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Poster presented by Sebastian Hennige at the Annual Meeting of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland 2011.
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Increasing acidity in the oceans linked to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (ocean acidi�cation) could seriously damage marine creatures such as corals, which need calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to build their skeletons. Cold-water corals (CWC) are among the most three-dimensionally complex deep-sea habitats known and are associated with high local biodiversity, however, despite their importance, little is known of their long-term response to ocean acidi�cation, both ecophysiologically and functionally. The aim of the project is to therefore assess the impact of ocean acidi�cation upon growth, physiology and structural integrity of the most widespread framework building CWC species, Lophelia pertusa, and to consider how it will impede the ecosystem engineering function CWCs perform.
AcknowledgementsHeriot-Watt University’s Environment and Climate Change theme. The UK Ocean Acidi�cation Research Programme.Marine Alliance for Science & Technology for Scotland
Studying the impacts of ocean acidi�cation and warming on the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa
Background
Hennige SJ, Wicks LC, Roberts JM
Long-term experimentsNubbins of Lophelia pertusa were collected from the Mingulay Reef Complex, Scotland, UK in June 2011. Following acclimation to aquaria conditions, nubbins will be subject to a range of temperature and pCO2 treatments for an 18 month period. This long-term approach will help us to understand whether corals have the ability to acclimate to new conditions.
• Metabolic rates• Growth• Calcification• Dissolution of dead coral skeleton
Aboard the RRS Discovery in summer 2011, short-term experiments were conducted on freshly collected L. pertusa. Coral fragments were subject to a range of environmental conditions, including increased temperatures and altered CO2 levels and their metabolic and growth responses recorded.
Additionally, metabolic rates, growth rates, mucus excretion rates, and ingestion were measured in freshly collected corals to allow estimations of the carbon budget of L. pertusa. Such parameters will allow us to assess which fraction of the carbon budget is a�ected by future warming and acidi�cation.
Every 3 months, we will assess:Every 3 months, we will assess:Every 3 months, we will assess:
Short-term experiments
Centre for Marine Biodiversity &
Biotechnology, School of Life
Sciences, Heriot-Watt University,
Edinburgh, Scotland, EH14 4AS
T: +44 (0) 131 451 3463
F: +44 (0) 131 451 3009
Caldiera & Wickett (2003) Anthropogenic Carbon and Ocean pH. Nature 425: 365Maier et al. (2009) Calci�cation of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, under ambient and reduced pH. Biogeosciences 6(8): 1671-1680Roberts et al. (2006) Reefs of the deep: the biology and geology of cold-water coral ecosystems. Science 312: 543-547Roberts et al. (2009) Cold-water Corals: The Biology and Geology of Deep-sea Coral Habitats. Cambridge University Press
Lophelia pertusa polyps and reef forming colonies
UK Ocean AcidificationResearch Programme
pCO2 TemperatureNo. systems
per treatmentCoral nubbins
per system
380 ppm
380 ppm
750 ppm
750 ppm
1000 ppm
9oC
9oC
12oC
12oC
9oC
4
4
4
4
4
L. pertusa fragments in respiration chambers
Aquaria set-up for long term experiment
Feeding L. pertusa in their ‘coral hotel’ on RRS Discovery
Setting up respiration chambersin water bath
