Widespread oxyregulation in tropical corals under hypoxia.

Hypoxia (low oxygen stress) is increasingly reported on coral reefs, caused by ocean deoxygenation linked to coastal nutrient pollution and ocean warming. While the ability to regulate respiration is a key driver of hypoxia tolerance in many other aquatic taxa, corals' oxyregulatory capabilities remain virtually unexplored. Here, we examine O-consumption patterns across 17 coral species under declining O partial pressure (pO). All corals showed ability to oxyregulate, but total positive regulation (T) varied between species, ranging from 0.41 (Pocillopora damicornis) to 2.42 (P. acuta). On average, corals performed maximum regulation effort (P) at low pO (30% air saturation, corresponding to lower O levels measured on natural reef systems), and exhibited detectable regulation down to as low as <10% air saturation. Our study shows that corals are not oxyconformers as previously thought, suggesting oxyregulation is likely important for survival in dynamic O environments of shallow coral reefs subjected to hypoxic events.