Photosynthetic response of Persian Gulf acroporid corals to summer versus winter temperature deviations

The war of corals: patterns, drivers and implications of changing coral competitive performances across reef environments

Amidst global environmental changes, predicting species' responses to future environments is a critical challenge for preserving biodiversity and associated human benefits. We explored the original idea that coral competitive performances, the ability of corals to preempt ecological space on the reef through territorial warfare, serve as indicators of species' ecological niches and environmental windows, and therefore, responses to future environments. Our surveys indicated that coral performances varied with taxonomic identity, size and position along environmental gradients, highlighting complex interplays between life-history, warfare-strategy and niche segregation. Our results forewarn that growing alterations of coastal environments may trigger shifts in coral dominance, with the decline of major reef-building taxa like acroporids, and emphasize the importance of limiting human impacts for coastal resilience. Our empirical approach untangles the complexity of species' battle-like interactions and can help identify winners and losers in various communities caught in the interplay between ecological niches, environmental windows and global changes.

Physiological plasticity of corals to temperature stress in marginal coral communities

Adaptation and/or acclimatization through various mechanisms have been suggested to help some tropical coral species to overcome temperature-induced bleaching that is intensifying with climate change; however, while much research has been done on the physiological responses of tropical and subtropical corals to stress, little is known about these responses in corals in marginal environments-e.g., high-latitude and non-reefal communities. In this study, we examined the thermal-tolerant physiology of the flowerpot coral, Alveopora japonica, endemic to the high-latitude Jeju Island (33.39°N), South Korea and Oulastrea crispata and Coelastrea aspera from the subtropical non-reefal coral community on the Penghu Islands (23.34°N), Taiwan. Analysis of physiological parameters; photochemical efficiency, Chlorophyll pigment, Symbiodiniaceae cell number and host soluble proteins - showed that A. japonica can survive through a wide range of temperature stresses (10-32 °C) over a period of 8 days without showing signs of bleaching. In addition, corals O. crispata and C. aspera withstood temperature stresses of up to 33 °C and repeated temperature fluctuations without bleaching. Our results indicate that, under large seasonal variations and asymmetrical daily fluctuations in temperature, corals currently living in marginal environments could have thermal plasticity, allowing them to survive in the future climate change scenarios. This study reiterates the importance of studying the eco-physiology of corals that are generally ignored because of their neutral or positive responses to stress.

The carbonate system on the coral patches and rocky intertidal habitats of the northern Persian Gulf: Implications for ocean acidification studies

This research characterizes the temporal and spatial variability of the seawater carbonate chemistry on the near-shore waters of the northern Persian Gulf and Makran Sea. In general, normalized total alkalinity (nA_T) showed a westward decrease along the coasts of Makran Sea and the Persian Gulf. Intertidal seawater was always supersaturated in terms of calcium carbonate minerals during the daytime. Rocky shore waters in the Persian Gulf were sinks for CO₂ in the winter during the daytime. The nA_T decreased from Larak to Khargu Island by 81 μmol/kg. As expected, the two hypothetical drivers of bio-calcification, i.e., Ω and the [HCO₃^-]/[H⁺] ratio, were significantly related at a narrow range of ambient temperature. However, as data were pooled over seasons and study sites, in contrast to Ω_Ar, the [HCO₃^-]/[H⁺] ratio showed a slight dependence on temperature, suggesting that the ratio should be investigated as a more reliable factor in future biocalcification researches.

Mechanisms and seasonal drivers of calcification in the temperate coral Turbinaria reniformis at its latitudinal limits

High-latitude coral reefs provide natural laboratories for investigating the mechanisms and limits of coral calcification. While the calcification processes of tropical corals have been studied intensively, little is known about how their temperate counterparts grow under much lower temperature and light conditions. Here, we report the results of a long-term (2-year) study of seasonal changes in calcification rates, photo-physiology and calcifying fluid (cf) chemistry (using boron isotope systematics and Raman spectroscopy) for the coral Turbinaria reniformis growing near its latitudinal limits (34.5° S) along the southern coast of Western Australia. In contrast with tropical corals, calcification rates were found to be threefold higher during winter (16 to 17° C) compared with summer (approx. 21° C), and negatively correlated with light, but lacking any correlation with temperature. These unexpected findings are attributed to a combination of higher chlorophyll a, and hence increased heterotrophy during winter compared with summer, together with the corals' ability to seasonally modulate pH_cf, with carbonate ion concentration [Formula: see text] being the main controller of calcification rates. Conversely, calcium ion concentration [Ca²⁺]_cf declined with increasing calcification rates, resulting in aragonite saturation states Ω_cf that were stable yet elevated fourfold above seawater values. Our results show that corals growing near their latitudinal limits exert strong physiological control over their cf in order to maintain year-round calcification rates that are insensitive to the unfavourable temperature regimes typical of high-latitude reefs.