Brunner Christopher A, Uthicke Sven, Ricardo Gerard F, Hoogenboom Mia O, Negri Andrew P
James Cook University School of Marine and Tropical Biology, Townsville, Queensland, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Queensland, Australia; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia; AIMS@JCU, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University and Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia; AIMS@JCU, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University and Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 May 10;768:143897. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143897. Epub 2020 Dec 8.
Coral reef replenishment is threatened by global climate change and local water-quality degradation, including smothering of coral recruits by sediments generated by anthropogenic activities. Here we show that the ability of Acropora millepora recruits to remove sediments diminishes under future climate conditions, leading to increased mortality. Recruits raised under future climate scenarios for fourteen weeks (highest treatment: +1.2 °C, pCO: 950 ppm) showed twofold higher mortality following repeated sediment deposition (50% lethal sediment concentration LC: 14-24 mg cm) compared to recruits raised under current climate conditions (LC: 37-51 mg cm), depending on recruit age at the time of sedimentation. Older and larger recruits were more resistant to sedimentation and only ten-week-old recruits grown under current climate conditions survived sediment loads possible during dredging operations. This demonstrates that water-quality guidelines for managing sediment concentrations will need to be climate-adjusted to protect future coral recruitment.
珊瑚礁的恢复受到全球气候变化和当地水质退化的威胁，包括人为活动产生的沉积物对珊瑚幼体的窒息作用。我们在此表明，在未来气候条件下，多孔鹿角珊瑚幼体清除沉积物的能力会下降，从而导致死亡率上升。在未来气候情景下饲养14周的幼体（最高处理条件：升温1.2°C，pCO₂：950 ppm），在反复沉积沉积物（50%致死沉积物浓度LC：14 - 24毫克/平方厘米）后，与在当前气候条件下饲养的幼体（LC：37 - 51毫克/平方厘米）相比，死亡率高出两倍，这取决于沉积时幼体的年龄。年龄较大、体型较大的幼体对沉积作用更具抵抗力，只有在当前气候条件下生长的10周龄幼体能够在疏浚作业可能产生的沉积物负荷下存活。这表明，管理沉积物浓度的水质准则需要根据气候进行调整，以保护未来的珊瑚幼体补充。
