Direct and indirect effects of high pCO2 on algal grazing by coral reef herbivores from the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea)

Borell, Esther M.; Steinke, Michael; Fine, Maoz

doi:10.1007/s00338-013-1066-5

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Broadbent et al ., ); (iii) dominated by shallow water autotrophs that routinely experience physiological stress likely to drive BVOC production (Baker et al ., ; Suggett & Smith, ) and (iv) exhibit complex ecological interactions that are known to be strongly mediated by biologically derived chemical products (e.g. DeBose et al ., ; Borell et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering the volatile nature of tropical coastal marine ecosystems in a changing world

Exton

McGenity

Steinke

et al. 2014

Global Change Biology

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Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), in particular dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and isoprene, have fundamental ecological, physiological and climatic roles. Our current understanding of these roles is almost exclusively established from terrestrial or oceanic environments but signifies a potentially major, but largely unknown, role for BVOCs in tropical coastal marine ecosystems. The tropical coast is a transition zone between the land and ocean, characterized by highly productive and biodiverse coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves, which house primary producers that are amongst the greatest emitters of BVOCs on the planet. Here, we synthesize our existing understanding of BVOC emissions to produce a novel conceptual framework of the tropical marine coast as a continuum from DMS-dominated reef producers to isoprene-dominated mangroves. We use existing and previously unpublished data to consider how current environmental conditions shape BVOC production across the tropical coastal continuum, and in turn how BVOCs can regulate environmental stress tolerance or species interactions via infochemical networks. We use this as a framework to discuss how existing predictions of future tropical coastal BVOC emissions, and the roles they play, are effectively restricted to present day 'baseline' trends of BVOC production across species and environmental conditions; as such, there remains a critical need to focus research efforts on BVOC responses to rapidly accelerating anthropogenic impacts at local and regional scales. We highlight the complete lack of current knowledge required to understand the future ecological functioning of these important systems, and to predict whether feedback mechanisms are likely to regulate or exacerbate current climate change scenarios through environmentally and ecologically mediated changes to BVOC budgets at the ecosystem level.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering the volatile nature of tropical coastal marine ecosystems in a changing world

Exton

McGenity

Steinke

et al. 2014

Global Change Biology

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“…One consequence of naturally variable stress regimes is that some of the lessons being learnt through experimental manipulations of pCO 2 might actually have greater relevance for contemporary environments than previously thought. For example, high levels of pCO 2 have been found to induce elevated concentrations of the secondary metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) in the reef alga Ulva lactuca [84]. DMSP has many functions including herbivore defense, and the palatability of Ulva to a range of herbivores declined at higher concentrations of DMSP.…”

Section: New Perspectives and Research Opportunities On Coral Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Loss of Acropora has a negative impact on corallivores [119] but could generate selection for omnivory. Macroalgae Corals (mediated by herbivores) If macroalgae increase their chemical defense from herbivores (secondary metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate) under highly elevated pCO 2 [84], they may also increase other defensive secondary metabolites (e.g., terpenes) that happen to have a negative allelopathic effect on corals [120]. Thus, corals would undergo selection to increase their tolerance to the chemical defenses of algae even though the primary driver of change in the algae could be escape from herbivory.…”

Section: Acroporid Coralsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consequences of Ecological, Evolutionary and Biogeochemical Uncertainty for Coral Reef Responses to Climatic Stress

Mumby

Woesik

2014

Current Biology

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Coral reefs are highly sensitive to the stress associated with greenhouse gas emissions, in particular ocean warming and acidification. While experiments show negative responses of most reef organisms to ocean warming, some autotrophs benefit from ocean acidification. Yet, we are uncertain of the response of coral reefs as systems. We begin by reviewing sources of uncertainty and complexity including the translation of physiological effects into demographic processes, indirect ecological interactions among species, the ability of coral reefs to modify their own chemistry, adaptation and trans-generational plasticity. We then incorporate these uncertainties into two simple qualitative models of a coral reef system under climate change. Some sources of uncertainty are far more problematic than others. Climate change is predicted to have an unambiguous negative effect on corals that is robust to several sources of uncertainty but sensitive to the degree of biogeochemical coupling between benthos and seawater. Macroalgal, zoanthid, and herbivorous fish populations are generally predicted to increase, but the ambiguity (confidence) of such predictions are sensitive to the source of uncertainty. For example, reversing the effect of climate-related stress on macroalgae from being positive to negative had no influence on system behaviour. By contrast, the system was highly sensitive to a change in the stress upon herbivorous fishes. Minor changes in competitive interactions had profound impacts on system behaviour, implying that the outcomes of mesocosm studies could be highly sensitive to the choice of taxa. We use our analysis to identify new hypotheses and suggest that the effects of climatic stress on coral reefs provide an exceptional opportunity to test emerging theories of ecological inheritance.

