Open AccesspH homeostasis during coral calcification in a free ocean CO 2 enrichment (FOCE) experiment, Heron Island reef flat, Great Barrier Reef
Author(s) -
Lucy Georgiou,
James L. Falter,
Julie Trotter,
David I. Kline,
Michael Holcomb,
Sophie Dove,
Ove HoeghGuldberg,
Malcolm T. McCulloch
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.1505586112
Subject(s) - reef , coral , heron , coral reef , calcification , stylophora pistillata , porites , ocean acidification , carbonate , chemistry , oceanography , biology , ecology , geology , seawater , pathology , organic chemistry , medicine
Significance In situ free ocean CO2 enrichment (FOCE) experiments and geochemical analyses (δ11 B, Sr/Ca) conducted on corals (Porites cylindrica ) from the highly dynamic Heron Island reef flat of the Great Barrier Reef show that this species exerts strong physiological controls on the pH of their calcifying fluid (pHcf ). Over an ∼6-mo period, from mid-winter to early summer, we show that these corals maintained their pHcf at near constant elevated levels independent of the highly variable temperatures and FOCE-controlled carbonate chemistries to which they were exposed, implying they have a high degree of tolerance to ocean acidification.
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