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Effects of thermal stress and nitrate enrichment on the larval performance of two Caribbean reef corals

Metadata Updated: May 10, 2024

The effects of multiple stressors on the early life stages of reef-building corals are poorly understood. Elevated temperature is the main physiological driver of mass coral bleaching events, but increasing evidence suggests that other stressors, including elevated dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), may exacerbate the negative effects of thermal stress. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the performance of larvae of Orbicella faveolata and Porites astreoides, two important Caribbean reef coral species with contrasting reproductive and algal transmission modes, under increased temperature and/or elevated DIN. We used a fluorescence-based microplate respirometer to measure the oxygen consumption of coral larvae from both species, and also assessed the effects of these stressors on P.astreoides larval settlement and mortality. Overall, we found that (1) larvae increased their respiration in response to different factors (O. faveolata in response to elevated temperature and P. astreoides in response to elevated nitrate) and (2) P. astreoides larvae showed a significant increase in settlement as a result of elevated nitrate, but higher mortality under elevated temperature. This study shows how microplate respirometry can be successfully used to assess changes in respiration of coral larvae, and our findings suggest that the effects of thermal stress and nitrate enrichment in coral larvae may be species specific and are neither additive nor synergistic for O. faveolata or P. astreoides. These findings may have important consequences for the recruitment and community reassembly of corals to nutrient-polluted reefs that have been impacted by climate change.

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License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Date May 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date May 10, 2024
Metadata Updated Date May 10, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2017-11 (publication)
Frequency Of Update notPlanned

Metadata Source

Harvested from CoRIS FGDC Metadata

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date May 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date May 10, 2024
Metadata Updated Date May 10, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2017-11 (publication)
Responsible Party University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (Point of Contact)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.crcp:CoRIS_Serrano_metadata
Access Constraints Use Constraints: none, Access Constraints: none
Bbox East Long -79.624306
Bbox North Lat 30.476
Bbox South Lat 24.006308
Bbox West Long -87.994896
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update notPlanned
Harvest Object Id 5c8ee024-2b31-4009-a160-d4d76e56efb6
Harvest Source Id d96f14c5-3e35-4b0a-a3b8-9392afeb50fa
Harvest Source Title CoRIS FGDC Metadata
Licence Disclaimer- While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute
Lineage
Metadata Language eng; USA
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-87.994896, 24.006308], [-79.624306, 24.006308], [-79.624306, 30.476], [-87.994896, 30.476], [-87.994896, 24.006308]]]}
Progress completed
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 2015-05-01
Temporal Extent End 2015-08-01

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