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Effects of seawater acidification on a coral reef meiofauna community

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Abstract

Despite the increasing risk that ocean acidification will modify benthic communities, great uncertainty remains about how this impact will affect the lower trophic levels, such as members of the meiofauna. A mesocosm experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of water acidification on a phytal meiofauna community from a coral reef. Community samples collected from the coral reef subtidal zone (Recife de Fora Municipal Marine Park, Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil), using artificial substrate units, were exposed to a control pH (ambient seawater) and to three levels of seawater acidification (pH reductions of 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 units below ambient) and collected after 15 and 30 d. After 30 d of exposure, major changes in the structure of the meiofauna community were observed in response to reduced pH. The major meiofauna groups showed divergent responses to acidification. Harpacticoida and Polychaeta densities did not show significant differences due to pH. Nematoda, Ostracoda, Turbellaria, and Tardigrada exhibited their highest densities in low-pH treatments (especially at the pH reduction of 0.6 units, pH 7.5), while harpacticoid nauplii were strongly negatively affected by low pH. This community-based mesocosm study supports previous suggestions that ocean acidification induces important changes in the structure of marine benthic communities. Considering the importance of meiofauna in the food web of coral reef ecosystems, the results presented here demonstrate that the trophic functioning of coral reefs is seriously threatened by ocean acidification.

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Acknowledgments

VC Sarmento gratefully acknowledges a PhD scholarship from the Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE), and PJP Santos (CNPq 305417/2011-8) and AM Esteves (CNPq 312143/2013-3) acknowledge research fellowships from the Conselho Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia (CNPq). We thank Alex M. Silva for help with meiofauna extraction and Dr. Janet W. Reid for English language revision. Special thanks are also due to the ‘Rede de Pesquisas Coral Vivo,’ to Petrobras and to the Arraial d’Ajuda Eco Parque, for all logistical assistance provided. We are grateful to the reviewers for their incisive and helpful comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Departamento Zoologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Morais Rêgo s/n, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-420, Brazil

    V. C. Sarmento, T. P. Souza, A. M. Esteves & P. J. P. Santos

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  1. V. C. Sarmento
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  2. T. P. Souza
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Correspondence to P. J. P. Santos.

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Sarmento, V.C., Souza, T.P., Esteves, A.M. et al. Effects of seawater acidification on a coral reef meiofauna community. Coral Reefs 34, 955–966 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-015-1299-6

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