Ocean acidification
Acidified algae, not larvae, block coral settlement
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Six weeks of ocean acidification on crustose coralline algae halved Acropora settlement, but larvae still settled on ambient-conditioned CCA even at low pH.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
This library holds 6 empirical papers on ocean acidification with measured outcomes rather than reviews.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Six weeks of ocean acidification on crustose coralline algae halved Acropora settlement, but larvae still settled on ambient-conditioned CCA even at low pH.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Animal / in-vitro — CCA pretreated 42 days at reduced pH, then offered to Acropora larvae versus ambient-conditioned CCA and extracts
- N
- N=6 · n = 6 containers per treatment; 31–39 larvae in acute OA assays
- Population
- Crustose coralline algae and Acropora coral larvae
- Outcome
- Ocean acidification on CCA halved coral settlement, but larvae still settled on ambient-conditioned CCA even at low pH
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Inspect source passages
Acidified algae, not larvae, block coral settlement
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
Settlement success fell by half to 12 ± 2% of larvae.
for 42 days reduced the settlement success by half to 12 ± 2% of larvae (a).
Settlement on pH 7.9 and 7.7 CCA was 20 and 24% lower than control.
Settlement success of larvae on CCA exposed to pH 7.9 and 7.7 ( p CO 2 = 822 and 1187 μatm) were 20 and 24% lower than the control treatments respectively.
Key findings
CCA held at pH 7.5 induced only 12% settlement (about half of control). pH 7.9 and 7.7 were 20% and 24% below control. Ambient-conditioned CCA still induced ~31% settlement across pH. Acute larval OA did not block extract-induced metamorphosis.
Methodology
Authors pretreated CCA for 42 days at pH 8.1–7.5 (464–1638 μatm pCO2), then offered Acropora larvae those CCA, ambient-conditioned CCA at the same pH levels, or CCA extracts after acute larval OA exposure.
Limitations
Tank assays on two Acropora species do not prove reef-scale recruitment collapse, and they do not identify the exact chemical cue that CCA lost.
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