Bellworthy, J.,
Menoud, M.,
Krueger, T.,
Meibim, A.
and Fine, M.
2019
Developmental
carryover effects
of ocean warming
and acidification
in corals
from a potential
climate refugium,
the Gulf of Aqaba.
Journal of Experimental Biology 222:
jeb186940, doi:10.1242/jeb.186940.
NOTE:
This is a
recent study
on the combined
effects of so-called
ocean acidification,
and warming,
on corals,
SUMMARY:
The authors conclude
that S. pistillata corals
display "inherent broad
physiological resistance."
That resistance
was evident to
even the
most extreme
predictions
of future ocean
acidification
and warming
( Representative
Concentration
Pathway 8.5
for CO2 ),
so these corals
will be around
for centuries
to come !
Bellworthy et al.
report that
"planulae from this population
showed similar physiology
irrespective of the environment,
with a wide phenotypic range
within a single cohort."
"S. pistillata planulae
were resistant in terms of
their settlement, physiology
and survival, even when
parents were exposed
to severe
ocean acidification
and warming
during the
gamete maturation,
fertilization and
brooding period."
DETAILS:
Bellworthy et al. (2019)
exposed mature colonies
of the reef-building coral
Stylophora pistillata
to very extreme
seawater conditions,
of pH 0.4 units lower,
and temperatures
+5°C warmer,
than they are today.
The experiment
was timed to coincide
during the corals'
peak planulae
brooding season
such that the authors
could evaluate the
physiological effects
of the
treatment conditions
on both adult and
offspring larvae.
The work was
conducted in a
controlled
environment
at the
Interuniversity Institute
for Marine Sciences
in Eilat, Israel.
Adult S. pistillata corals
were sourced from
the Gulf of Aqaba,
in the northern Red Sea,
acclimated to the
experimental conditions,
and then studied,
along with the planulae
they released,
using multiple
measurements,
over the course
of a 33-day
experimental
period.