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Evidence of acclimatization or adaptation in Hawaiian corals to higher ocean temperatures

PeerJ, ISSN: 2167-8359, Vol: 2018, Issue: 8, Page: e5347
2018
  • 61
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 216
    Captures
  • 13
    Mentions
  • 233
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    61
  • Captures
    216
  • Mentions
    13
    • News Mentions
      9
      • News
        9
    • Blog Mentions
      4
      • Blog
        4
  • Social Media
    233
    • Shares, Likes & Comments
      233
      • Facebook
        233

Most Recent News

Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger

Nature, Published online: 07 August 2024; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07672-x High ocean temperatures that caused mass coral bleaching and mortality on the Great Barrier Reef in the past decade are the warmest in 400 years and are the result of human-caused climate change.

Article Description

Ocean temperatures have been accelerating at an alarming rate mainly due to anthro- pogenic fossil fuel emissions. This has led to an increase in the severity and duration of coral bleaching events. Predicted projections for the state of reefs do not take into account the rates of adaptation or acclimatization of corals as these have not as yet been fully documented. To determine any possible changes in thermal tolerances, manipulative experiments were conducted to precisely replicate the initial, pivotal research defining threshold temperatures of corals nearly five decades ago. Statistically higher calcification rates, survivorship, and lower mortality were observed in Montipora capitata, Pocillopora damicornis, and Lobactis scutaria in the present study at 31 °C compared to the original 1970 findings. First whole colony mortality was also observed to occur sooner in 1970 than in 2017 in M. capitata (3 d vs. 15 d respectively), L. scutaria (3 d vs. 17 d), and in P. damicornis (3 d vs. 13 d). Additionally, bleaching occurred sooner in 1970 compared to the 2017 experiment across species. Irradiance was an important factor during the recovery period for mortality but did not significantly alter calcification. Mortality was decreased by 17% with a 50% reduction in irradiance during the recovery period. These findings provide the first evidence of coral acclimatization or adaptation to increasing ocean temperatures for corals collected from the same location and using close replication of the experiment conducted nearly 50 years earlier. An important factor in this increased resistance to elevated temperature may be related to removal of the discharge of treated sewage into Kāne'ohe Bay and resulting decrease in nitrification and eutrophication. However, this level of increased temperature tolerance may not be occurring rapidly enough to escape the projected increased intensity of bleaching events, as evidenced by the recent 2014 and 2015 high coral mortality in Hawai'i (34%) and in the tropics worldwide.

Bibliographic Details

Coles, Steve L; Bahr, Keisha D; Rodgers, Ku'ulei S; May, Stacie L; McGowan, Ashley E; Tsang, Anita; Bumgarner, Josh; Han, Ji Hoon

PeerJ

Neuroscience; Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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