Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms
Abstract Coral mortality triggers the loss of carbonates fixed within coral skeletons, compromising the reef matrix. Here, we estimate rates of carbonate loss in newly deceased colonies of four Caribbean reef-building corals. We use samples from living and recently deceased colonies following a ston...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05301-3 |
| _version_ | 1797557202190336000 |
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| author | Francisco Medellín-Maldonado Israel Cruz-Ortega Esmeralda Pérez-Cervantes Orion Norzogaray-López Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet Andrés López-Pérez Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip |
| author_facet | Francisco Medellín-Maldonado Israel Cruz-Ortega Esmeralda Pérez-Cervantes Orion Norzogaray-López Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet Andrés López-Pérez Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip |
| author_sort | Francisco Medellín-Maldonado |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Coral mortality triggers the loss of carbonates fixed within coral skeletons, compromising the reef matrix. Here, we estimate rates of carbonate loss in newly deceased colonies of four Caribbean reef-building corals. We use samples from living and recently deceased colonies following a stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) outbreak. Optical densitometry and porosity analyses reveal a loss of up to 40% of the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content in dead colonies. The metabolic activity of the endolithic organisms colonizing the dead skeletons is likely partially responsible for the observed dissolution. To test for the consequences of mass mortality events over larger spatial scales, we integrate our estimates of carbonate loss with field data of the composition and size structure of coral communities. The dissolution rate depends on the relative abundance of coral species and the structural properties of their skeletons, yet we estimate an average reduction of 1.33 kg CaCO3 m−2, nearly 7% of the total amount of CaCO3 sequestered in the entire system. Our findings highlight the importance of including biological and chemical processes of CaCO3 dissolution in reef carbonate budgets, particularly as the impacts of global warming, ocean acidification, and disease likely enhance dissolution processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:14:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4635623ec1ce4e4a93bf164b43c03588 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:14:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-4635623ec1ce4e4a93bf164b43c035882023-11-20T10:33:53ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422023-09-016111110.1038/s42003-023-05301-3Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organismsFrancisco Medellín-Maldonado0Israel Cruz-Ortega1Esmeralda Pérez-Cervantes2Orion Norzogaray-López3Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet4Andrés López-Pérez5Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip6Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoLaboratorio de Esclerocronología de Corales Arrecifales, Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales en Puerto Morelos, ICML, UNAMPosgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoInstituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas y Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja CaliforniaLaboratorio de Esclerocronología de Corales Arrecifales, Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales en Puerto Morelos, ICML, UNAMLaboratorio de Arrecifes y Biodiversidad, Universidad Autónoma MetropolitanaBiodiversity and Reef Conservation Laboratory, Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales en Puerto Morelos, ICML, UNAMAbstract Coral mortality triggers the loss of carbonates fixed within coral skeletons, compromising the reef matrix. Here, we estimate rates of carbonate loss in newly deceased colonies of four Caribbean reef-building corals. We use samples from living and recently deceased colonies following a stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) outbreak. Optical densitometry and porosity analyses reveal a loss of up to 40% of the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content in dead colonies. The metabolic activity of the endolithic organisms colonizing the dead skeletons is likely partially responsible for the observed dissolution. To test for the consequences of mass mortality events over larger spatial scales, we integrate our estimates of carbonate loss with field data of the composition and size structure of coral communities. The dissolution rate depends on the relative abundance of coral species and the structural properties of their skeletons, yet we estimate an average reduction of 1.33 kg CaCO3 m−2, nearly 7% of the total amount of CaCO3 sequestered in the entire system. Our findings highlight the importance of including biological and chemical processes of CaCO3 dissolution in reef carbonate budgets, particularly as the impacts of global warming, ocean acidification, and disease likely enhance dissolution processes.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05301-3 |
| spellingShingle | Francisco Medellín-Maldonado Israel Cruz-Ortega Esmeralda Pérez-Cervantes Orion Norzogaray-López Juan P. Carricart-Ganivet Andrés López-Pérez Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms Communications Biology |
| title | Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms |
| title_full | Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms |
| title_fullStr | Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms |
| title_short | Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms |
| title_sort | newly deceased caribbean reef building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05301-3 |
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