The Biology and Economics of Coral Growth

To protect natural coral reefs, it is of utmost importance to understand how the growth of the main reef-building organisms—the zooxanthellate scleractinian corals—is controlled. Understanding coral growth is also relevant for coral aquaculture, which is a rapidly developing business. This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of factors that can influence the growth of zooxanthellate scleractinian corals, with particular emphasis on interactions between these factors. Furthermore, the kinetic principles underlying coral growth are discussed. The reviewed information is put into an economic perspective by making an estimation of the costs of coral aquaculture

The Effect of Elevated CO2 and Increased Temperature on in Vitro Fertilization Success and Initial Embryonic Development of Single Male:Female Crosses of Broad-Cast Spawning Corals at Mid- and High-Latitude Locations

The impact of global climate change on coral reefs is expected to be most profound at the sea surface, where fertilization and embryonic development of broadcast-spawning corals takes place. We examined the effect of increased temperature and elevated CO2 levels on the in vitro fertilization success and initial embryonic development of broadcast-spawning corals using a single male:female cross of three different species from mid- and high-latitude locations: Lyudao, Taiwan (22° N) and Kochi, Japan (32° N). Eggs were fertilized under ambient conditions (27 °C and 500 μatm CO2) and under conditions predicted for 2100 (IPCC worst case scenario, 31 °C and 1000 μatm CO2). Fertilization success, abnormal development and early developmental success were determined for each sample. Increased temperature had a more profound influence than elevated CO2. In most cases, near-future warming caused a significant drop in early developmental success as a result of decreased fertilization success and/or increased abnormal development. The embryonic development of the male:female cross of A. hyacinthus from the high-latitude location was more sensitive to the increased temperature (+4 °C) than the male:female cross of A. hyacinthus from the mid-latitude location. The response to the elevated CO2 level was small and highly variable, ranging from positive to negative responses. These results suggest that global warming is a more significant and universal stressor than ocean acidification on the early embryonic development of corals from mid- and high-latitude locations

The effect of elevated CO2 and increased temperature on in vitro fertilization success and initial embryonic development of single male:female crosses of broad-cast spawning corals at a mid- and high-latitude location

[[sponsorship]]生物多樣性研究中心[[note]]已出版;[Others];有審查制度;具代表性[[note]]http://gateway.isiknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Drexel&SrcApp=hagerty_opac&KeyRecord=2077-1312&DestApp=JCR&RQ=IF_CAT_BOXPLO

The effect of elevated CO2 and increased temperature on in vitro fertilization success and initial embryonic development of single male:female crosses of broad-cast spawning corals at mid- and high-latitude locations

The impact of global climate change on coral reefs is expected to be most profound at the sea surface, where fertilization and embryonic development of broadcast-spawning corals takes place. We examined the effect of increased temperature and elevated CO2 levels on the in vitro fertilization success and initial embryonic development of broadcast-spawning corals using a single male:female cross of three different species from mid- and high-latitude locations: Lyudao, Taiwan (22° N) and Kochi, Japan (32° N). Eggs were fertilized under ambient conditions (27 °C and 500 µatm CO2) and under conditions predicted for 2100 (IPCC worst case scenario, 31 °C and 1000 µatm CO2). Fertilization success, abnormal development and early developmental success were determined for each sample. Increased temperature had a more profound influence than elevated CO2. In most cases, near-future warming caused a significant drop in early developmental success as a result of decreased fertilization success and/or increased abnormal development. The embryonic development of the male:female cross of A. hyacinthus from the high-latitude location was more sensitive to the increased temperature (+4 °C) than the male:female cross of A. hyacinthus from the mid-latitude location. The response to the elevated CO2 level was small and highly variable, ranging from positive to negative responses. These results suggest that global warming is a more significant and universal stressor than ocean acidification on the early embryonic development of corals from mid- and high-latitude locations

The Effect of Elevated CO2 and Increased Temperature on in Vitro Fertilization Success and Initial Embryonic Development of Single Male:Female Crosses of Broad-Cast Spawning Corals at Mid- and High-Latitude Locations

The impact of global climate change on coral reefs is expected to be most profound at the sea surface, where fertilization and embryonic development of broadcast-spawning corals takes place. We examined the effect of increased temperature and elevated CO2 levels on the in vitro fertilization success and initial embryonic development of broadcast-spawning corals using a single male:female cross of three different species from mid- and high-latitude locations: Lyudao, Taiwan (22° N) and Kochi, Japan (32° N). Eggs were fertilized under ambient conditions (27 °C and 500 μatm CO2) and under conditions predicted for 2100 (IPCC worst case scenario, 31 °C and 1000 μatm CO2). Fertilization success, abnormal development and early developmental success were determined for each sample. Increased temperature had a more profound influence than elevated CO2. In most cases, near-future warming caused a significant drop in early developmental success as a result of decreased fertilization success and/or increased abnormal development. The embryonic development of the male:female cross of A. hyacinthus from the high-latitude location was more sensitive to the increased temperature (+4 °C) than the male:female cross of A. hyacinthus from the mid-latitude location. The response to the elevated CO2 level was small and highly variable, ranging from positive to negative responses. These results suggest that global warming is a more significant and universal stressor than ocean acidification on the early embryonic development of corals from mid- and high-latitude locations

Oil and gas platforms as artificial substrates for epibenthic North Sea fauna: Effects of location and depth

Offshore oil and gas platforms, shipwrecks and wind farms are known to act as artificial reefs, attracting a broad range of marine species such as algae, invertebrate species and fish. Using Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) videos made for technical inspection of eight Dutch and nine Danish oil and gas platforms, we characterize the abundance and diversity of invertebrates and fish species found on or around these artificial hard substrates. Dutch platforms located in the southern part of the North Sea were at depths ranging from 26 to 46 meters, whereas Danish platforms located about 400 km further north were deeper (40 – 66 m). A total of 38 taxa were identified. The most common species were Mytilus edulis (Mollusca), Metridium senile (Cnidaria) and Asterias rubens (Echinodermata). One non-indigenous species was identified: Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora). A significant clustering of species communities was found based on geographical location: a southern cluster close to the Dutch shoreline and a northern cluster near Denmark (p=0.01). Species diversity was not significantly different between geographical clusters; however, average Braun-Blanquet abundance was significantly higher on in the northern cluster (p<0.05). Invertebrate and fish communities did not change significantly with depth. However, depth zone was a significant clustering factor (p=0.01): communities closer to the seafloor (maximum depth minus 5 m) were characterized by higher species diversity and species richness compared to communities found closer to the surface (<10 m). Future research should focus on the potential role of habitat complexity, substrate orientation and type, and inter-specific relations in explaining the different communities on offshore platforms

Data for: Oil and gas platforms as artificial substrates for epibenthic North Sea fauna: effects of location and depth

The data were collected through inspection of ROV videos. The data are formatted in a single csv file. It contains 30 columns with 5587 rows, including title row. Each row represents a separate observation of species abundance according to the Braun-Blanquet scale. The dataset contains null values which are indicated with NA. The first 21 columns contain sample information. Columns 22-29 contain information about taxonomic grouping and Column 30 contains the Braun-Blanquet abundance values