Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid wiped out a huge swath of life on planet Earth. But could this and similar impacts have helped kick-start life itself?
Image courtesy of Detlev van Ravenswaay/ScienceSource.
New Research In
Physical Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Biological Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
-
Edited by David M. Karl, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, and approved September 26, 2008 (received for review May 8, 2008)
Abstract
Ocean acidification represents a key threat to coral reefs by reducing the calcification rate of framework builders. In addition, acidification is likely to affect the relationship between corals and their symbiotic dinoflagellates and the productivity of this association. However, little is known about how acidification impacts on the physiology of reef builders and how acidification interacts with warming. Here, we report on an 8-week study that compared bleaching, productivity, and calcification responses of crustose coralline algae (CCA) and branching (Acropora) and massive (Porites) coral species in response to acidification and warming. Using a 30-tank experimental system, we manipulated CO2 levels to simulate doubling and three- to fourfold increases [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projection categories IV and VI] relative to present-day levels under cool and warm scenarios. Results indicated that high CO2 is a bleaching agent for corals and CCA under high irradiance, acting synergistically with warming to lower thermal bleaching thresholds. We propose that CO2 induces bleaching via its impact on photoprotective mechanisms of the photosystems. Overall, acidification impacted more strongly on bleaching and productivity than on calcification. Interestingly, the intermediate, warm CO2 scenario led to a 30% increase in productivity in Acropora, whereas high CO2 lead to zero productivity in both corals. CCA were most sensitive to acidification, with high CO2 leading to negative productivity and high rates of net dissolution. Our findings suggest that sensitive reef-building species such as CCA may be pushed beyond their thresholds for growth and survival within the next few decades whereas corals will show delayed and mixed responses.
Footnotes
- 1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: k.anthony{at}uq.edu.au
-
Author contributions: K.R.N.A., D.I.K., G.D.-P., S.D., and O.H.-G. designed research; K.R.N.A., D.I.K., and G.D.-P. performed research; K.R.N.A. and G.D.-P. analyzed data; and K.R.N.A., G.D., D.I.K., S.D., and O.H.-G. wrote the paper.
-
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
-
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
-
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0804478105/DCSupplemental.
-
Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.
- © 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
Ocean acidification causes bleaching and productivity loss in coral reef builders
More Articles of This Classification
Biological Sciences
Environmental Sciences
Related Content
Cited by...
- Coral resistance to ocean acidification linked to increased calcium at the site of calcification
- High salinity conveys thermotolerance in the coral model Aiptasia
- Elevated pCO2 affects tissue biomass composition, but not calcification, in a reef coral under two light regimes
- Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons
- Indirect effects of ocean acidification drive feeding and growth of juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci
- Interactive effects of temperature, food and skeletal mineralogy mediate biological responses to ocean acidification in a widely distributed bryozoan
- Tropical dead zones and mass mortalities on coral reefs
- Size-dependent physiological responses of the branching coral Pocillopora verrucosa to elevated temperature and PCO2
- Acclimatization to high-variance habitats does not enhance physiological tolerance of two key Caribbean corals to future temperature and pH
- Communicating about ocean health: theoretical and practical considerations
- Shifts in coral reef biogeochemistry and resulting acidification linked to offshore productivity
- Interactive effects of seawater acidification and elevated temperature on biomineralization and amino acid metabolism in the mussel Mytilus edulis
- Changes in coral reef communities across a natural gradient in seawater pH
- The reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea exhibits parabolic responses to ocean acidification and warming
- Pacific-wide contrast highlights resistance of reef calcifiers to ocean acidification
- Metazoan calcium carbonate biomineralizations: macroevolutionary trends - challenges for the coming decade
- Global assessment of the status of coral reef herbivorous fishes: evidence for fishing effects
- Diurnal fluctuations in seawater pH influence the response of a calcifying macroalga to ocean acidification
- Future reef decalcification under a business-as-usual CO2 emission scenario
- Reduced calcification and lack of acclimatization by coral colonies growing in areas of persistent natural acidification
- The role of light in mediating the effects of ocean acidification on coral calcification
- The influence of photosynthesis on host intracellular pH in scleractinian corals
- Dynamics of Coral Reef Recovery
- Section 10. Modern Aspects of the Problem of Ocean Acidification
- Coral reef calcifiers buffer their response to ocean acidification using both bicarbonate and carbonate
- Effects of diurnally oscillating pCO2 on the calcification and survival of coral recruits
- Prolonged exposure to elevated CO2 promotes growth of the algal symbiont Symbiodinium muscatinei in the intertidal sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima
- Integrating physiological and biomechanical drivers of population growth over environmental gradients on coral reefs
- Mycosporine-Like Amino Acids from Coral Dinoflagellates
- Projecting Coral Reef Futures Under Global Warming and Ocean Acidification
- Early development and molecular plasticity in the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus exposed to CO2-driven acidification
- The role of interactions in a world implementing adaptation and mitigation solutions to climate change
- Green fluorescent protein regulation in the coral Acropora yongei during photoacclimation
- Replenishment of fish populations is threatened by ocean acidification
- The direct effects of increasing CO2 and temperature on non-calcifying organisms: increasing the potential for phase shifts in kelp forests
- Oxygen- and capacity-limitation of thermal tolerance: a matrix for integrating climate-related stressor effects in marine ecosystems
- An early Hettangian coral reef in southern France: Implications for the end-Triassic reef crisis
- pH regulation in symbiotic anemones and corals: A delicate balancing act
- Imaging intracellular pH in a reef coral and symbiotic anemone
- Effects of ocean acidification on the early life history of a tropical marine fish
- Temperature, but not pH, compromises sea urchin fertilization and early development under near-future climate change scenarios
Similar Articles
You May Also be Interested in
David Hughes discusses how a parasitic fungus manipulates ant behavior for reproduction.
PNAS QnAs with NAS Foreign Associate Caroline Dean, winner of the 2018 L’Oreal For Women in Science Award.
Archaeological excavations in Denmark shed fresh light on a fierce battle in Northern Europe in the first century AD. Cut marks on bones and hip bones threaded on a stick hint at the possibility of ritual in the disposal of human remains, according to the authors.
Researchers report links between records of lead pollution in Greenland ice cores and economic fluctuation in ancient societies. The record of European lead pollution in Greenland ice provides insights into ancient economic activities, including lead and silver mining.