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“…Data from laboratory incubations with microalgae (760 latm; Avgoustidi et al 2012) and field mesocosm experiments with a mixed natural phytoplankton population (750 latm; Hopkins et al 2010) suggest a decrease in DMSP while several strains of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi respond with an increase in intracellular DMSP under elevated pCO 2 (790 and 1000 latm) and a 4 to 6°C increase in temperature (Spielmeyer and Pohnert 2012;Arnold et al 2013). Similarly, varied is the response of DMSP to pCO 2 in seaweeds; Kerrison et al (2012) found no changes in DMSP in Ulva spp at 550-1250 latm, while Borell et al (2013) reported an increase in DMSP in Ulva lactuca following exposure to 4000 latm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing pCO₂ correlates with low concentrations of intracellular dimethylsulfoniopropionate in the sea anemone Anemonia viridis

Borell

Steinke

Horwitz

et al. 2014

Ecology and Evolution

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Marine anthozoans maintain a mutualistic symbiosis with dinoflagellates that are prolific producers of the algal secondary metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the precursor of the climate-cooling trace gas dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Surprisingly, little is known about the physiological role of DMSP in anthozoans and the environmental factors that regulate its production. Here, we assessed the potential functional role of DMSP as an antioxidant and determined how future increases in seawater pCO2 may affect DMSP concentrations in the anemone Anemonia viridis along a natural pCO2 gradient at the island of Vulcano, Italy. There was no significant difference in zooxanthellae genotype and characteristics (density of zooxanthellae, and chlorophyll a) as well as protein concentrations between anemones from three stations along the gradient, V1 (3232 μatm CO2), V2 (682 μatm) and control (463 μatm), which indicated that A. viridis can acclimate to various seawater pCO2. In contrast, DMSP concentrations in anemones from stations V1 (33.23 ± 8.30 fmol cell−1) and V2 (34.78 ± 8.69 fmol cell−1) were about 35% lower than concentrations in tentacles from the control station (51.85 ± 12.96 fmol cell−1). Furthermore, low tissue concentrations of DMSP coincided with low activities of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). Superoxide dismutase activity for both host (7.84 ± 1.37 U·mg−1 protein) and zooxanthellae (2.84 ± 0.41 U·mg−1 protein) at V1 was 40% lower than at the control station (host: 13.19 ± 1.42; zooxanthellae: 4.72 ± 0.57 U·mg−1 protein). Our results provide insight into coastal DMSP production under predicted environmental change and support the function of DMSP as an antioxidant in symbiotic anthozoans.

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Direct and indirect effects of high pCO2 on algal grazing by coral reef herbivores from the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea)

Cited by 19 publications

References 71 publications

Uncovering the volatile nature of tropical coastal marine ecosystems in a changing world

Uncovering the volatile nature of tropical coastal marine ecosystems in a changing world

Consequences of Ecological, Evolutionary and Biogeochemical Uncertainty for Coral Reef Responses to Climatic Stress

Increasing pCO₂ correlates with low concentrations of intracellular dimethylsulfoniopropionate in the sea anemone Anemonia viridis

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Direct and indirect effects of high pCO2 on algal grazing by coral reef herbivores from the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea)

Cited by 19 publications

References 71 publications

Uncovering the volatile nature of tropical coastal marine ecosystems in a changing world

Uncovering the volatile nature of tropical coastal marine ecosystems in a changing world

Consequences of Ecological, Evolutionary and Biogeochemical Uncertainty for Coral Reef Responses to Climatic Stress

Increasing pCO2 correlates with low concentrations of intracellular dimethylsulfoniopropionate in the sea anemone Anemonia viridis

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Increasing pCO₂ correlates with low concentrations of intracellular dimethylsulfoniopropionate in the sea anemone Anemonia viridis