Seawater carbonate chemistry and physiology of reef-building corals (Siderastrea siderea, Pseudodiploria strigosa)

• Main Authors: Aichelman, Hannah E, Bove, Colleen B, Castillo, Karl D, Boulton, Jessica M, Knowlton, Alyssa C, Nieves, Olivia C, Ries, Justin B, Davies, Sarah W
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2021
• Subjects: Alkalinity; total; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Benthic animals; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Calcification/Dissolution; Calcification rate of calcium carbonate; Calcite saturation state; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbohydrates; standard deviation; Carbon; inorganic; dissolved; Carbonate ion; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Chlorophyll a; Chlorophyll a per cell; Cnidaria; Coast and continental shelf; Containers and aquaria (20-1000 L or < 1 m**2); Day of experiment; Event label; EXP; Experiment; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Genotype; Growth/Morphology; Identification; Laboratory experiment; Location; Mass change; North Atlantic; Number; Number of cells; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Other studied parameter or process; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; Port_Honduras_Marine_Reserve; Primary production/Photosynthesis; Protein per surface area; Pseudodiploria strigosa; Registration number of species; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.939041; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.939041

Global change, including rising temperatures and acidification, threatens corals globally. Although bleaching events reveal fine-scale patterns of resilience, traits enabling persistence under global change remain elusive. We conducted a 95-d controlled-laboratory experiment investigating how duration of exposure to warming (28, 31°C), acidification (pCO2 343 [present day], 663 [end of century], 3109 [extreme] μatm), and their combination influences physiology of reef-building corals (Siderastrea siderea, Pseudodiploria strigosa) from two reef zones on the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. Every 30 d, net calcification rate, host protein and carbohydrate, chlorophyll a, and symbiont density were quantified for the same coral individual to characterize acclimation potential under global change. Coral physiologies of the two species were differentially affected by stressors and exposure duration was found to modulate these responses. Siderastrea siderea exhibited resistance to end of century pCO2 and temperature stress, but calcification was negatively affected by extreme pCO2. However, S. siderea calcification rates remained positive after 95 d of extreme pCO2 conditions, suggesting acclimation. In contrast, P. strigosa was more negatively influenced by elevated temperatures, which reduced most physiological parameters. An exception was nearshore P. strigosa, which maintained calcification rates under elevated temperature, suggesting local adaptation to the warmer environment of their natal reef zone. This work highlights how tracking coral physiology across various exposure durations can capture acclimatory responses to global change stressors.