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Combined ocean acidification and low temperature stressors cause coral mortality

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Abstract

Oceans are predicted to become more acidic and experience more temperature variability—both hot and cold—as climate changes. Ocean acidification negatively impacts reef-building corals, especially when interacting with other stressors such as elevated temperature. However, the effects of combined acidification and low temperature stress have yet to be assessed. Here, we exposed nubbins of the scleractinian coral Montipora digitata to ecologically relevant acidic, cold, or combined stress for 2 weeks. Coral nubbins exhibited 100% survival in isolated acidic and cold treatments, but ~30% mortality under combined conditions. These results provide further evidence that coupled stressors have an interactive effect on coral physiology, and reveal that corals in colder environments are also susceptible to the deleterious impacts of coupled ocean acidification and thermal stress.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by an AICAL project funded by the Global Environment Research Fund A-0804 from the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and KAKENHI (Nos. 23241017 and 26220102) to Yukihiro Nojiri. This research was also supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency/Japan International Cooperation Agency, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development. Protein analyses were performed in Dr. Masaya Morita’s laboratory with Mr. Ugwu Stanley Ifeanyi’s help, while total alkalinity was measured by Dr. Atsushi Suzuki. We are grateful to Dr. Kazuhiko Sakai, Dr. Yasuaki Tanaka, Dr. Yukihiro Nojiri, Dr. James Davis Reimer, and the staff members of Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus. Coral fragments were sampled under the permit No. 26-41 issued by Okinawa Prefecture Office.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Javid Kavousi & Takashi Nakamura

  2. Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Biology, and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    John Everett Parkinson

  3. Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, 905-0227, Japan

    Takashi Nakamura

  4. Japan Science and Technology Agency/Japan International Cooperation Agency, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development, Tokyo, Japan

    Takashi Nakamura

Authors
  1. Javid Kavousi
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  2. John Everett Parkinson
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  3. Takashi Nakamura
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Correspondence to Javid Kavousi.

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Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Simon Davy

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Kavousi, J., Parkinson, J.E. & Nakamura, T. Combined ocean acidification and low temperature stressors cause coral mortality. Coral Reefs 35, 903–907 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-016-1459-3

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