Calcification in bleached and unbleached Montastraea faveolata: evaluating the role of oxygen and glycerol

Colombo‐Pallotta, María Florencia; Rodríguez-Román, Aimé; Iglesias-Prieto, Roberto

doi:10.1007/s00338-010-0638-x

Cited by 155 publications

(158 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Measurements confirm that corals experience hypoxia at night (Kühl et al, 1995;Colombo-Pallotta et al, 2010) and the proposed functioning of anaerobic fermentation and its link to skeletogenesis is consistent with the fact that "dark" calcification proceeds without the operation of the TCA cycle and linked oxidative transport chain (Chalker and Taylor, 1975). Also, the addition of glyoxylate to the extending tip region of the branching coral A. cervicornis has been shown to promote calcification at almost twice the rate of seawater alone, being even more beneficial than ATP (Crossland and Barnes, 1974).…”

Section: Supporting Evidencesupporting

confidence: 59%

“…The assumption that algal : coral respiration is proportional to algal : coral biomass (∼ 10 %) is often taken as a conservative (lower) estimate of the additional respiratory (O 2 ) demand contributed by the zooxanthellae (Muscatine et al, 1981). This additional respiration increases the occurrence (and severity) of O 2 -limitation in the dark (Rands et al, 1992;Kühl et al, 1995;Colombo-Pallotta et al, 2010), and according to the new biomineralisation model, should be matched by increased skeletal extension rates. Consistent with this expectation, Goreau (1959) found that even in the dark, corals with zooxanthellae calcified ∼ 3 times faster than corals which had lost their zooxanthellae.…”

Section: Symbiont Metabolismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new conceptual model of coral biomineralisation: hypoxia as the physiological driver of skeletal extension

Wooldridge

2013

Biogeosciences

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That corals skeletons are built of aragonite crystals with taxonomy-linked ultrastructure has been well understood since the 19th century. Yet, the way by which corals control this crystallization process remains an unsolved question. Here, I outline a new conceptual model of coral biomineralisation that endeavours to relate known skeletal features with homeostatic functions beyond traditional growth (structural) determinants. In particular, I propose that the dominant physiological driver of skeletal extension is night-time hypoxia, which is exacerbated by the respiratory oxygen demands of the coral's algal symbionts (= zooxanthellae). The model thus provides a new narrative to explain the high growth rate of symbiotic corals, by equating skeletal deposition with the "work-rate" of the coral host needed to maintain a stable and beneficial symbiosis. In this way, coral skeletons are interpreted as a continuous (long-run) recording unit of the stability and functioning of the coral–algae endosymbiosis. After providing supportive evidence for the model across multiple scales of observation, I use coral core data from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) to highlight the disturbed nature of the symbiosis in recent decades, but suggest that its onset is consistent with a trajectory that has been followed since at least the start of the 1900s. In concluding, I outline how the proposed capacity of cnidarians (which includes modern reef corals) to overcome the metabolic limitation of hypoxia via skeletogenesis also provides a new hypothesis to explain the sudden appearance in the fossil record of calcified skeletons at the Precambrian–Cambrian transition – and the ensuing rapid appearance of most major animal phyla

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Section: Supporting Evidencesupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Symbiont Metabolismmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new conceptual model of coral biomineralisation: hypoxia as the physiological driver of skeletal extension

Wooldridge

2013

Biogeosciences

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“…Here, G L slightly increased toward the coast and even peaked in the most near-shore reef KAY. The correlation between G L and P g indicates that calcification is dependent on photosynthesis (Colombo-Pallotta et al 2010). At the same time, elevated inorganic nutrient input and sedimentation in near-shore reefs hamper G L , explaining the overall low increase in G L with respect to P g .…”

