Publication

Skeletal growth dynamics linked to trace-element composition in the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis

Anders Meibom, Christophe Kopp, Jaroslaw Hubert Stolarski, Isabelle Domart-Coulon
2012
Journal Articles

Abstract

The micro-and ultra-structural skeletal growth dynamics of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus 1758) was studied with pulsed Sr-86-labeling and high spatial resolution NanoSIMS isotopic imaging. Average extension rates for the two basic ultra-structural components of the skeleton, Rapid Accretion Deposits (RAD) and Thickening Deposits (TD), were compared between corallite wall, spines and dissepiments. The RAD, forming the basal part of the dissepiment, were found to form extremely fast compared with RAD and TD in other parts of the skeleton. Trace element compositions (i.e., Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios) obtained for each ultra-structural component reveal the full range of chemical variation on the scale of the individual corallite. The Mg/Ca ratio was found to vary about a factor of 6, from similar to 2.2 mmol/mol in slow growing ornamental spines to similar to 13 mmol/mol in the fast forming dissepiment RAD. A positive relationship between Mg/Ca and inferred average extension rate was observed. Sr/Ca, on the other hand, although it varies substantially in the range between similar to 6.5 and similar to 9.5 mmol/mol, does not show any relationship with inferred average extension rate, nor does is correlate with the Mg/Ca ratio. Rayleigh fractionation models are not capable of explaining the trace element variations. The results presented in this study imply that the coral is capable of controlling its biomineralization activity with great temporal and spatial precision. Spatial heterogeneity in coral tissue activity should be carefully investigated in the development of biomineralization models for scleractinian corals. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/68599951-076a-4225-aaf3-e3144281e133

Anders Meibom, Christophe Kopp, Jaroslaw Hubert Stolarski, Isabelle Domart-Coulon
2012
Journal Articles

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/68599951-076a-4225-aaf3-e3144281e133

Related concepts (25)

Coral reef

A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and jellyfish. Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons that support and protect the coral. Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated water.

Coral

Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. A coral "group" is a colony of very many genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in height. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening.

Chemical element

A chemical element is a chemical substance that cannot be broken down into other substances. The basic particle that constitutes a chemical element is the atom, and each chemical element is distinguished by the number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms, known as its atomic number. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8, meaning that each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its nucleus. This is in contrast to chemical compounds and mixtures, which contain atoms with more than one atomic number.

Related publications (27)

Gene expression of Pocillopora damicornis coral larvae in response to acidification and ocean warming

Hui Huang, Nils Rädecker

Objectives The endosymbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae is key to the ecological success of reef-building corals. However, climate change is threatening to destabilize this symbiosis on a global scale. Most studies looking into the response of corals to heat str ...

BMC2024

Excess labile carbon promotes diazotroph abundance in heat-stressed octocorals

Claudia Isabella Pogoreutz

Nitrogen limitation is the foundation of stable coral-algal symbioses. Diazotrophs, prokaryotes capable of fixing N-2 into ammonia, support the productivity of corals in oligotrophic waters, but could contribute to the destabilization of holobiont function ...

ROYAL SOC2023

Worldwide analysis of reef surveys sorts coral taxa by associations with recent and past heat stress

Stéphane Joost, Oliver Michele Selmoni, Véronique Berteaux-Lecellier

Coral reefs around the world are under threat from anomalous heat waves that are causing the widespread decline of hard corals. Different coral taxa are known to have different sensitivities to heat, although variation in susceptibilities have also been ob ...

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA2022