Internal pH regulation facilitates in situ long-term acclimation of massive corals to end-of-century carbon dioxide conditions.

Wall, Marlene, Fietzke, Jan , Schmidt, G. M., Fink, A, Hofmann, L. C., de Beer, D. and Fabricius, K. E. (2016) Internal pH regulation facilitates in situ long-term acclimation of massive corals to end-of-century carbon dioxide conditions. Open Access Scientific Reports, 6 (Art. Nr. 30688). DOI 10.1038/srep30688.

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Abstract

The resilience of tropical corals to ocean acidification depends on their ability to regulate the pH within their calcifying fluid (pHcf). Recent work suggests pHcf homeostasis under short-term exposure to pCO2 conditions predicted for 2100, but it is still unclear if pHcf homeostasis can be maintained throughout a corals lifetime. At CO2 seeps in Papua New Guinea, massive Porites corals have grown along a natural seawater pH gradient for decades. This natural gradient, ranging from pH 8.1–7.4, provides an ideal platform to determine corals’ pHcf (using boron isotopes). Porites maintained a similar pHcf (~8.24) at both a control (pH 8.1) and seep-influenced site (pH 7.9). Internal pHcf was slightly reduced (8.12) at seawater pH 7.6, and decreased to 7.94 at a site with a seawater pH of 7.4. A growth response model based on pHcf mirrors the observed distribution patterns of this species in the field. We suggest Porites has the capacity to acclimate after long-time exposure to end-of-century reduced seawater pH conditions and that strong control over pHcf represents a key mechanism to persist in future oceans. Only beyond end-of-century pCO2 conditions do they face their current physiological limit of pH homeostasis and pHcf begins to decrease.

Document Type: Article
Additional Information: WOS:000380975400001, PubMed ID: 27477963
Keywords: massive coral, long-term acclimation, internal pH regulation, boron isotopes, ocean acidification
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-MG Marine Geosystems
HGF-AWI
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB4 Dynamics of the Ocean Floor > FB4-MUHS
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB3 Marine Ecology > FB3-EOE-B Experimental Ecology - Benthic Ecology
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: Yes
Publisher: Nature Research
Date Deposited: 09 Aug 2016 07:04
Last Modified: 18 Jun 2020 09:03
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/33547

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