Reuter Markus, D'Olivo Juan P, Brachert Thomas C, Spreter Philipp M, Mertz-Kraus Regina, Wrozyna Claudia
Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Reef Systems Academic Unit, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Puerto Morelos, Mexico.
Commun Earth Environ. 2025;6(1):569. doi: 10.1038/s43247-025-02559-9. Epub 2025 Jul 19.
The history of resilience of organisms over geologic timescales serves as a reference for predicting their response to future conditions. Here we use fossil coral records of skeletal growth and environmental variability from the subtropical Central Paratethys Sea to assess coral resilience to past ocean warming and acidification. These records offer a unique perspective on the calcification performance and environmental tolerances of a major present-day reef builder during the globally warm mid-Miocene CO maximum and subsequent climate transition (16 to 13 Ma). We found evidence for up-regulation of the pH and saturation state of the corals' calcifying fluid as a mechanism underlying past resilience. However, this physiological control on the internal carbonate chemistry was insufficient to counteract the sub-optimal environment, resulting in an extremely low calcification rate that likely affected reef framework accretion. Our findings emphasize the influence of latitudinal seasonality on the sensitivity of coral calcification to climate change.
生物体在地质时间尺度上的恢复力历史可作为预测其对未来环境响应的参考。在此，我们利用来自亚热带中旁特提斯海的珊瑚化石记录，这些记录包含骨骼生长和环境变异性信息，以此评估珊瑚对过去海洋变暖和酸化的恢复力。这些记录为现今一种主要的造礁生物在全球温暖的中新世中期二氧化碳最大值时期及随后的气候转变（1600万至1300万年前）的钙化性能和环境耐受性提供了独特视角。我们发现证据表明，珊瑚钙化液的pH值和饱和度状态上调是过去恢复力的潜在机制。然而，这种对内部碳酸盐化学的生理控制不足以抵消次优环境的影响，导致钙化率极低，这可能影响了珊瑚礁框架的堆积。我们的研究结果强调了纬度季节性对珊瑚钙化对气候变化敏感性的影响。
