Effects of ultraviolet radiation and water motion on the reef coral Porites compressa Dana: a flume experiment

Abstract

The effects of water flow and ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 280–400 nm) on the reef coral Porites compressa Dana were explored in a manipulative flume experiment. The aim of this study was to determine whether this coral responds to changes in the UVR environment by adjusting the tissue concentration of UV-absorbing compounds (mycosporine-like amino acids, MAAs), and to see whether such an acclimation is affected by water flow. Also, calcification rate and chlorophyll-a concentration were measured during the experiment to estimate the potential costs (in the form of slowed growth and/or reduced photosynthetic capacity) to the coral–alga symbiosis of being exposed to UVR and producing MAAs. Branches of P. compressa from a single male colony were exposed to high or low flow (15 cm s⁻¹ and 3 cm s⁻¹, respectively) and ambient or no UVR in an outdoor, continuous-flow seawater system. Chlorophyll-a and MAA concentrations were determined after zero, 3 and 6 weeks of exposure to the experimental conditions. Increase in buoyant weight during the two 3-week periods was used to calculate calcification rate. The presence of UVR had a significant positive effect on total MAA concentration in the P. compressa colonies; however, there were significant interactions present. In colonies exposed to UVR, MAA concentration increased and then decreased to initial levels in high water flow, and increased steadily in low water flow. In colonies receiving no UVR, MAA concentration decreased steadily, declining 23% in 6 weeks. The absence of UVR did not result in higher chlorophyll-a concentrations, but the calcification rate was slightly affected by UVR. This study supports the putative photoprotective role of MAAs in P. compressa, and suggests that the costs of mitigating the effects of ambient UVR are detectable, but they are very small.