Journal
CORAL REEFS
Volume 32, Issue 1, Pages 305-314Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00338-012-0979-8
Keywords
Ocean acidification; Coral; Calcification; Photosynthesis
Categories
Funding
- Japan Science and Technology (JST), Rising Star Program
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [20121006, 23121702] Funding Source: KAKEN
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The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, which has resulted from the burning of fossil fuels, is being absorbed by the oceans and is causing ocean acidification. Ocean acidification involves the decrease of both the pH and the calcium carbonate saturation state. Ocean acidification is predicted to impact the physiology of marine organisms and reduce the calcification rates of corals. In the present study, we measured the rates of calcification, respiration, photosynthesis, and zooxanthellae density of the tropical coral Acropora digitifera under near-natural summertime temperature and sunlight for a 5-week period. We found that these key physiological parameters were not affected by both mid-CO2 (pCO(2) = 744 +/- A 38, pH = 7.97 +/- A 0.02, Omega(arag) = 2.6 +/- A 0.1) and high-CO2 conditions (pCO(2) = 2,142 +/- A 205, pH = 7.56 +/- A 0.04, Omega(arag) = 1.1 +/- A 0.2) throughout the 35 days experimental period. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between calcification rate and seawater aragonite saturation (Omega(arag)). These results suggest that the impacts of ocean acidification on corals physiology may be more complex than have been previously proposed.
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