Broad Thermal Tolerance in the Cold-Water Coral Lophelia pertusa From Arctic and Boreal Reefs.

ABSTRACT: Along the Norwegian coasts and margins, extensive reefs of the stony coral Lophelia pertusa act as hotspots for local biodiversity. Climate models project that the temperature of Atlantic deep waters could rise by 1-3°C by 2100. In this context, understanding the effects of temperature on the physiology of cold-water species will help in evaluating their resilience to future oceanic changes. We investigated the response of L. pertusa to stepwise short-term increases in temperature. We sampled corals from four reefs, two located north of the Arctic circle and two at the mid-Norwegian shelf (boreal). In on-board experiments (one per reef), the sampled fragments were exposed to increasing temperatures from 5 to 15°C over 58 h. Respiration increased linearly by threefold for a 10°C increase. T

SUBMITTER: Dorey N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6985564 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature