Energy reserve and stable isotope data from 3 species of Australian coral exposed to increased temperature and nutrients treatment in 2008

Website: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/959971
Data Type: experimental
Version: 1
Version Date: 2025-09-22

Project
» EAPSI: How Do Coastal Eutrophication and Elevated Ocean Temperature Impact On Reef Corals (EAPSI Eutrophication Temperature)
ContributorsAffiliationRole
Levas, StephenOhio State UniversityPrincipal Investigator
Grottoli, Andréa G.Ohio State UniversityCo-Principal Investigator
Mickle, AudreyWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)BCO-DMO Data Manager

Abstract
In this project, we tested the effects of elevated temperature and moderate nutrients for 21 days during the winter on Montipora monasteriata, Acropora muricata, and Pocillopora damicornis in a fully factorial experiment with two seawater temperatures (average winter temperature of 20°C and projected winter temperature later this century of 24°C) and two nutrient levels (ambient nutrients at 1.28 μmol L-1 NO3- and 0.14 μmol L-1 PO4-3, and moderate nutrients at 5.44 μmol L-1 NO3- and 0.36 μmol L-1 PO4-3). This dataset includes coral and endosymbiont tissue δ15N, δ13C, coral energy reserves (protein, lipid, carbohydrates), and temperature data. The experiment was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kenneth Anthony at the University of Queensland at Heron Island, Australia. These data were collected by Dr. Stephen Levas at The Ohio State University and The University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. 


Coverage

Location: Coral were collected off of Heron Island, Australia reefs at 4-5 meters.
Spatial Extent: Lat:-23.4423 Lon:151.9148
Temporal Extent: 2008-07-20 - 2008-08-31

Methods & Sampling

Twelve small colonies each of Montipora monasteriata, Acropora muricata, and Pocillopora damicornis were collected at 4-5m depth from the reefs at Heron Island, Queensland, Australia (23.4423°S, 151.9148°E) and placed in treatment tanks.

Daily temperature was recorded using Hobo temperature loggers every minute within the treatment tank. Chl a, total soluble lipid, soluble animal protein, and soluble animal carbohydrate concentrations, were each measured on a 1cm2 cored plugs of M. monasteriata and from 1cm long branch tips of A. muricata and P. damicornis from each ramet. Each measurement was made on whole coral samples (skeleton, animal tissue, and endosymbiotic algae) that were ground with a mortar and pestle and normalized to total ash-free dry tissue biomass of the organic fraction (animal tissue and endosymbiotic algae). Chl a was extracted using methods modified from Jeffrey and Humphrey (1975). Total soluble lipids were extracted using methods described in Rodrigues and Grottoli (2007), while soluble animal carbohydrate and protein concentrations were measured using the methods modified from Dubois et al. (1956) and Smith et al. (1985), respectively, as described in Levas et al. (2018). Biomass was measured according to methods outlined in McLachlan et al. (2020).

Coral fragments were airbrushed to remove all tissue from the skeleton. The host tissue and endosymbionts were separated by centrifugation and filtered onto prebaked GF/F filters. Animal host tissue and endosymbiotic algal fraction δ15N values (δ15Nh and δ15Ne, respectively) were reported relative to air (δ15N = per mil deviation of the ratio of stable nitrogen isotopes 15N:14N relative to air). Animal host tissue and endosymbiotic algal fraction δ13C values (δ13Ch and δ13Ce, respectively) were reported relative to Vienna Peedee Belemnite Limestone standard (δ13C = per mil deviation of the ratio of stable carbon isotopes 13C:12C relative to V-PDB). Repeated measurements of internal standards (n = 20) had a standard deviation of ± 0.14‰ for organic δ15N and ± 0.07‰ for organic δ13C.  δ15N and δ13C values were determined using a Costech Elemental Analyzer where the resulting N2 and CO2 gases were analyzed for δ15N and δ13C with a ThermoFisher Delta IV stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) via a Conflo II interface in the Grottoli lab at the Ohio State University.


Data Processing Description

The 1 minute temperature data was averaged over the 24hr period to get a daily temperature. 


BCO-DMO Processing Description

- Imported "physiological_parameters_heron_island_coral_2008.xlsx" into BCO-DMO system
- Rounded parameters 'Protein (J mg afdw)', 'Carbs (J mg/afdw)', and 'Lipid (J mg afdw)' to 6 digits (as indicated in Excel formatting)
- Rounded 'Total EnRes (J mg afdw)' to 5 digits (as indicated in Excel formatting)
- Rounded 'Total Biomass (mg/cm2)' to 1 digit (as indicated in Excel formatting)
- Renamed fields to comply with BCO-DMO naming conventions, removing units, special characters, and spaces
- Added accepted AphiaID and LSID for host species in "AphiaID_accepted" and "LSID"
- Exported file as "959971_v1_winter_temp_nutrient_coral.csv"

Scientific names in the data were checked using World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) Taxon Match. All scientific names in the data are valid and accepted names as of 2025-08-07.


