Calcification in free-living coralline algae is strongly influenced by morphology: Implications for susceptibility to ocean acidification.

ABSTRACT: Rhodolith beds built by free-living coralline algae are important ecosystems for marine biodiversity and carbonate production. Yet, our mechanistic understanding regarding rhodolith physiology and its drivers is still limited. Using three rhodolith species with different branching morphologies, we investigated the role of morphology in species' physiology and the implications for their susceptibility to ocean acidification (OA). For this, we determined the effects of thallus topography on diffusive boundary layer (DBL) thickness, the associated microscale oxygen and pH dynamics and their relationship with species' metabolic and light and dark calcification rates, as well as species' responses to short-term OA exposure. Our results show that rhodolith branching creates low-flow microenviron

SUBMITTER: Schubert N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8160205 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature