Effects of ocean acidification on bleaching, survival, and calcification of <em>Porites porites</em> and <em>P. astreoides</em> in Cartagena, Colombia

Abstract

Estimations of the ocean acidification-OA effects on marine environments indicate that coral reefs' structure will collapse. This study aimed to determine the effects of OA, and its associated carbon chemistry in the sea water, on corals near the Colombian Caribbean city of Cartagena, taking as model organisms of the species Porites astreoides and P. porites. For each species, the effect of OA on bleaching, survival, and calcification was determined using artificial systems with pH of 7.879 ± 0.004 and 7.789 ± 0.007. The results showed that under the first pH, the bleaching of P. astreoides increased by 24.92% and its survival decreased by 80.56%, while at lowest pH, bleaching increased in 32.78% and survival decreased by 87.5%. In the case of P. porites, at first pH bleaching increased by 29.42% and survival decreased by 30.56% and at the lowest, bleaching increased in 37.32% and survival decreased by 13.39%. In both species, calcification was reduced in more than 90% at 7.879 ± 0.004 and their skeleton began to dissolve at 7.789 ± 0.007. This study represents the first effort to determine OA effects on Colombian Caribbean's marine biota.