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Data Files

File
959971_v1_winter_temp_nutrient_coral.csv
(Comma Separated Values (.csv), 16.51 KB)
MD5:57f8fee520cbce40043ae027116b8282
Primary data file for dataset ID 959971, version 1

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Related Publications

DUBOIS, M., GILLES, K., HAMILTON, J. K., REBERS, P. A., & SMITH, F. (1951). A Colorimetric Method for the Determination of Sugars. Nature, 168(4265), 167–167. https://doi.org/10.1038/168167a0
Methods
Jeffrey, S. W., & Humphrey, G. F. (1975). New spectrophotometric equations for determining chlorophylls a, b, c1 and c2 in higher plants, algae and natural phytoplankton. Biochemie Und Physiologie Der Pflanzen, 167(2), 191–194. doi:10.1016/s0015-3796(17)30778-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0015-3796(17)30778-3
Methods
Levas, S., Schoepf, V., Warner, M. E., Aschaffenburg, M., Baumann, J., & Grottoli, A. G. (2018). Long-term recovery of Caribbean corals from bleaching. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 506, 124–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2018.06.003
Methods
Mclachlan, R., Dobson, K., & Grottoli, A. (2020). Quantification of Total Biomass in Ground Coral Samples v1 (protocols.io.bdyai7se). Protocols.io. doi:10.17504/protocols.io.bdyai7se
Methods
Rodrigues, L. J., & Grottoli, A. G. (2007). Energy reserves and metabolism as indicators of coral recovery from bleaching. Limnology and Oceanography, 52(5), 1874–1882. doi:10.4319/lo.2007.52.5.1874
Methods
Smith, P. K., Krohn, R. I., Hermanson, G. T., Mallia, A. K., Gartner, F. H., Provenzano, M. D., … Klenk, D. C. (1985). Measurement of protein using bicinchoninic acid. Analytical Biochemistry, 150(1), 76–85. doi:10.1016/0003-2697(85)90442-7
Methods

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Parameters

ParameterDescriptionUnits
ID

ID used to identify coral based on species (first two letters), temperature treatment (second pair of letters), nutrient regime (third pair of letters) and then colony ID (four numbers)

unitless
Species

Species ID (1=Montipora monasteriata, 2=Acropora muricata, 3=Pocillopora damicornis)

unitless
Temp

Temperature Treatment (1= control/NB, 2 = increased temperature/BL); NB refers to Non-bleached coral and BL refers to Bleached coral

unitless
Nutrient

Nutrient Regime (1=Low nutrients, 2= high nutrients)

unitless
T_Chla

Total Chlorophyll per Area

ug/cm²
d13C_Animal

d13C for the Animal tissue

per mil
d13C_Zoox

d13C for the Endosymbiont

per mil
d13C_Animal_d13C_Zoox

d13C for the animal tissue subtracted by the d13C of the endosymbiont tissue

per mil
d15N_Animal

d15N fo the Animal tissue

per mil
d15N_Zoox

d15N for the Endosymbiont tissue

per mil
d15N_Animal_d15N_Zoox

d15N for the animal tissue subtracted by the d15N of the endosymbiont tissue

per mil
Protein

Total protein concentration

Joules per mg ash free dry weight
Carbs

Total carbohydrate concentration

Joules per mg ash free dry weight
Lipid

Total Lipid concentration

Joules per mg ash free dry weight
Total_EnRes

Total energy reserves (protein+lipid+carbs)

Joules per mg ash free dry weight
Total_Biomass

Total biomas

mg/cm2
AphiaID

AphiaID of sample

unitless
LSID

LSID of sample

unitless


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Instruments

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
Costech Elemental Analyzer
Generic Instrument Name
Elemental Analyzer
Dataset-specific Description
δ15N and δ13C values were determined using a Costech Elemental Analyzer where the resulting N2 and CO2 gases were analyzed for δ15N and δ13C with a ThermoFisher Delta IV stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) via a Conflo II interface in the Grottoli lab at the Ohio State University.
Generic Instrument Description
Instruments that quantify carbon, nitrogen and sometimes other elements by combusting the sample at very high temperature and assaying the resulting gaseous oxides. Usually used for samples including organic material.

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
ThermoFisher Delta IV stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS)
Generic Instrument Name
Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer
Dataset-specific Description
δ15N and δ13C values were determined using a Costech Elemental Analyzer where the resulting N2 and CO2 gases were analyzed for δ15N and δ13C with a ThermoFisher Delta IV stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) via a Conflo II interface in the Grottoli lab at the Ohio State University.
Generic Instrument Description
The Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer is a particular type of mass spectrometer used to measure the relative abundance of isotopes in a given sample (e.g. VG Prism II Isotope Ratio Mass-Spectrometer).

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
Generic Instrument Name
scale or balance
Dataset-specific Description
Each measurement was made on whole coral samples (skeleton, animal tissue, and endosymbiotic algae) that were ground with a mortar and pestle and normalized to total ash-free dry tissue biomass of the organic fraction (animal tissue and endosymbiotic algae). 
Generic Instrument Description
Devices that determine the mass or weight of a sample.

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
Hobo temperature loggers
Generic Instrument Name
Temperature Logger
Dataset-specific Description
Daily temperature was recorded using Hobo temperature loggers every minute within the treatment tank. 
Generic Instrument Description
Records temperature data over a period of time.


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Project Information

EAPSI: How Do Coastal Eutrophication and Elevated Ocean Temperature Impact On Reef Corals (EAPSI Eutrophication Temperature)

Coverage: East Asia and the Pacific region (Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan)


2008 EAPSI Fellowship

This award supports a U.S. graduate student to conduct an individual research project at one of seven locations in East Asia and the Pacific region (Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan). The research project will provide the student with a first-hand mentored research experience, an introduction to science and science policy infrastructure, and an orientation to the culture and language of the location. The primary goals of the East Asia Summer Institute program are to expose students to science and engineering in the context of a research laboratory, and to initiate early-career professional relationships that will foster research collaborations with foreign counterparts in the future.



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Funding

Funding SourceAward
NSF Office of International Science and Engineering (NSF OISE)

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