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Goldenberg SU, Spisla C, Sánchez N, Taucher J, Spilling K, Sswat M, Fiesinger A, Fernández-Méndez M, Krock B, Hauss H, Haussmann J, Riebesell U. Diatom-mediated food web functioning under ocean artificial upwelling. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3955. [PMID: 38368496 PMCID: PMC10874431 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54345-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Enhancing ocean productivity by artificial upwelling is evaluated as a nature-based solution for food security and climate change mitigation. Fish production is intended through diatom-based plankton food webs as these are assumed to be short and efficient. However, our findings from mesocosm experiments on artificial upwelling in the oligotrophic ocean disagree with this classical food web model. Here, diatoms did not reduce trophic length and instead impaired the transfer of primary production to crustacean grazers and small pelagic fish. The diatom-driven decrease in trophic efficiency was likely mediated by changes in nutritional value for the copepod grazers. Whilst diatoms benefitted the availability of essential fatty acids, they also caused unfavorable elemental compositions via high carbon-to-nitrogen ratios (i.e. low protein content) to which the grazers were unable to adapt. This nutritional imbalance for grazers was most pronounced in systems optimized for CO2 uptake through carbon-to-nitrogen ratios well beyond Redfield. A simultaneous enhancement of fisheries production and carbon sequestration via artificial upwelling may thus be difficult to achieve given their opposing stoichiometric constraints. Our study suggest that food quality can be more critical than quantity to maximize food web productivity during shorter-term fertilization of the oligotrophic ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvan Urs Goldenberg
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
| | - Carsten Spisla
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Nicolás Sánchez
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jan Taucher
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Kristian Spilling
- Marine and Freshwater Solutions, Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- Centre for Coastal Research, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
| | - Michael Sswat
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Anna Fiesinger
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Mar Fernández-Méndez
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Bernd Krock
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Helena Hauss
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Mekjarvik, Norway
| | - Jacqueline Haussmann
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Ulf Riebesell
- Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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Fiesinger A, Held C, Schmidt AL, Putchim L, Melzner F, Wall M. Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, Thailand. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10724. [PMID: 38020692 PMCID: PMC10643679 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus, 1758), a species complex, consists of several genetic lineages, some of which likely represent reproductively isolated species, including the species Pocillopora acuta Lamarck, 1816. Pocillopora acuta can exhibit similar morphological characteristics as P. damicornis, thus making it difficult to identify species-level taxonomic units. To determine whether the P. damicornis-like colonies on the reefs in the Andaman Sea (previously often identified as P. damicornis) consist of different species, we sampled individual colonies at five sites along a 50 km coastal stretch at Phuket Island and four island sites towards Krabi Province, Thailand. We sequenced 210 coral samples for the mitochondrial open reading frame and identified six distinct haplotypes, all belonging to P. acuta according to the literature. Recently, P. acuta was observed to efficiently recolonize heat-damaged reefs in Thailand as well as globally, making it a potentially important coral species in future reefs. Specifically in the light of global change, this study underscores the importance of high-resolution molecular species recognition, since taxonomic units are important factors for population genetic studies, and the latter are crucial for management and conservation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Fiesinger
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielKielGermany
- Department of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Christoph Held
- Alfred‐Wegener‐InstitutHelmholtz‐Zentrum für Polar‐ und MeeresforschungBremerhavenGermany
| | - Andrea L. Schmidt
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielKielGermany
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric ResearchUniversity of Hawai‘i at ManoaHonoluluHonoluluUSA
| | | | - Frank Melzner
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielKielGermany
| | - Marlene Wall
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielKielGermany
- Alfred‐Wegener‐InstitutHelmholtz‐Zentrum für Polar‐ und MeeresforschungBremerhavenGermany
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Fiesinger A, Held C, Melzner F, Putchim L, Reusch TBH, Schmidt AL, Wall M. Population genetic differentiation of the ubiquitous brooding coral Pocillopora acuta along Phuket Island reefs in the Andaman Sea, Thailand. BMC Ecol Evol 2023; 23:42. [PMID: 37626296 PMCID: PMC10464487 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02153-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The widespread Indo-Pacific coral species Pocillopora acuta Lamarck, 1816 displays varying levels of asexual versus sexual reproduction, with strong repercussions on genetic diversity, connectivity and genetic structuring within and among populations. For many geographic regions, baseline information on genetic diversity is still lacking, particularly in the Andaman Sea. The region suffered a massive heat-induced bleaching event in 2010 with high coral cover loss of branching coral species such as P. acuta. A subsequent bleaching in 2016, however, revealed a mild bleaching response in pocilloporids compared to other coral taxa in the region, suggesting that rare, heat tolerant genotypes had been selected by the 2010 bleaching event. In order to test whether this potential 'evolutionary rescue' event has led to a low genetic diversity, we conducted a population genetic survey covering a total of nine different P. acuta populations (336 individuals) along a 50 km coastal stretch around Phuket Island, Thailand. We used six microsatellite markers to assess genotypic diversity and to determine the prevalent mode of reproduction (i.e. sexual or asexual recruitment). RESULTS In contrast to other Indian Ocean P. acuta populations, the majority of corals in this study adopted a sexual reproduction mode (75% across all populations). At the same time, substantial regional gene flow was observed around Phuket Island with strong genetic differentiation as indicated by three genetic clusters that were separated by only a few kilometers. Patterns of isolation by distance over 0.7 - 40 km suggest small-scale genetic barriers, such as changing currents throughout each monsoonal season, potentially contributing to locally restricted dispersal of P. acuta larvae. CONCLUSIONS The occurrence of distinct genetic clusters within short coastal stretches suggests that the 2010 bleaching event has not led to extreme genetic impoverishment. While more in-depth genomic analyses are necessary to investigate changes in genetic diversity following extreme bleaching events, our results will help guide conservation efforts to maintain genetic diversity of a coral species that likely will be dominant in future, warmer Andaman Sea reefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Fiesinger
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Research Unit Experimental Ecology - Benthic Ecology, Wischhofstraße 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany.
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz, 78464, Germany.
| | - Christoph Held
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven, 27570, Germany
| | - Frank Melzner
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Research Unit Experimental Ecology - Benthic Ecology, Wischhofstraße 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany
| | - Lalita Putchim
- Phuket Marine Biological Centre, Wichit, Phuket, Mueang Phukt District, 83000, Thailand
| | - Thorsten B H Reusch
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Research Unit Marine Evolutionary Ecoloy, Wischhofstraße 1-3, Kiel, 24148, Germany
| | - Andrea L Schmidt
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Research Unit Experimental Ecology - Benthic Ecology, Wischhofstraße 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
| | - Marlene Wall
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Research Unit Experimental Ecology - Benthic Ecology, Wischhofstraße 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany.
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven, 27570, Germany.
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