Resistance of Two Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Species to Low-pH Conditions
Deep-water ecosystems are characterized by relatively low carbonate concentration values and, due to ocean acidification (OA), these habitats might be among the first to be exposed to undersaturated conditions in the forthcoming years. However, until now, very few studies have been conducted to test...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2013-12-01
|
| Series: | Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/1/59 |
| _version_ | 1811313286472269824 |
|---|---|
| author | Juancho Movilla Andrea Gori Eva Calvo Covadonga Orejas Àngel López-Sanz Carlos Domínguez-Carrió Jordi Grinyó Carles Pelejero |
| author_facet | Juancho Movilla Andrea Gori Eva Calvo Covadonga Orejas Àngel López-Sanz Carlos Domínguez-Carrió Jordi Grinyó Carles Pelejero |
| author_sort | Juancho Movilla |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Deep-water ecosystems are characterized by relatively low carbonate concentration values and, due to ocean acidification (OA), these habitats might be among the first to be exposed to undersaturated conditions in the forthcoming years. However, until now, very few studies have been conducted to test how cold-water coral (CWC) species react to such changes in the seawater chemistry. The present work aims to investigate the mid-term effect of decreased pH on calcification of the two branching CWC species most widely distributed in the Mediterranean, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata. No significant effects were observed in the skeletal growth rate, microdensity and porosity of both species after 6 months of exposure. However, while the calcification rate of M. oculata was similar for all colony fragments, a heterogeneous skeletal growth pattern was observed in L. pertusa, the younger nubbins showing higher growth rates than the older ones. A higher energy demand is expected in these young, fast-growing fragments and, therefore, a reduction in calcification might be noticed earlier during long-term exposure to acidified conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:52:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3144ecd91b7a4767821c8bc7ee2d0a5a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:52:05Z |
| publishDate | 2013-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-3144ecd91b7a4767821c8bc7ee2d0a5a2022-12-22T02:49:38ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412013-12-0161596710.3390/w6010059w6010059Resistance of Two Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Species to Low-pH ConditionsJuancho Movilla0Andrea Gori1Eva Calvo2Covadonga Orejas3Àngel López-Sanz4Carlos Domínguez-Carrió5Jordi Grinyó6Carles Pelejero7Institut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, Barcelona 08003, SpainInstitut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, Barcelona 08003, SpainInstitut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, Barcelona 08003, SpainInstituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares (COB), Moll de Ponent s/n, Palma de Mallorca 07015, SpainInstitut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, Barcelona 08003, SpainInstitut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, Barcelona 08003, SpainInstitut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, Barcelona 08003, SpainInstitut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, Barcelona 08003, SpainDeep-water ecosystems are characterized by relatively low carbonate concentration values and, due to ocean acidification (OA), these habitats might be among the first to be exposed to undersaturated conditions in the forthcoming years. However, until now, very few studies have been conducted to test how cold-water coral (CWC) species react to such changes in the seawater chemistry. The present work aims to investigate the mid-term effect of decreased pH on calcification of the two branching CWC species most widely distributed in the Mediterranean, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata. No significant effects were observed in the skeletal growth rate, microdensity and porosity of both species after 6 months of exposure. However, while the calcification rate of M. oculata was similar for all colony fragments, a heterogeneous skeletal growth pattern was observed in L. pertusa, the younger nubbins showing higher growth rates than the older ones. A higher energy demand is expected in these young, fast-growing fragments and, therefore, a reduction in calcification might be noticed earlier during long-term exposure to acidified conditions.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/1/59ocean acidificationcold-water coralsLophelia pertusaMadrepora oculataMediterranean Seaaquaria experimentcalcification rateporositymicrodensity |
| spellingShingle | Juancho Movilla Andrea Gori Eva Calvo Covadonga Orejas Àngel López-Sanz Carlos Domínguez-Carrió Jordi Grinyó Carles Pelejero Resistance of Two Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Species to Low-pH Conditions Water ocean acidification cold-water corals Lophelia pertusa Madrepora oculata Mediterranean Sea aquaria experiment calcification rate porosity microdensity |
| title | Resistance of Two Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Species to Low-pH Conditions |
| title_full | Resistance of Two Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Species to Low-pH Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Resistance of Two Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Species to Low-pH Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resistance of Two Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Species to Low-pH Conditions |
| title_short | Resistance of Two Mediterranean Cold-Water Coral Species to Low-pH Conditions |
| title_sort | resistance of two mediterranean cold water coral species to low ph conditions |
| topic | ocean acidification cold-water corals Lophelia pertusa Madrepora oculata Mediterranean Sea aquaria experiment calcification rate porosity microdensity |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/6/1/59 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT juanchomovilla resistanceoftwomediterraneancoldwatercoralspeciestolowphconditions AT andreagori resistanceoftwomediterraneancoldwatercoralspeciestolowphconditions AT evacalvo resistanceoftwomediterraneancoldwatercoralspeciestolowphconditions AT covadongaorejas resistanceoftwomediterraneancoldwatercoralspeciestolowphconditions AT angellopezsanz resistanceoftwomediterraneancoldwatercoralspeciestolowphconditions AT carlosdominguezcarrio resistanceoftwomediterraneancoldwatercoralspeciestolowphconditions AT jordigrinyo resistanceoftwomediterraneancoldwatercoralspeciestolowphconditions AT carlespelejero resistanceoftwomediterraneancoldwatercoralspeciestolowphconditions |