Recently, Huang Hui's research team at the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Qian Peiyuan of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have made new progress in the study of the physiological adaptation mechanism of corals to climate change. The series of studies used Pocillopora damicornis as a model organism in Sanya deer-turned-back staghorn cup corals, and the effects of warming and acidification on the early growth and development of coral larvae were studied through a laboratory simulation system. The results showed that although acidification inhibited calcification of coral larvae, the photosynthetic physiology of coral symbiotic insect xanthan algae showed a positive response to the increase in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in seawater, and zooxanthellae increased the rate of photosynthetic electron transport and energy conversion, which was related to the upregulation of the carbonic anhydrase activity of zooxanthellae; moreover, coral larvae always showed physiological trade-off when facing individual warming, acidification or a combination of the two. That is, coral larvae inhibit asexual budding to support bone calcification and tissue growth, which in turn facilitates the survival of coral larvae under acidification conditions.
In addition, the researchers also paid attention to the role of natural diurnal fluctuations in temperature and carbonate systems in coral response to warming and acidification, and found that diurnal fluctuations in seawater temperature can alleviate the negative impact of warming on coral photosynthetic physiology, but have less impact on larval growth and development. In contrast, the acidification treatment of diurnal fluctuations in carbon dioxide partial pressure increases the energy consumption of larval calcification, thereby inhibiting the germination rate of larval germination. When considering the natural diurnal fluctuations of carbonate systems, the negative impact of seawater acidification on coral larval growth and development may be more severe than expected.
The above research results have been published in the international academic journals Frontiers of Physiology, Coral Reef, Bio-Geosciences and Journal of Experimental Marine Bioecology. The series of research has been co-funded by the NSFC-Guangdong Joint Fund Key Project and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Pilot Project.
Schematic diagram of the physiological trade-off of coral larvae
Source: South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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