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Coupled changes in oxygen concentration and pH caused by metabolism of benthic coral reef organisms

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Abstract

Benthic marine primary producers affect the chemistry of their surrounding environment through metabolic processes. Photosynthesis and respiration will elevate or depress the concentration of oxygen in the diffusive boundary layer. Likewise, acid–base regulation and biomineralization/dissolution for calcifying species can alter the relative concentration of inorganic carbon species and thus pH. Here, we measured the relative ability of several common benthic primary producers from coral reef systems of the central Pacific and the Caribbean to simultaneously affect seawater oxygen concentration and pH values. Repeated measurements over a diel cycle confirmed that several primary producers substantially alter surrounding seawater chemistry over time. The majority of fleshy algae exhibited a stoichiometric ratio of oxygen to hydrogen ions not significantly different from one during daylight hours. In contrast, calcifiers exhibited significantly lower oxygen to hydrogen ion ratios that were unique for each species and were inversely correlated with known rates of calcification. These data provide the first quantitative estimates of the simultaneous influence of several species of benthic primary producers on water column oxygen concentrations and pH across different tropical reef systems. Finally, because more productive fleshy taxa have the potential to raise both oxygen and pH during the day to a greater extent than calcified species, our results suggest that some fleshy taxa may provide a buffering capacity to future ocean acidification scenarios.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the entire staff of the Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station in Moorea. The Moorea Coral Reef Long-Term Ecological Research (MCR-LTER) project (US NSF OCE-0417412) provided field and laboratory logistical support. We further thank the entire staff of the CARMABI research station in Curaçao and especially Dr. M. Vermeij for logistical support. We would like to specifically thank A. Gregg, F. L Rohwer and L. Wegley Kelly for their help during the field research and the Smith and Sandin laboratories at SIO for comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) awards OCE-0927415 to F. Rohwer, OCE-0927411 to C. A. Carlson, and OCE-0927448 to J. E. Smith and J. J. Leichter and grants from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to J. E. Smith, T. R. Martz, and R. Dunbar.

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  1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA

    Jennifer E. Smith, Nichole N. Price & Andreas F. Haas

  2. Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

    Craig E. Nelson

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  1. Jennifer E. Smith
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Smith, J.E., Price, N.N., Nelson, C.E. et al. Coupled changes in oxygen concentration and pH caused by metabolism of benthic coral reef organisms. Mar Biol 160, 2437–2447 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2239-z

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