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Impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment and skewed N:P stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals

Reported divergent responses of coral growth and skeletal microstructure to the nutrient environment complicate knowledge-based management of water quality in coral reefs. By re-evaluating published results considering the taxonomy of the studied corals and the N:P stoichiometry of their nutrient en...

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Autores principales: Buckingham, M. C., D’Angelo, C., Chalk, T. B., Foster, G. L., Johnson, K. G., Connelly, Z., Olla, C., Saeed, M., Wiedenmann, J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10276130/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37334145
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-022-02223-0
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author Buckingham, M. C.
D’Angelo, C.
Chalk, T. B.
Foster, G. L.
Johnson, K. G.
Connelly, Z.
Olla, C.
Saeed, M.
Wiedenmann, J.
author_facet Buckingham, M. C.
D’Angelo, C.
Chalk, T. B.
Foster, G. L.
Johnson, K. G.
Connelly, Z.
Olla, C.
Saeed, M.
Wiedenmann, J.
author_sort Buckingham, M. C.
collection PubMed
description Reported divergent responses of coral growth and skeletal microstructure to the nutrient environment complicate knowledge-based management of water quality in coral reefs. By re-evaluating published results considering the taxonomy of the studied corals and the N:P stoichiometry of their nutrient environment, we could resolve some of the major apparent contradictions. Our analysis suggests that Acroporids behave differently to several other common genera and show distinct responses to specific nutrient treatments. We hypothesised that both the concentrations of dissolved inorganic N and P in the water and their stoichiometry shape skeletal growth and microstructure. We tested this hypothesis by exposing Acropora polystoma fragments to four nutrient treatments for > 10 weeks: high nitrate/high phosphate (HNHP), high nitrate/low phosphate (HNLP), low nitrate/high phosphate (LNHP) and low nitrate/low phosphate (LNLP). HNHP corals retained high zooxanthellae densities and their linear extension and calcification rates were up to ten times higher than in the other treatments. HNLP and LNLP corals bleached through loss of symbionts. The photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) of residual symbionts in HNLP corals was significantly reduced, indicating P-starvation. Micro-computed tomography (µCT) of the skeletal microstructure revealed that reduced linear extension in nutrient limited or nutrient starved conditions (HNLP, LNHP, LNLP) was associated with significant thickening of skeletal elements and reduced porosity. These changes can be explained by the strongly reduced linear extension rate in combination with a smaller reduction in the calcification rate. Studies using increased skeletal density as a proxy for past thermal bleaching events should consider that such an increase in density may also be associated with temperature-independent response to the nutrient environment. Furthermore, the taxonomy of corals and seawater N:P stoichiometry should be considered when analysing and managing the impacts of nutrient pollution. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00338-022-02223-0.
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spelling pubmed-102761302023-06-18 Impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment and skewed N:P stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals Buckingham, M. C. D’Angelo, C. Chalk, T. B. Foster, G. L. Johnson, K. G. Connelly, Z. Olla, C. Saeed, M. Wiedenmann, J. Coral Reefs Report Reported divergent responses of coral growth and skeletal microstructure to the nutrient environment complicate knowledge-based management of water quality in coral reefs. By re-evaluating published results considering the taxonomy of the studied corals and the N:P stoichiometry of their nutrient environment, we could resolve some of the major apparent contradictions. Our analysis suggests that Acroporids behave differently to several other common genera and show distinct responses to specific nutrient treatments. We hypothesised that both the concentrations of dissolved inorganic N and P in the water and their stoichiometry shape skeletal growth and microstructure. We tested this hypothesis by exposing Acropora polystoma fragments to four nutrient treatments for > 10 weeks: high nitrate/high phosphate (HNHP), high nitrate/low phosphate (HNLP), low nitrate/high phosphate (LNHP) and low nitrate/low phosphate (LNLP). HNHP corals retained high zooxanthellae densities and their linear extension and calcification rates were up to ten times higher than in the other treatments. HNLP and LNLP corals bleached through loss of symbionts. The photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) of residual symbionts in HNLP corals was significantly reduced, indicating P-starvation. Micro-computed tomography (µCT) of the skeletal microstructure revealed that reduced linear extension in nutrient limited or nutrient starved conditions (HNLP, LNHP, LNLP) was associated with significant thickening of skeletal elements and reduced porosity. These changes can be explained by the strongly reduced linear extension rate in combination with a smaller reduction in the calcification rate. Studies using increased skeletal density as a proxy for past thermal bleaching events should consider that such an increase in density may also be associated with temperature-independent response to the nutrient environment. Furthermore, the taxonomy of corals and seawater N:P stoichiometry should be considered when analysing and managing the impacts of nutrient pollution. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00338-022-02223-0. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2022-04-20 2022 /pmc/articles/PMC10276130/ /pubmed/37334145 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-022-02223-0 Text en © The Author(s) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Report
Buckingham, M. C.
D’Angelo, C.
Chalk, T. B.
Foster, G. L.
Johnson, K. G.
Connelly, Z.
Olla, C.
Saeed, M.
Wiedenmann, J.
Impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment and skewed N:P stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals
title Impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment and skewed N:P stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals
title_full Impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment and skewed N:P stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals
title_fullStr Impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment and skewed N:P stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals
title_full_unstemmed Impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment and skewed N:P stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals
title_short Impact of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment and skewed N:P stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals
title_sort impact of nitrogen (n) and phosphorus (p) enrichment and skewed n:p stoichiometry on the skeletal formation and microstructure of symbiotic reef corals
topic Report
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10276130/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37334145
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-022-02223-0
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