Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Related Publications
• Related Datasets
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Project Information
• Program Information
• Funding

See Carpenter et al. (2018) for a detailed overview of the methodology of the experiment designed to measure coral reef community metabolism responses to ocean acidification over a 4-month period from November 13th, 2015 to March 15th, 2016 in outdoor flumes at the UCB Gump Research Station Moorea, French Polynesia.

Physical data:
Throughout the experiment and in all flumes, logging sensors (sampling every 30 min) recorded PAR (using cosine-corrected PAR loggers, Dataflow Systems Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand), and temperature [Hobo Pro v2 ( 0.2 C), Onset Computer Corp., Bourne, MA].

Community composition:
~ 25% coral cover, comprised of 11% cover of massive Porites spp., 7% Porites rus, 4% Montipora spp. and 3% Pocillopora spp. There was ~ 7% cover of crustose coralline algae (CCA), with 4% Porolithon onkodes and 3% Lithophyllum kotschyanum, and ~ 5% cover of small pieces (i.e., ~ 1-cm diameter) of coral rubble (Fig. S2, Carpenter et al., 2018)."

BCO-DMO Data Manager Processing Notes:
* Data submitted as sheet "carbonate chemistry" in original excel file exported as csv with the values of the cells but not the formatting that was set in Excel (see following date issue).
* Date format changed from dd-mmm (e.g. 13-Nov) to yyyy-mm-dd (e.g. 2015-11-13). The year was captured but not displayed in Excel, years confirmed with the submitter.
* added a conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date
* modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions
* blank values in this dataset are displayed as "nd" for "no data." nd is the default missing data identifier in the BCO-DMO system.
* Temperature and Irradiance values rounded from 13 decimal places to three.

While coral reefs have undergone unprecedented changes in community structure in the past 50 y, they now may be exposed to their gravest threat since the Triassic. This threat is increasing atmospheric CO2, which equilibrates with seawater and causes ocean acidification (OA). In the marine environment, the resulting decline in carbonate saturation state (Omega) makes it energetically less feasible for calcifying taxa to mineralize; this is a major concern for coral reefs. It is possible that the scleractinian architects of reefs will cease to exist as a mineralized taxon within a century, and that calcifying algae will be severely impaired. While there is a rush to understand these effects and make recommendations leading to their mitigation, these efforts are influenced strongly by the notion that the impacts of pCO2 (which causes Omega to change) on calcifying taxa, and the mechanisms that drive them, are well-known. The investigators believe that many of the key processes of mineralization on reefs that are potentially affected by OA are only poorly known and that current knowledge is inadequate to support the scaling of OA effects to the community level. It is vital to measure organismal-scale calcification of key taxa, elucidate the mechanistic bases of these responses, evaluate community scale calcification, and finally, to conduct focused experiments to describe the functional relationships between these scales of mineralization.

This project is a 4-y effort focused on the effects of Ocean Acidification (OA) on coral reefs at multiple spatial and functional scales. The project focuses on the corals, calcified algae, and coral reefs of Moorea, French Polynesia, establishes baseline community-wide calcification data for the detection of OA effects on a decadal-scale, and builds on the research context and climate change focus of the Moorea Coral Reef LTER.

This project is a hypothesis-driven approach to compare the effects of OA on reef taxa and coral reefs in Moorea. The PIs will utilize microcosms to address the impacts and mechanisms of OA on biological processes, as well as the ecological processes shaping community structure. Additionally, studies of reef-wide metabolism will be used to evaluate the impacts of OA on intact reef ecosystems, to provide a context within which the experimental investigations can be scaled to the real world, and critically, to provide a much needed reference against which future changes can be gauged.

The following publications and data resulted from this project:

2016    Edmunds P.J. and 15 others.  Integrating the effects of ocean acidification across functional scales on tropical coral reefs.  Bioscience (in press Feb 2016) **not yet available**

2016    Comeau S, Carpenter RC, Lantz CA, Edmunds PJ.  Parameterization of the response of calcification to temperature and pCO₂ in the coral Acropora pulchra and the alga Lithophyllum kotschyanum.  Coral Reefs (in press Feb 2016)

2016    Brown D., Edmunds P.J.  Differences in the responses of three scleractinians and the hydrocoral Millepora platyphylla to ocean acidification.  Marine Biology (in press Feb 2016) **available soon**
MarBio. 2016: calcification and biomass
MarBio. 2016: tank conditions

2016    Comeau, S., Carpenter, R.C., Edmunds, P.J.  Effects of pCO₂ on photosynthesis and respiration of tropical scleractinian corals and calcified algae.  ICES Journal of Marine Science doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv267

2015    Evensen NR, Edmunds PJ, Sakai K.  Effects of pCO₂ on the capacity for spatial competition by the corals Montipora aequituberculata and massive Porites spp. Marine Ecology Progress Series 541: 123–134. doi: 10.3354/meps11512
MEPS 2015: chemistry
MEPS 2015: field survey
MEPS 2015: linear extension
Download data for this publication (Excel file)

