Publications des scientifiques de l'IRD

Camp E. F., Nitschke M. R., Rodolfo-Metalpa Riccardo, Houlbrèque Fanny, Gardner S. G., Smith D. J., Zampighi M., Suggett D. J. (2017). Reef-building corals thrive within hot-acidified and deoxygenated waters. Scientific Reports - Nature, 7, p. art. 2434 [9 p.]. ISSN 2045-2322.

Titre du document
Reef-building corals thrive within hot-acidified and deoxygenated waters
Année de publication
2017
Type de document
Article référencé dans le Web of Science WOS:000402045300002
Auteurs
Camp E. F., Nitschke M. R., Rodolfo-Metalpa Riccardo, Houlbrèque Fanny, Gardner S. G., Smith D. J., Zampighi M., Suggett D. J.
Source
Scientific Reports - Nature, 2017, 7, p. art. 2434 [9 p.] ISSN 2045-2322
Coral reefs are deteriorating under climate change as oceans continue to warm and acidify and thermal anomalies grow in frequency and intensity. In vitro experiments are widely used to forecast reef-building coral health into the future, but often fail to account for the complex ecological and biogeochemical interactions that govern reefs. Consequently, observations from coral communities under naturally occurring extremes have become central for improved predictions of future reef form and function. Here, we present a semi-enclosed lagoon system in New Caledonia characterised by diel fluctuations of hot-deoxygenated water coupled with tidally driven persistently low pH, relative to neighbouring reefs. Coral communities within the lagoon system exhibited high richness (number of species = 20) and cover (24-35% across lagoon sites). Calcification rates for key species (Acropora formosa, Acropora pulchra, Coelastrea aspera and Porites lutea) for populations from the lagoon were equivalent to, or reduced by ca. 30-40% compared to those from the reef. Enhanced coral respiration, alongside high particulate organic content of the lagoon sediment, suggests acclimatisation to this trio of temperature, oxygen and pH changes through heterotrophic plasticity. This semi-enclosed lagoon therefore provides a novel system to understand coral acclimatisation to complex climatic scenarios and may serve as a reservoir of coral populations already resistant to extreme environmental conditions.
Plan de classement
Sciences du milieu [021] ; Limnologie physique / Océanographie physique [032] ; Ecologie, systèmes aquatiques [036]
Description Géographique
NOUVELLE CALEDONIE
Localisation
Fonds IRD [F B010070181]
Identifiant IRD
fdi:010070181
Contact