Dataset Information

Effects of ocean acidification on the potency of macroalgal allelopathy to a common coral.

ABSTRACT: Many coral reefs have phase shifted from coral to macroalgal dominance. Ocean acidification (OA) due to elevated CO₂ is hypothesised to advantage macroalgae over corals, contributing to these shifts, but the mechanisms affecting coral-macroalgal interactions under OA are unknown. Here, we show that (i) three common macroalgae are more damaging to a common coral when they compete under CO₂ concentrations predicted to occur in 2050 and 2100 than under present-day conditions, (ii) that two macroalgae damage corals via allelopathy, and (iii) that one macroalga is allelopathic under conditions of elevated CO₂, but not at ambient levels. Lipid-soluble, surface extracts from the macroalga Canistrocarpus (=Dictyota) cervicornis were significantly more damaging to the coral Acropora intermedia growing in the field if these extracts were from thalli grown under elevated vs ambient concentrations of CO₂. Extracts from the macroalgae Chlorodesmis fastigiata and Amansia glomerata were not more potent when grown under elevated CO₂. Our results demonstrate increasing OA advantages seaweeds over corals, that algal allelopathy can mediate coral-algal interactions, and that OA may enhance the allelopathy of some macroalgae. Other mechanisms also affect coral-macroalgal interactions under OA, and OA further suppresses the resilience of coral reefs suffering blooms of macroalgae.

SUBMITTER: Del Monaco C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5286515 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of ocean acidification on the potency of macroalgal allelopathy to a common coral.

Del Monaco Carlos C Hay Mark E ME Gartrell Patrick P Mumby Peter J PJ Diaz-Pulido Guillermo G

Scientific reports 20170201

Many coral reefs have phase shifted from coral to macroalgal dominance. Ocean acidification (OA) due to elevated CO<sub>2</sub> is hypothesised to advantage macroalgae over corals, contributing to these shifts, but the mechanisms affecting coral-macroalgal interactions under OA are unknown. Here, we show that (i) three common macroalgae are more damaging to a common coral when they compete under CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations predicted to occur in 2050 and 2100 than under present-day conditions, ...[more]

PMID: 28145458

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Project description:Ocean acidification (OA) is negatively affecting calcification in a wide variety of marine organisms. These effects are acute for many tropical scleractinian corals under short-term experimental conditions, but it is unclear how these effects interact with ecological processes, such as competition for space, to impact coral communities over multiple years. This study sought to test the use of individual-based models (IBMs) as a tool to scale up the effects of OA recorded in short-term studies to community-scale impacts, combining data from field surveys and mesocosm experiments to parameterize an IBM of coral community recovery on the fore reef of Moorea, French Polynesia. Focusing on the dominant coral genera from the fore reef, Pocillopora, Acropora, Montipora and Porites, model efficacy first was evaluated through the comparison of simulated and empirical dynamics from 2010-2016, when the reef was recovering from sequential acute disturbances (a crown-of-thorns seastar outbreak followed by a cyclone) that reduced coral cover to ~0% by 2010. The model then was used to evaluate how the effects of OA (1,100-1,200 µatm pCO2) on coral growth and competition among corals affected recovery rates (as assessed by changes in % cover y-1) of each coral population between 2010-2016. The model indicated that recovery rates for the fore reef community was halved by OA over 7 years, with cover increasing at 11% y-1 under ambient conditions and 4.8% y-1 under OA conditions. However, when OA was implemented to affect coral growth and not competition among corals, coral community recovery increased to 7.2% y-1, highlighting mechanisms other than growth suppression (i.e., competition), through which OA can impact recovery. Our study reveals the potential for IBMs to assess the impacts of OA on coral communities at temporal and spatial scales beyond the capabilities of experimental studies, but this potential will not be realized unless empirical analyses address a wider variety of response variables representing ecological, physiological and functional domains.

Dataset Information

Effects of ocean acidification on the potency of macroalgal allelopathy to a common coral.

Publications

Effects of ocean acidification on the potency of macroalgal allelopathy to a common coral.

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