Ontogenetic differences in the response of the cold-water coral Caryophyllia huinayensis to ocean acidification, warming and food availability

Kristina K. Beck*, Jan Nierste, Gertraud M. Schmidt-Grieb, Esther Lüdtke, Christoph Naab, Christoph Held, Gernot Nehrke, Grit Steinhoefel, Jürgen Laudien, Claudio Richter, Marlene Wall

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Cold-water corals (CWCs) are considered vulnerable to environmental changes. However, previous studies have focused on adult CWCs and mainly investigated the short-term effects of single stressors. So far, the effects of environmental changes on different CWC life stages are unknown, both for single and multiple stressors and over long time periods. Therefore, we conducted a six-month aquarium experiment with three life stages of Car- yophyllia huinayensis to study their physiological response (survival, somatic growth, calcification and respira- tion) to the interactive effects of aragonite saturation (0.8 and 2.5), temperature (11 and 15 ◦C) and food availability (8 and 87 μg C L−1). The response clearly differed between life stages and measured traits. Elevated temperature and reduced feeding had the greatest effects, pushing the corals to their physiological limits. Highest mortality was observed in adult corals, while calcification rates decreased the most in juveniles. We observed a three-month delay in response, presumably because energy reserves declined, suggesting that short-term ex- periments overestimate coral resilience. Elevated summer temperatures and reduced food supply are likely to have the greatest impact on live CWCs in the future, leading to reduced coral growth and population shifts due to delayed juvenile maturation and high adult mortality.
Original languageEnglish
Article number165565
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume900
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Life stage
  • Calcification
  • Somatic growth
  • Respiration
  • pH
  • Aragonite saturation

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