectors, and CO2 scrubbing. We evaluated the recirculating system performance in off-gassing effectiveness and maintenance of target pCO2 levels over an 84-day experiment. The system was used to identify changes in calcification and tissue growth in response to elevated pCO2 (1000 μatm) in three reef-building corals of the Caribbean: Pseudodiploria clivosa, Montastraea cavernosa, and Orbicella faveolata. All three species displayed an overall increase in net calcification over the 84-day exposure period regardless of pCO2 level (control + 0.28–1.12 g, elevated pCO2 + 0.18–1.16 g), and the system was effective at both off-gassing acidified water to ambient pCO2 levels, and maintaining target elevated pCO2 levels over the 3-month experiment.