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Environmental and physiochemical controls on coral calcification along a latitudinal temperature gradient in Western Australia
Author(s) -
Ross Claire L.,
DeCarlo Thomas M.,
McCulloch Malcolm T.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.14488
Subject(s) - coral , ocean acidification , temperate climate , oceanography , coral reef , reef , carbonate , ecology , subtropics , calcification , climate change , environmental science , geology , biology , chemistry , medicine , organic chemistry , pathology
The processes that occur at the micro‐scale site of calcification are fundamental to understanding the response of coral growth in a changing world. However, our mechanistic understanding of chemical processes driving calcification is still evolving. Here, we report the results of a long‐term in situ study of coral calcification rates, photo‐physiology, and calcifying fluid (cf) carbonate chemistry (using boron isotopes, elemental systematics, and Raman spectroscopy) for seven species (four genera) of symbiotic corals growing in their natural environments at tropical, subtropical, and temperate locations in Western Australia (latitudinal range of ~11°). We find that changes in net coral calcification rates are primarily driven by pH cf and carbonate ion concentration [ CO32 − ] cf in conjunction with temperature and DIC cf . Coral pH cf varies with latitudinal and seasonal changes in temperature and works together with the seasonally varying DIC cf to optimize [ CO32 − ] cf at species‐dependent levels. Our results indicate that corals shift their pH cf to adapt and/or acclimatize to their localized thermal regimes. This biological response is likely to have critical implications for predicting the future of coral reefs under CO 2 ‐driven warming and acidification.