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Galápagos coral reef persistence after ENSO warming across an acidification gradient
Author(s) -
Manzello Derek P.,
Enochs Ian C.,
Bruckner Andrew,
Renaud Philip G.,
Kolodziej Graham,
Budd David A.,
Carlton Renée,
Glynn Peter W.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl062501
Subject(s) - ocean acidification , reef , oceanography , coral reef , effects of global warming on oceans , coral , porites , upwelling , environmental science , bioerosion , global warming , ecology , climate change , biology , geology
Anthropogenic CO 2 is causing warming and ocean acidification. Coral reefs are being severely impacted, yet confusion lingers regarding how reefs will respond to these stressors over this century. Since the 1982–1983 El Niño–Southern Oscillation warming event, the persistence of reefs around the Galápagos Islands has differed across an acidification gradient. Reefs disappeared where pH < 8.0 and aragonite saturation state (Ω arag ) ≤ 3 and have not recovered, whereas one reef has persisted where pH > 8.0 and Ω arag > 3. Where upwelling is greatest, calcification by massive Porites is higher than predicted by a published relationship with temperature despite high CO 2 , possibly due to elevated nutrients. However, skeletal P/Ca, a proxy for phosphate exposure, negatively correlates with density ( R = −0.822, p < 0.0001). We propose that elevated nutrients have the potential to exacerbate acidification by depressing coral skeletal densities and further increasing bioerosion already accelerated by low pH.