Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
Epilithic algal communities play critical ecological roles on coral reefs, but their response to individual and interactive effects of ocean warming (OW) and ocean acidification (OA) is still largely unknown. We investigated growth, photosynthesis and calcification of early epilithic algal community assemblages exposed for 6 months to four temperature profiles (-1.1, +/-0.0, +0.9, +1.6 °C) that were crossed with four carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) levels (360, 440, 650, 940 µatm), under flow-through conditions and natural light regimes. Additionally, we compared the cover of heavily calcified crustose coralline algae (CCA) and lightly calcified red algae of the genus Peyssonnelia among treatments. Increase in cover of epilithic communities showed optima under moderately elevated temperatures and present pCO2, while cover strongly decreased under high temperatures and high-pCO2 conditions, particularly due to decreasing cover of CCA. Similarly, community calcification rates were strongly decreased at high pCO2 under both measured temperatures. While final cover of CCA decreased under high temperature and pCO2 (additive negative effects), cover of Peyssonnelia spp. increased at high compared to annual average and moderately elevated temperatures. Thus, cover of Peyssonnelia spp. increased in treatment combinations with less CCA, which was supported by a significant negative correlation between organism groups. The different susceptibility to stressors most likely derived from a different calcification intensity and/or mineral. Notably, growth of the epilithic communities and final cover of CCA were strongly decreased under reduced-pCO2 conditions compared to the present. Thus, CCA may have acclimatized from past to present-day pCO2 conditions, and changes in carbonate chemistry, regardless in which direction, negatively affect them. However, if epilithic organisms cannot further acclimatize to OW and OA, the interacting effects of both factors may change epilithic communities in the future, thereby likely leading to reduced reef stability and recovery.
Keywords:
Alkalinity, total; Alkalinity, total, standard deviation; Aragonite saturation state; Aragonite saturation state, standard deviation; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Bicarbonate ion, standard deviation; Calcification/Dissolution; Calcification rate of calcium carbonate; Calcification rate of carbon; Calcite saturation state; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon, inorganic, dissolved; Carbon, inorganic, dissolved, standard deviation; Carbonate ion; Carbonate ion, standard deviation; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide, partial pressure, standard deviation; Carbon dioxide, standard deviation; Change; Coast and continental shelf; Community composition and diversity; Containers and aquaria (20-1000 L or 〈 1 m**2); Coverage; Davies_reef; Entire community; EXP; Experiment; Figure; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Gross photosynthesis rate, oxygen; Growth/Morphology; Laboratory experiment; Net photosynthesis rate, oxygen; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; pH, standard deviation; Primary production/Photosynthesis; Respiration; Respiration rate, oxygen; Rocky-shore community; Salinity; South Pacific; Temperature; Temperature, standard deviation; Temperature, water; Tropical; Type
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 10505 data points
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