Spatial community shift from hard to soft corals in acidified water

Inoue, Shihori; Kayanne, Hajime; Yamamoto, Shoji; Kurihara, Haruko

doi:10.1038/nclimate1855

Cited by 186 publications

(185 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

177

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Dominant habitats at mesophotic depths, such as coralligenous outcrops and rhodolith beds, mainly characterized by a large dominance of calcifying organisms, are replaced by forests of the deep-water kelp Laminaria rodriguezii, which becomes dominant at depths much shallower than under normal seawater conditions. To our knowledge, this study highlights for the first time that beyond the changes at species levels reported in most of previous studies, where some species are winners and others lose out [9][10][11], OA can lead to significant changes at habitat level, benefiting specific habitats and compromising other habitats, also leading to vertical distribution shifts as observed in terrestrial ecosystems as a consequence of global warming [28].…”

Section: Discussion (A) Distribution Shifts In Complex Structurally Hmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…However, a small number of CO 2 vent systems have been investigated to date [9][10][11][12][13]. These systems share significant decreases in the diversity, biomass and trophic complexity of benthic marine assemblages, major declines in the number of many calcifying organisms, and increased abundance of erect macroalgae, seagrasses or soft-corals [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Most of the CO 2 vent systems studied so far were placed in very shallow waters (3 -5 m depth), and therefore are poorly representative of the broad range of habitats that occur on the continental shelf.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Persistent natural acidification drives major distribution shifts in marine benthic ecosystems

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ocean acidification is receiving increasing attention because of its potential to affect marine ecosystems. Rare CO 2 vents offer a unique opportunity to investigate the response of benthic ecosystems to acidification. However, the benthic habitats investigated so far are mainly found at very shallow water (less than or equal to 5 m depth) and therefore are not representative of the broad range of continental shelf habitats. Here, we show that a decrease from pH 8.1 to 7.9 observed in a CO 2 vent system at 40 m depth leads to a dramatic shift in highly diverse and structurally complex habitats. Forests of the kelp Laminaria rodriguezii usually found at larger depths (greater than 65 m) replace the otherwise dominant habitats (i.e. coralligenous outcrops and rhodolith beds), which are mainly characterized by calcifying organisms. Only the aragonite-calcifying algae are able to survive in acidified waters, while high-magnesium-calcite organisms are almost completely absent. Although a long-term survey of the venting area would be necessary to fully understand the effects of the variability of pH and other carbonate parameters over the structure and functioning of the investigated mesophotic habitats, our results suggest that in addition of significant changes at species level, moderate ocean acidification may entail major shifts in the distribution and dominance of key benthic ecosystems at regional scale, which could have broad ecological and socio-economic implications.

show abstract

Section: Discussion (A) Distribution Shifts In Complex Structurally Hmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent natural acidification drives major distribution shifts in marine benthic ecosystems

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Potentially more stable conditions throughout the year in PNG compared to the Mediterranean led to observed differences. Similarly, hard corals were absent under high CO 2 conditions at temperate seeps in Japan (Inoue et al 2013), while coral cover was not impacted at seeps in PNG but the diversity of species changed with increasing CO 2 (Fabricius et al 2011). Laboratory experiments investigating the impacts of OA on Halimeda spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Volcanic CO 2 seeps and areas of CO 2 upwelling have been described worldwide in temperate (Calosi et al 2013;Cigliano et al 2010;Hall-Spencer et al 2008;Inoue et al 2013;Johnson et al 2012;Porzio et al 2011) and tropical (Fabricius et al 2011(Fabricius et al , 2014Johnson et al 2012;Noonan et al 2013;Russell et al 2013;Uthicke and Fabricius 2012;Uthicke et al 2013) regions. So far, studies suggest reduced pH at CO 2 seeps in PNG lead to a decline in coral diversity with structurally complex species being particularly affected, and reduced taxonomic richness and density of coral juveniles, and low cover of crustose coralline algae (Fabricius et al 2011(Fabricius et al , 2014.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Calcareous green alga H alimeda tolerates ocean acidification conditions at tropical carbon dioxide seeps