2015    Comeau S., Lantz C. A., Edmunds P. J., Carpenter R. C. Framework of barrier reefs threatened by ocean acidification. Global Change Biology doi: 10.1111/gcb.13023

2015    Comeau, S., Carpenter, R. C., Lantz, C. A., and Edmunds, P. J. Ocean acidification accelerates dissolution of experimental coral reef communities, Biogeosciences, 12, 365-372, doi:10.5194/bg-12-365-2015.
calcification rates - flume expt
carbonate chemistry - flume expt
External data repository: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.847986

2014    Comeau S, Carpenter RC, Edmunds PJ.  Effects of irradiance on the response of the coral Acropora pulchra and the calcifying alga Hydrolithon reinboldii to temperature elevation and ocean acidification.  Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (in press)

2014    Comeau S, Carpenter RC, Nojiri Y, Putnam HM, Sakai K, Edmunds PJ^.  Pacific-wide contrast highlights resistance of reef calcifiers to ocean acidification.  Royal Society of London (B) 281: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1339
External data repository: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.832834

2014    Comeau, S., Edmunds, P. J., Lantz, C. A., & Carpenter, R. C. Water flow modulates the response of coral reef communities to ocean acidification. Scientific Reports, 4. doi:10.1038/srep06681
calcification rates - flume expt
carbonate chemistry - flume expt

2014    Comeau, S., Edmunds, P. J., Spindel, N. B., & Carpenter, R. C. Fast coral reef calcifiers are more sensitive to ocean acidification in short-term laboratory incubations. Limnology and Oceanography, 59(3), 1081–1091. doi:10.4319/lo.2014.59.3.1081
algae_calcification
coral_calcification
External data repository: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.832584

2014    Comeau S, Edmunds PJ, Spindel NB, Carpenter RC.  Diel pCO₂ oscillations modulate the response of the coral Acropora hyacinthus to ocean acidification. Marine Ecology Progress Series 453: 28-35

2013    Comeau, S, Carpenter, RC, Edmunds PJ. Response to coral reef calcification: carbonate, bicarbonate and proton flux under conditions of increasing ocean acidification. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 280: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.1153

2013    Comeau S, Carpenter RC. Edmunds PJ.  Effects of feeding and light intensity on the response of the coral Porites rus to ocean acidification.  Marine Biology 160: 1127-1134
External data repository: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.829815

2013    Comeau, S., Edmunds, P. J., Spindel, N. B., Carpenter, R. C. The responses of eight coral reef calcifiers to increasing partial pressure of CO2 do not exhibit a tipping point. Limnol. Oceanogr. 58, 388–398.
algae_calcification
coral_calcification
External data repository: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.833687

2012    Comeau, S., Carpenter, R. C., & Edmunds, P. J. Coral reef calcifiers buffer their response to ocean acidification using both bicarbonate and carbonate. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1753), 20122374. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2374
carbonate_chemistry
light_dark_calcification
mean_calcification
External data repository: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.832834

NSF Climate Research Investment (CRI) activities that were initiated in 2010 are now included under Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability NSF-Wide Investment (SEES). SEES is a portfolio of activities that highlights NSF's unique role in helping society address the challenge(s) of achieving sustainability. Detailed information about the SEES program is available from NSF (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504707).

In recognition of the need for basic research concerning the nature, extent and impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments in the past, present and future, the goal of the SEES: OA program is to understand (a) the chemistry and physical chemistry of ocean acidification; (b) how ocean acidification interacts with processes at the organismal level; and (c) how the earth system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future ocean.

Solicitations issued under this program:
NSF 10-530, FY 2010-FY2011
NSF 12-500, FY 2012
NSF 12-600, FY 2013
NSF 13-586, FY 2014
NSF 13-586 was the final solicitation that will be released for this program.

PI Meetings:
1st U.S. Ocean Acidification PI Meeting(March 22-24, 2011, Woods Hole, MA)
2nd U.S. Ocean Acidification PI Meeting(Sept. 18-20, 2013, Washington, DC)
3rd U.S. Ocean Acidification PI Meeting (June 9-11, 2015, Woods Hole, MA – Tentative)

NSF media releases for the Ocean Acidification Program:

Press Release 10-186 NSF Awards Grants to Study Effects of Ocean Acidification

Discovery Blue Mussels "Hang On" Along Rocky Shores: For How Long?

Discovery nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) Discoveries - Trouble in Paradise: Ocean Acidification This Way Comes - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 12-179 nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Ocean Acidification: Finding New Answers Through National Science Foundation Research Grants - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 13-102 World Oceans Month Brings Mixed News for Oysters

Press Release 13-108 nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Natural Underwater Springs Show How Coral Reefs Respond to Ocean Acidification - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 13-148 Ocean acidification: Making new discoveries through National Science Foundation research grants

Press Release 13-148 - Video nsf.gov - News - Video - NSF Ocean Sciences Division Director David Conover answers questions about ocean acidification. - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 14-010 nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Palau's coral reefs surprisingly resistant to ocean acidification - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Press Release 14-116 nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Ocean Acidification: NSF awards $11.4 million in new grants to study effects on marine ecosystems - US National Science Foundation (NSF)