Table of Contents

• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Program Information
• Funding

This data set tested the effect of 3 pCO2 levels on the metabolism of juvenile massive Porites spp. Conducted in Moorea, French Polynesia in April-May 2011.  Aerobic dark respiration, skeletal weight (i.e., calcification), biomass, and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured as well as the experimental seawater carabonate parameters.

These data were published in Edmunds PJ. (2012) Effect of pCO₂ on the growth, respiration, and photophysiology of massive Porites spp. in Moorea, French Polynesia. Marine Biology 159: 2149-2160.

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Hypothesis: that high pCO2 (76.6 Pa and 87.2 Pa vs. 42.9 Pa) has no effect on the metabolism of juvenile massive Porites spp. after 11 days at 28 °C and 545 µmol quanta/m^2/s. The response was assessed as aerobic dark respiration, skeletal weight (i.e., calcification), biomass, and chlorophyll fluorescence. Corals were collected from the shallow (3-4 m) back reef of Moorea, French Polynesia (17°28.614'S, 149°48.917'W), and experiments conducted during April and May 2011. An increase in pCO2 to 76.6 Pa had no effect on any dependent variable, but 87.2 Pa pCO2 reduced area-normalized (but not biomass-normalized) respiration 36%, as well as maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) of open RCIIs and effective photochemical efficiency of RCIIs in actinic light (Delta F/F'm ); neither biomass, calcification, nor the energy expenditure coincident with calcification (J/g) was effected. These results do not support the hypothesis that high pCO2 reduces coral calcification through increased metabolic costs and, instead, suggest that high pCO2 causes metabolic depression and photochemical impairment similar to that associated with bleaching. Evidence of a pCO2 threshold between 76.6 and 87.2 Pa for inhibitory effects on respiration and photochemistry deserves further attention as it might signal the presence of unpredictable effects of rising pCO2.

Full methodology description

From http://www.lternet.edu/sites/mcr/ and http://mcr.lternet.edu/:
The Moorea Coral Reef LTER site encompasses the coral reef complex that surrounds the island of Moorea, French Polynesia (17°30'S, 149°50'W). Moorea is a small, triangular volcanic island 20 km west of Tahiti in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. An offshore barrier reef forms a system of shallow (mean depth ~ 5-7 m), narrow (~0.8-1.5 km wide) lagoons around the 60 km perimeter of Moorea. All major coral reef types (e.g., fringing reef, lagoon patch reefs, back reef, barrier reef and fore reef) are present and accessible by small boat.

The MCR LTER was established in 2004 by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and is a partnership between the University of California Santa Barbara and California State University, Northridge. MCR researchers include marine scientists from the UC Santa Barbara, CSU Northridge, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego, CSU San Marcos, Duke University and the University of Hawaii. Field operations are conducted from the UC Berkeley Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia.

MCR LTER Data: The Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER data are managed by and available directly from the MCR project data site URL shown above.  The datasets listed below were collected at or near the MCR LTER sampling locations, and funded by NSF OCE as ancillary projects related to the MCR LTER core research themes.

This project is supported by continuing grants with slight name variations:
LTER: Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem
LTER: MCR II - Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem
LTER: MCR IIB: Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem
LTER: MCR III: Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem
LTER: MCR IV: Long-Term Dynamics of a Coral Reef Ecosystem

adapted from http://www.lternet.edu/

The National Science Foundation established the LTER program in 1980 to support research on long-term ecological phenomena in the United States. The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network is a collaborative effort involving more than 1800 scientists and students investigating ecological processes over long temporal and broad spatial scales. The LTER Network promotes synthesis and comparative research across sites and ecosystems and among other related national and international research programs. The LTER research sites represent diverse ecosystems with emphasis on different research themes, and cross-site communication, network publications, and research-planning activities are coordinated through the LTER Network Office.

2017 LTER research site map obtained from https://lternet.edu/site/lter-network/