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We investigated ecological, physiological, and skeletal characteristics of the calcifying green alga Halimeda grown at CO 2 seeps (pH total 7.8) and compared them to those at control reefs with ambient CO 2 conditions (pH total 8.1). Six species of Halimeda were recorded at both the high CO 2 and control sites. For the two most abundant species Halimeda digitata and Halimeda opuntia we determined in situ light and dark oxygen fluxes and calcification rates, carbon contents and stable isotope signatures. In both species, rates of calcification in the light increased at the high CO 2 site compared to controls (131% and 41%, respectively). In the dark, calcification was not affected by elevated CO 2 in H. digitata, whereas it was reduced by 167% in H. opuntia, suggesting nocturnal decalcification. Calculated net calcification of both species was similar between seep and control sites, i.e., the observed increased calcification in light compensated for reduced dark calcification. However, inorganic carbon content increased (22%) in H. digitata and decreased (28%) in H. opuntia at the seep site compared to controls. Significantly, lighter carbon isotope signatures of H. digitata and H. opuntia phylloids at high CO 2 (1.01& [parts per thousand] and 1.94&, respectively) indicate increased photosynthetic uptake of CO 2 over HCO 3 2 potentially reducing dissolved inorganic carbon limitation at the seep site. Moreover, H. digitata and H. opuntia specimens transplanted for 14 d from the control to the seep site exhibited similar d 13 C signatures as specimens grown there. These results suggest that the Halimeda spp. investigated can acclimatize and will likely still be capable to grow and calcify in P CO 2 conditions exceeding most pessimistic future CO 2 projections.

show abstract

“…To date, there have only been three regions where vent systems have been described adjacent to coral reefs: Iwotorishima Island, Japan (Inoue et al, 2013), Papua New Guinea (PNG; Fabricius et al, 2011) and Maug, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Enochs et al, 2015). Findings from these vent sites have been variable, likely due to site-specific pH gradients, hydrology and conditions such as nutrient availability (Enochs et al, 2015).…”

Section: Co 2 Ventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Coral Reefs Subject to Rapid Climate Change: Lessons from Natural Extreme Environments

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global climate change and localized anthropogenic stressors are driving rapid declines in coral reef health. In vitro experiments have been fundamental in providing insight into how reef organisms will potentially respond to future climates. However, such experiments are inevitably limited in their ability to reproduce the complex interactions that govern reef systems. Studies examining coral communities that already persist under naturally-occurring extreme and marginal physicochemical conditions have therefore become increasingly popular to advance ecosystem scale predictions of future reef form and function, although no single site provides a perfect analog to future reefs. Here we review the current state of knowledge that exists on the distribution of corals in marginal and extreme environments, and geographic sites at the latitudinal extremes of reef growth, as well as a variety of shallow reef systems and reef-neighboring environments (including upwelling and CO 2 vent sites). We also conduct a synthesis of the abiotic data that have been collected at these systems, to provide the first collective assessment on the range of extreme conditions under which corals currently persist. We use the review and data synthesis to increase our understanding of the biological and ecological mechanisms that facilitate survival and success under sub-optimal physicochemical conditions. This comprehensive assessment can begin to: (i) highlight the extent of extreme abiotic scenarios under which corals can persist, (ii) explore whether there are commonalities in coral taxa able to persist in such extremes, (iii) provide evidence for key mechanisms required to support survival and/or persistence under sub-optimal environmental conditions, and (iv) evaluate the potential of current sub-optimal coral environments to act as potential refugia under changing environmental conditions. Such a collective approach is critical to better understand the future survival of corals in our changing environment. We finally outline priority areas for future research on extreme and marginal coral environments, and discuss the additional management options they may provide for corals through refuge or by providing genetic stocks of stress tolerant corals to support proactive management strategies.

show abstract

Spatial community shift from hard to soft corals in acidified water

Cited by 186 publications

References 24 publications

Persistent natural acidification drives major distribution shifts in marine benthic ecosystems

Persistent natural acidification drives major distribution shifts in marine benthic ecosystems

Calcareous green alga H alimeda tolerates ocean acidification conditions at tropical carbon dioxide seeps

The Future of Coral Reefs Subject to Rapid Climate Change: Lessons from Natural Extreme Environments

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About