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Interactive effects of ocean acidification and warming on coral reef associated epilithic algal communities under past, present-day and future ocean conditions

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Abstract

Epilithic algal communities play critical ecological roles on coral reefs, but their response to individual and interactive effects of ocean warming (OW) and ocean acidification (OA) is still largely unknown. We investigated growth, photosynthesis and calcification of early epilithic algal community assemblages exposed for 6 months to four temperature profiles (−1.1, ±0.0, +0.9, +1.6 °C) that were crossed with four carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) levels (360, 440, 650, 940 µatm), under flow-through conditions and natural light regimes. Additionally, we compared the cover of heavily calcified crustose coralline algae (CCA) and lightly calcified red algae of the genus Peyssonnelia among treatments. Increase in cover of epilithic communities showed optima under moderately elevated temperatures and present pCO2, while cover strongly decreased under high temperatures and high-pCO2 conditions, particularly due to decreasing cover of CCA. Similarly, community calcification rates were strongly decreased at high pCO2 under both measured temperatures. While final cover of CCA decreased under high temperature and pCO2 (additive negative effects), cover of Peyssonnelia spp. increased at high compared to annual average and moderately elevated temperatures. Thus, cover of Peyssonnelia spp. increased in treatment combinations with less CCA, which was supported by a significant negative correlation between organism groups. The different susceptibility to stressors most likely derived from a different calcification intensity and/or mineral. Notably, growth of the epilithic communities and final cover of CCA were strongly decreased under reduced-pCO2 conditions compared to the present. Thus, CCA may have acclimatized from past to present-day pCO2 conditions, and changes in carbonate chemistry, regardless in which direction, negatively affect them. However, if epilithic organisms cannot further acclimatize to OW and OA, the interacting effects of both factors may change epilithic communities in the future, thereby likely leading to reduced reef stability and recovery.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jordan Hollarsmith, Emmett Clarkin, Camille Domy, Cassy Thompson, Patrick Buerger, Kathryn Berry, Laura Arthur and Caroline Assailly for their great help in maintaining the experimental system. Many thanks to the staff at the SeaSim facility and the AIMS workshop, Andrea Severati, Tom Barker, Paul Boyd, Craig Humphrey, Eneour Puill-Stephan, Grant Milton, Justin Hochen, Niall Jeeves, Michael Kebben and Gary Brinkman who contributed to the aquarium design, control systems and monitoring of the experimental conditions. Thanks to Lindsay Harrington for her help with the identification of CCA and epilithic organisms. Thanks to Michelle Liddy and Florita Flores for their help with the incubation experiments and general assistance. This study was funded by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Australian Government’s National Environmental Research Program and a Super Science Fellowship Grant from the Australian Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, QLD, 4810, Australia

    N. Vogel, N. E. Cantin, J. Strahl, P. Kaniewska, L. Bay & S. Uthicke

  2. Faculty of Biology and Chemistry (FB 2), University of Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    N. Vogel & C. Wild

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  1. N. Vogel
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  2. N. E. Cantin
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  3. J. Strahl
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  4. P. Kaniewska
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  7. S. Uthicke
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Correspondence to N. Vogel.

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Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Anastazia Banaszak

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Fig. S1

Net photosynthesis, dark respiration, gross photosynthesis and light, dark and net calcification of epilithic communities after six months of temperature and acidification treatment. Data are normalized to the surface area of the substrate (EPS 945 kb)

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Vogel, N., Cantin, N.E., Strahl, J. et al. Interactive effects of ocean acidification and warming on coral reef associated epilithic algal communities under past, present-day and future ocean conditions. Coral Reefs 35, 715–728 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-015-1392-x

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