Section: Calcificationmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The influence of photosynthesis on calcification was recognized early (Goreau and Goreau 1959), and the theory of lightenhanced calcification is widely accepted; the underlying mechanism, however, is still strongly debated (Gattuso et al 1999;Furla et al 2000;Allemand et al 2004;Colombo-Pallotta et al 2010). Calcification is not only dependent on the metabolic behavior of the holobiont but also directly affected by environmental factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional status and metabolism of the coral Stylophora subseriata along a eutrophication gradient in Spermonde Archipelago (Indonesia)

et al. 2011

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Coral responses to degrading water quality are highly variable between species and depend on their trophic plasticity, acclimatization potential, and stress resistance. To assess the nutritional status and metabolism of the common scleractinian coral, Stylophora subseriata, in situ experiments were carried along a eutrophication gradient in Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia. Coral fragments were incubated in light and dark chambers to measure photosynthesis, respiration, and calcification in a number of shallow reefs along the gradient. Chlorophyll a (chl a), protein content, maximum quantum yield (F v / F m ), and effective quantum yield (U PS II) were measured on the zooxanthellae, in addition to host tissue protein content and biomass. Photosynthetic rates were 2.5-fold higher near-shore than mid-shelf due to higher areal zooxanthellae and chl a concentrations and a higher photochemical efficiency (U PS II). A 2-and 3-fold increase in areal host tissue protein and biomass was found, indicating a higher nutritional supply in coastal waters. Dark respiration, however, showed no corresponding changes. There was a weak correlation between calcification and photosynthesis (Pearson r = 0.386) and a lack of metabolic stress, as indicated by constant respiration and F v /F m and the ''clean'' and healthy appearance of the colonies in spite of high turbidity in near-shore waters. The latter suggests that part of the energetic gains through increased auto-and heterotrophy were spent on metabolic expenditures, e.g., mucus production. While coastal pollution is always deleterious to the reef ecosystem as a whole, our results show that the effect on corals may not always be negative. Thus, S. subseriata may be one of the few examples of corals actually profiting from land-based sources of pollution.

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“…For this holobiont to thrive, the coral animal must support the metabolic requirements of its symbionts by supplying nutrients and eliminating toxic byproducts, such as excess oxygen accumulated as a byproduct of the symbionts' photosynthetic activity (2)(3)(4). The algal symbionts, in return, provide the coral with organic carbon (2,5), and their activity underpins the calcification and skeletal growth that is at the basis of the coral reef ecosystem (6,7). These processes and other key metabolic processes involve the continuous exchange of nutrients, inorganic carbon and dissolved oxygen between the coral and the surrounding seawater.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vortical ciliary flows actively enhance mass transport in reef corals

Shapiro

Fernández

Garren

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

178

167

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The exchange of nutrients and dissolved gasses between corals and their environment is a critical determinant of the growth of coral colonies and the productivity of coral reefs. To date, this exchange has been assumed to be limited by molecular diffusion through an unstirred boundary layer extending 1-2 mm from the coral surface, with corals relying solely on external flow to overcome this limitation. Here, we present direct microscopic evidence that, instead, corals can actively enhance mass transport through strong vortical flows driven by motile epidermal cilia covering their entire surface. Ciliary beating produces quasi-steady arrays of counterrotating vortices that vigorously stir a layer of water extending up to 2 mm from the coral surface. We show that, under low ambient flow velocities, these vortices, rather than molecular diffusion, control the exchange of nutrients and oxygen between the coral and its environment, enhancing mass transfer rates by up to 400%. This ability of corals to stir their boundary layer changes the way that we perceive the microenvironment of coral surfaces, revealing an active mechanism complementing the passive enhancement of transport by ambient flow. These findings extend our understanding of mass transport processes in reef corals and may shed new light on the evolutionary success of corals and coral reefs.coral microenvironment | coral reef evolution | diffusion boundary layer | microfluidics | biological fluid mechanics

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Calcification in bleached and unbleached Montastraea faveolata: evaluating the role of oxygen and glycerol

Cited by 155 publications

References 46 publications

A new conceptual model of coral biomineralisation: hypoxia as the physiological driver of skeletal extension

A new conceptual model of coral biomineralisation: hypoxia as the physiological driver of skeletal extension

Nutritional status and metabolism of the coral Stylophora subseriata along a eutrophication gradient in Spermonde Archipelago (Indonesia)

Vortical ciliary flows actively enhance mass transport in reef corals

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