Physiological acclimatization in Hawaiian corals following a 22-month shift in baseline seawater temperature and pH.

ABSTRACT: Climate change poses a major threat to coral reefs. We conducted an outdoor 22-month experiment to investigate if coral could not just survive, but also physiologically cope, with chronic ocean warming and acidification conditions expected later this century under the Paris Climate Agreement. We recorded survivorship and measured eleven phenotypic traits to evaluate the holobiont responses of Hawaiian coral: color, Symbiodiniaceae density, calcification, photosynthesis, respiration, total organic carbon flux, carbon budget, biomass, lipids, protein, and maximum Artemia capture rate. Survivorship was lowest in Montipora capitata and only some survivors were able to meet metabolic demand and physiologically cope with future ocean conditions. Most M. capitata survivors bleached through loss o

SUBMITTER: McLachlan RH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8913750 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature