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National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Calcification rates of crustose coralline algae derived from calcification accretion units (CAUs) deployed in Puerto Rico

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 03, 2026 at 08:14 AM | Dataset Last Updated: October 12, 2022 at 12:00 AM
The calcification rate data described here are from calcification accretion units (CAUs) that have been retrieved (and replaced) at existing, long-term monitoring sites during the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) led NCRMP missions in Puerto Rico and processed at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. CAUs are PVC settlement plates that facilitate the recruitment and colonization of crustose coralline algae, hard corals, and other reef calcifiers. Laboratory experiments show that CCA and coral calcification rates are strongly correlated with seawater chemistry, and shifts in carbonate chemistry conditions due to ocean acidification could lead to reduced calcification and accretion rates and ecological phase shifts in coral reef communities. Coral reef calcium carbonate accretion rates can be estimated by measuring the change in weight of the CAUs between deployment and retrieval. Monitoring net accretion over successive deployments allows for the detection of changes in reef calcification rates over time. The number of processed CAUs for a site may be less than the number deployed, either because the units were lost or damaged at sea and therefore not recovered, or in rare instances, due to errors during laboratory processing. This study provides information about spatial and temporal patterns of reef carbonate calcification and accretion rates and serves as a basis for detecting changes associated with changing seawater chemistry due to ocean acidification. These data can also be used in comparative analyses across natural gradients, thereby assisting efforts to determine whether key reef-building taxa can acclimatize to changing oceanographic environments. These data will have immediate, direct impacts on predictions of reef resilience in a higher carbon dioxide (CO2) world and on the design of reef management strategies.

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  • https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0157633

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  • Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU) Assembly, Deployment, and Recovery Standard Operating Procedure (2015)

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  • Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU) Laboratory Analysis Standard Operating Procedure (2015)

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  • https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0043843

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  • GCMD Keyword Forum Page

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0264850 CALCIFICATION laboratory analysis laboratory analyses NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) CORAL REEF STUDIES

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description The calcification rate data described here are from calcification accretion units (CAUs) that have been retrieved (and replaced) at existing, long-term monitoring sites during the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) led NCRMP missions in Puerto Rico and processed at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. CAUs are PVC settlement plates that facilitate the recruitment and colonization of crustose coralline algae, hard corals, and other reef calcifiers. Laboratory experiments show that CCA and coral calcification rates are strongly correlated with seawater chemistry, and shifts in carbonate chemistry conditions due to ocean acidification could lead to reduced calcification and accretion rates and ecological phase shifts in coral reef communities. Coral reef calcium carbonate accretion rates can be estimated by measuring the change in weight of the CAUs between deployment and retrieval. Monitoring net accretion over successive deployments allows for the detection of changes in reef calcification rates over time. The number of processed CAUs for a site may be less than the number deployed, either because the units were lost or damaged at sea and therefore not recovered, or in rare instances, due to errors during laboratory processing. This study provides information about spatial and temporal patterns of reef carbonate calcification and accretion rates and serves as a basis for detecting changes associated with changing seawater chemistry due to ocean acidification. These data can also be used in comparative analyses across natural gradients, thereby assisting efforts to determine whether key reef-building taxa can acclimatize to changing oceanographic environments. These data will have immediate, direct impacts on predictions of reef resilience in a higher carbon dioxide (CO2) world and on the design of reef management strategies.
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issued 2022-10-10T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
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  "CALCIFICATION",
  "laboratory analysis",
  "laboratory analyses",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)",
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  "Caribbean Sea",
  "oceanography",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS > National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/PIFSC/ESD > Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
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  "ESD",
  "Ecosystem Sciences Division",
  "PIFSC",
  "Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center",
  "743",
  "National Coral Reef Monitoring Program",
  "Numeric Data Sets > Calcification Rate",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal Cover",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Algal Growth > Calcification Rate",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Calcareous Macroalgae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Crustose Coralline Algae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Encrusting Macroalgae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Fleshy Macroalgae",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Reef Monitoring and Assessment",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Vegetation > Algae > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU)",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Coastal Processes > Coral Reefs",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Chemistry > Calcification",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Chemistry > Carbonate Chemistry",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Chemistry > Ocean Acidification",
  "CAU",
  "Calcification Plate",
  "Settling Plate",
  "calcification accretion unit",
  "COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Lajas > La Parguera > Enrique Reef (Cayo Enrique ) (17N067W0001)",
  "OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Lajas > La Parguera > Enrique Reef (Cayo Enrique ) (17N067W0001)",
  "OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > CARIBBEAN SEA",
  "La Parguera Natural Reserve",
  "3JMJDP"
]
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language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2022-10-12T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
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rights otherRestrictions
spatial -67.0511,17.95373,-67.0511,17.95373
temporal 2015-01-16T00:00:00+00:00/2015-01-16T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
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title National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Calcification rates of crustose coralline algae derived from calcification accretion units (CAUs) deployed in Puerto Rico

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