Sclerite calcification and reef-building in the fleshy octocoral genus Sinularia (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea)

Jeng, Ming-Shiou; Huang, Hui; Dai, Chang‐Feng; Hsiao, Yun; Benayahu, Yehuda

doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0765-z

Cited by 52 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Similar to large monospecific carpets on reef flats (Benayahu and Loya 1977), the soft coral transplants in this study formed thick fleshy mats over metre-wide granite boulders in 24 months. Of these, Sinularia colonies are known to develop sturdy bases of spiculite, and are capable of proliferating quickly by colony fission to generate large aggregations (Schuhmacher 1997;Fabricius and Alderslade 2001;Jeng et al, 2011). Sinularia and Lobophytum can also tolerate thermal stress to some extent and recover rapidly (Van Woesik et al, 2011), highlighting their potential for establishing themselves even in the harsh intertidal zone of seawalls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Enhancing the biodiversity of coastal defence structures: transplantation of nursery-reared reef biota onto intertidal seawalls

Lim

Ong

et al. 2015

Ecological Engineering

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Enhancing the biodiversity of coastal defence structures: transplantation of nursery-reared reef biota onto intertidal seawalls

Lim

Ong

et al. 2015

Ecological Engineering

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“…As soft corals only marginally contribute to calcareous reef accretion (Jeng et al, 2011), they are not a substitute for the scleractinian ecosystem engineering capacities, which consequently may not be sustained in soft-coral-dominated reef communities, likely resulting in ecosystem degradation. Nevertheless, in situ studies in scleractinianand soft-coral-dominated reef ecosystems are required to increase our understanding of these dynamic processes and provide important insights into the potential changes of reef ecosystem functioning after phase shifts from scleractinian to soft coral dominance.…”

Section: Ecological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inorganic nutrient availability affects organic matter fluxes and metabolic activity in the soft coral genus Xenia

Bednarz

Naumann

Niggl

et al. 2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYThe release of organic matter (OM) by scleractinian corals represents a key physiological process that importantly contributes to coral reef ecosystem functioning, and is affected by inorganic nutrient availability. Although OM fluxes have been studied for several dominant reef taxa, no information is available for soft corals, one of the major benthic groups in tropical reef environments. Thus, this study investigates OM fluxes along with other key physiological parameters (i.e. photosynthesis, respiration and chlorophyll a tissue content) in the common soft coral genus Xenia after a 4-week exposure period to elevated ammonium (N; 20.0mmoll ). Although DOC uptake significantly increased in the N treatment, POC flux was not affected. The P treatment significantly enhanced PN release as well as photosynthesis and respiration rates, suggesting that autotrophic carbon acquisition of zooxanthellae endosymbionts influences OM fluxes by the coral host. Our physiological findings confirm the significant effect of inorganic nutrient availability on OM fluxes and key metabolic processes for the soft coral Xenia, and provide the first clues on OM cycles initiated by soft corals in reef environments exposed to ambient and elevated inorganic nutrient concentrations.

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“…In shallow and exposed fore-reef zones in the Caribbean region, the diversity and biomass of gorgonians could be higher than scleractinian corals (Sánchez et al 1998;Villamizar et al 2013;Ruzicka et al 2013). Octocorals can be important contributors of calcium carbonate to the sediments (Cary 1918;Velimirov and Böhm 1976), as well as producing spiculite, a calcareous solid rock made of octocoral sclerites, which is a major component of reef accretion (Schuhmacher 1997;Jeng et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Responses of the tropical gorgonian coral Eunicea fusca to ocean acidification conditions

et al. 2014

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Ocean acidification can have negative repercussions from the organism to ecosystem levels. Octocorals deposit high-magnesium calcite in their skeletons, and according to different models, they could be more susceptible to the depletion of carbonate ions than either calcite or aragonite-depositing organisms. This study investigated the response of the gorgonian coral Eunicea fusca to a range of CO 2 concentrations from 285 to 4,568 ppm (pH range 8.1-7.1) over a 4-week period. Gorgonian growth and calcification were measured at each level of CO 2 as linear extension rate and percent change in buoyant weight and calcein incorporation in individual sclerites, respectively. There was a significant negative relationship for calcification and CO 2 concentration that was well explained by a linear model regression analysis for both buoyant weight and calcein staining. In general, growth and calcification did not stop in any of the concentrations of pCO 2 ; however, some of the octocoral fragments experienced negative calcification at undersaturated levels of calcium carbonate ([4,500 ppm) suggesting possible dissolution effects. These results highlight the susceptibility of the gorgonian coral E. fusca to elevated levels of carbon dioxide but suggest that E. fusca could still survive well in mid-term ocean acidification conditions expected by the end of this century, which provides important information on the effects of ocean acidification on the dynamics of coral reef communities. Gorgonian corals can be expected to diversify and thrive in the Atlantic-Eastern Pacific; as scleractinian corals decline, it is likely to expect a shift in these reef communities from scleractinian coral dominated to octocoral/soft coral dominated under a ''business as usual'' scenario of CO 2 emissions.

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Sclerite calcification and reef-building in the fleshy octocoral genus Sinularia (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea)

Cited by 52 publications

References 15 publications

Enhancing the biodiversity of coastal defence structures: transplantation of nursery-reared reef biota onto intertidal seawalls

Enhancing the biodiversity of coastal defence structures: transplantation of nursery-reared reef biota onto intertidal seawalls

Inorganic nutrient availability affects organic matter fluxes and metabolic activity in the soft coral genus Xenia

Responses of the tropical gorgonian coral Eunicea fusca to ocean acidification conditions

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