Separate and combined effects of elevated pCO2 and temperature on the branching reef corals Acropora digitifera and Montipora digitata

Cristiana Manullang; Tanya Singh; Kazuhiko Sakai; Aika Miyagi; Aiko Iwasaki; Yukihiro Nojiri; Akira Iguchi

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106030

Separate and combined effects of elevated pCO₂ and temperature on the branching reef corals Acropora digitifera and Montipora digitata

Mar Environ Res. 2023 Jun:188:106030. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106030. Epub 2023 May 23.

Authors

Cristiana Manullang¹, Tanya Singh¹, Kazuhiko Sakai², Aika Miyagi³, Aiko Iwasaki⁴, Yukihiro Nojiri⁵, Akira Iguchi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan.
² Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan. Electronic address: sakaikz@lab.u-ryukyu.ac.jp.
³ Department of Bioresources Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Okinawa College, Nago-City, Okinawa, Japan.
⁴ Asamushi Research Center for Marine Biology, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aomori, Aomori, Japan.
⁵ Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan; Graduate School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan.
⁶ Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan; Research Laboratory on Environmentally-conscious Developments and Technologies [E-code], National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

PMID: 37267662
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106030

Abstract

Ocean acidification (OA) and warming (OW) are major global threats to coral reef ecosystems; however, studies on their combined effects (OA + OW) are scarce. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of OA, OW, and OA + OW in the branching reef corals Acropora digitifera and Montipora digitata, which have been found to respond differently to environmental changes. Our results indicate that OW has a greater impact on A. digitifera and M. digitata than OA and that the former species is more vulnerable to OW than the latter. OW was the main stressor for increased mortality and decreased calcification in the OA + OW group, and the effect of OA + OW was additive in both species. Our findings suggest that the relative abundance and cover of M. digitata are expected to increase whereas those of A. digitifera may decrease in the near future in Okinawa.

Keywords: Acropora digitifera; Additive; Combined effect; Coral calcification; Montipora digitata; Ocean acidification; Ocean warming; Reef coral.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anthozoa*
Coral Reefs
Ecosystem
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Seawater
Temperature