Photoacclimation, growth and distribution of massive coral species in clear and turbid waters

Hennige, Sebastian J., Smith, David J., Perkins, Rupert Gordon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0810-2656, Consalvey, Mireille, Paterson, David M. and Suggett, David J. 2008. Photoacclimation, growth and distribution of massive coral species in clear and turbid waters. Marine ecology progress series 369 , pp. 77-88. 10.3354/meps07612

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Abstract

Massive coral species play a key role in coral reef ecosystems, adding significantly to physical integrity, long term stability and reef biodiversity. This study coupled the assessment of the distribution and abundance of 4 dominant massive coral species, Diploastrea heliopora, Favia speciosa, F. matthaii and Porites lutea, with investigations into species-specific photoacclimatory responses within the Wakatobi Marine National Park of southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, to determine the potential of photoacclimation to be a driver of biological success. For this, rapid light curves using pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) chlorophyll a fluorescence techniques were employed with additional manipulations to circumvent differences of light quality and absorption between species and across environmental gradients. P. lutea was examined over a range of depths and sites to determine patterns of photoacclimation, and all 4 species were assessed at a single depth between sites for which long-term data for coral community structure and growth existed. Light availability was more highly constrained with depth than between sites; consequently, photoacclimation patterns for P. lutea appeared greater with depth than across environmental gradients. All 4 species were found to differentially modify the extent of non-photochemical quenching to maintain a constant photochemical operating efficiency (qP). Therefore, our results suggest that these massive corals photoacclimate to ensure a constant light-dependent rate of reduction of the plastoquinone pool across growth environments.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QE Geology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Chlorophyll a fluorescence ; Zooxanthellae ; PAM ; Photoacclimation ; Massive coral ; Indo-Pacific
Publisher:	Inter-Research Science Center
ISSN:	0171-8630
Last Modified:	18 Oct 2022 13:01
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/12048

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