Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
Ocean acidification threatens the survival of coral reef ecosystems worldwide. The negative effects of ocean acidification observed in many laboratory experiments have been seen in studies of naturally low-pH reefs, with little evidence to date for adaptation. Recently, we reported initial data suggesting that low-pH coral communities of the Palau Rock Islands appear healthy despite the extreme conditions in which they live. Here, we build on that observation with a comprehensive statistical analysis of benthic communities across Palau's natural acidification gradient. Our analysis revealed a shift in coral community composition but no impact of acidification on coral richness, coralline algae abundance, macroalgae cover, coral calcification, or skeletal density. However, coral bioerosion increased 11-fold as pH decreased from the barrier reefs to the Rock Island bays. Indeed, a comparison of the naturally low-pH coral reef systems studied so far revealed increased bioerosion to be the only consistent feature among them, as responses varied across other indices of ecosystem health. Our results imply that whereas community responses may vary, escalation of coral reef bioerosion and acceleration of a shift from net accreting to net eroding reef structures will likely be a global signature of ocean acidification.
Keywords:
Alkalinity, total; Alkalinity, total, standard error; Ammonium; Ammonium, standard error; Aragonite saturation state; Aragonite saturation state, standard error; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Biomass/Abundance/Elemental composition; Calcification/Dissolution; Calcification rate, standard error; Calcification rate of calcium carbonate; Calcite saturation state; Calculated using CO2SYS; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Carbon, inorganic, dissolved; Carbon, inorganic, dissolved, standard error; Carbonate ion; Carbonate ion, standard error; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Coast and continental shelf; Community composition and diversity; Corals, cover; Corals, cover, standard error; Coulometric titration; Coverage; Coverage, standard error; Density; Density, standard error; Diversity; Diversity, standard error; Entire community; Evenness of species; Evenness of species, standard error; EXP; Experiment; Extension rate; Extension rate, standard error; Field observation; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); LATITUDE; LONGITUDE; Nitrate and Nitrite; Nitrate and Nitrite, standard error; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Palau; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air), standard error; Percentage; Percentage, standard error; pH; pH, standard error; Phosphate; Phosphate, standard error; Potentiometric titration; Rocky-shore community; Salinity; Salinity, standard error; Site; South Pacific; Species richness; Species richness, standard error; Temperature, water; Temperature, water, standard error; Tropical
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 728 data points
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