End of the Century pCO2 Levels Do Not Impact Calcification in Mediterranean Cold-Water Corals

Type : ACL
Nature : Production scientifique
Au bénéfice du Laboratoire : Oui
Statut de publication : Publié
Année de publication : 2013
Auteurs (6) : MAIER Conny SCHUBERT Alexander SANCHEZ M,m,b WEINBAUER Markus,g WATREMEZ Pierre GATTUSO Jean-pierre
Revue scientifique : Plos One
Volume : 8
Fascicule : 4
Pages :
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0062655
URL : <go to isi>://wos:000319077300085
Abstract : Ocean acidification caused by anthropogenic uptake of CO2 is perceived to be a major threat to calcifying organisms. Cold-water corals were thought to be strongly affected by a decrease in ocean pH due to their abundance in deep and cold waters which, in contrast to tropical coral reef waters, will soon become corrosive to calcium carbonate. Calcification rates of two Mediterranean cold-water coral species, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, were measured under variable partial pressure of CO2 (pCO(2)) that ranged between 380 mu atm for present-day conditions and 930 matm for the end of the century. The present study addressed both short- and long-term responses by repeatedly determining calcification rates on the same specimens over a period of 9 months. Besides studying the direct, short-term response to elevated pCO(2) levels, the study aimed to elucidate the potential for acclimation of calcification of cold-water corals to ocean acidification. Net calcification of both species was unaffected by the levels of pCO(2) investigated and revealed no short-term shock and, therefore, no long-term acclimation in calcification to changes in the carbonate chemistry. There was an effect of time during repeated experiments with increasing net calcification rates for both species, however, as this pattern was found in all treatments, there is no indication that acclimation of calcification to ocean acidification occurred. The use of controls (initial and ambient net calcification rates) indicated that this increase was not caused by acclimation in calcification response to higher pCO(2). An extrapolation of these data suggests that calcification of these two cold-water corals will not be affected by the pCO(2) level projected at the end of the century.
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Citation :
Maier C, Schubert A, Sanchez MMB, Weinbauer MG, Watremez P, Gattuso J-P (2013) End of the Century pCO2 Levels Do Not Impact Calcification in Mediterranean Cold-Water Corals. Plos One 8 | doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062655