Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Spatial community shift from hard to soft corals in acidified water

This article has been updated

Abstract

Anthropogenic increases in the partial pressure of CO2 ( p CO 2 ) cause ocean acidification, declining calcium carbonate saturation states, reduced coral reef calcification and changes in the compositions of marine communities1. Most projected community changes due to ocean acidification describe transitions from hard coral to non-calcifying macroalgal communities2; other organisms have received less attention, despite the biotic diversity of coral reef communities. We show that the spatial distributions of both hard and soft coral communities in volcanically acidified, semi-enclosed waters off Iwotorishima Island, Japan, are related to p CO 2 levels. Hard corals are restricted to non-acidified low- p CO 2 (225 μatm) zones, dense populations of the soft coral Sarcophyton elegans dominate medium- p CO 2 (831 μatm) zones, and both hard and soft corals are absent from the highest- p CO 2 (1,465 μatm) zone. In CO2-enriched culture experiments, high- p CO 2 conditions benefited Sarcophyton elegans by enhancing photosynthesis rates and did not affect light calcification, but dark decalcification (negative net calcification) increased with increasing p CO 2 . These results suggest that reef communities may shift from reef-building hard corals to non-reef-building soft corals under p CO 2 levels (550–970 μatm) predicted by the end of this century3, and that higher p CO 2 levels would challenge the survival of some reef organisms.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Aerial photograph, map of the acidified area (red rectangle in Supplementary Fig. S1) and transect profiles of the acidified area.
Figure 2: Change in water depth and seawater carbonate chemistry.
Figure 3: Net photosynthesis rates of cultured S. elegans plotted against p CO 2 .
Figure 4: Net calcification rate of cultured S. elegans plotted against p CO 2 .

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 28 March 2013

    In the version of this Letter originally published online, the e-mail address for the corresponding author should have been: shr-inoue@eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp. This error has now been corrected in all versions of the Letter.

  • 23 April 2013

    In the version of this Letter originally published online, in the legend for Fig. 1b, the contour lines for the distribution of hard corals were swapped. This error has now been corrected in all versions of the Letter.

References

  1. Kleypas, J. A. et al. Report of A Workshop Held 18–20 April 2005, St. Petersburg, FL, Sponsored by NSF, NOAA, and the US Geological Survey (2006); http://www.ucar.edu/communications/Final_acidification.pdf.

  2. Hoegh-Guldberg, O. et al. Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science 318, 1737–1742 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. IPCC Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report (eds Pachauri, R. K. & Reisinger, A.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).

  4. Pandolfi, J. M., Connolly, S. R., Marshall, D. J. & Cohen, A. L. Projecting coral reef futures under global warming and ocean acidification. Science 333, 418–422 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Ries, J., Cohen, A. & McCorkle, D. A non-linear calcification response to CO2-induced ocean acidification by the coral Oculina. Coral Reefs 29, 661–674 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Putron, S. J., de McCorkle, D. C., Cohen, A. L. & Dillon, A. B. The impact of seawater saturation state and bicarbonate ion concentration on calcification by new recruits of two Atlantic corals. Coral Reefs 30, 321–328 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Rodolfo-Metalpa, R., Martin, S., Ferrier-Pages, C. & Gattuso, J. P. Response of the temperate coral Cladocora caespitosa to mid and long-term exposure to p CO 2 and temperature levels projected for the year 2100 AD. Biogeoscience 7, 289–300 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hall-Spencer, J. M. et al. Volcanic carbon dioxide vents show ecosystem effects of ocean acidification. Nature 454, 96–99 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kroeker, K. J., Michell, F. & Bambi, M. C. Ocean acidification causes ecosystem shifts via altered competitive interactions. Nature Clim. Change 3, 156–159 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Fabricius, K. E. et al. Losers and winners in coral reefs acclimatized to elevated carbon dioxide concentrations. Nature Clim. Change 1, 165–169 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Crook, E. D., Potts, D., Rebolledo-Vieyra, M., Hermandez, L. & Paytan, A. Calcifying coral abundance near low-pH springs: Implications for future ocean acidification. Coral Reefs 31, 239–245 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Oliver, T. A. & Palumbi, S. R. Do fluctuating temperature environments elevate coral thermal tolerance? Coral Reefs 30, 429–440 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Orpin, A. R. et al. Natural turbidity variability and weather forecasts in risk management of anthropogenic sediment discharge near sensitive environments. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 49, 602–612 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Smith, S. & Key, G. S. Carbon dioxide and metabolism in marine environments. Limnol. Oceanogr. 20, 493–495 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Fabricius, K. E. & Klumpp, D. W. Widespread mixotrophy in reef-inhabiting soft corals: The influence of depth, and colony expansion and contraction on photosynthesis. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 125, 195–204 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Rahman, A.M. & Oomori, T. Structure, crystallization and mineral composition of sclerites in the alcyonarian coral. J. Cryst. Growth 310, 3528–3534 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Morse, J. W., Arvidson, R. S. & Lüttge, A. Calcium carbonate formation and dissolution. Chem. Rev. 107, 342–381 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Ries, J. B., Cohen, A. L. & McCorkle, D. C. Marine calcifiers exhibit mixed responses to CO2-induced ocean acidification. Geology 37, 1131–1134 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Al-Horani, F. A., Al-Moghrabi, S. M. & de Beer, D. The mechanism of calcification and its relation to photosynthesis and respiration in the scleractinian coral Galaxea fascicularis. Mar. Biol. 142, 419–426 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Langdon, C. & Atkinson, M. J. Effect of elevated p CO 2 on photosynthesis and calcification of corals and interactions with seasonal change in temperature/irradiance and nutrient enrichment. J Geophy. Res. 110, C09S07 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Alstyne, K. L. V., Wylie, C. R., Paul, V. J. & Meyer, K. Antipredator defenses in Tropical Pacific soft corals (Coelenterata: Alcyonacea). I. Sclerites as defenses against generalist carnivorous fishes. Diol. Bull. 182, 231–240 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Fabricius, K. & Alderslade, P. Soft Corals and Sea Fans: A Comprehensive Guide to the Tropical Shallow Water Genera of the Central-west Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean and Red Sea (New Litho, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Suggett, D. J. et al. Sea anemones may thrive in a high CO2 world. Glob. Change Biol. 3, 156–159 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Done, T. J. Phase shifts in coral reef communities and their ecological significance. Hydrobiologia 247, 121–132 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Hughes, T. P. et al. Climate change, human impacts, and the resilience of coral reefs. Science 301, 929–933 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Bellwood, D. R., Hughes, T. P, Folke, C. & Nystrom, M. Confronting the coral reef crisis. Nature 429, 827–833 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Norström, A. V., Nyström, M., Lokrantz, J. & Folke, C. Alternative states on coral reefs: Beyond coral–macroalgal phase shifts. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 376, 295–306 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank T. Nishino, M. Yamaguchi and the members of the Tokyo University Marine Expedition Club for assisting with the field survey, Y. Imahara (Kuroshio Biological Research Institute) for identification methodology of soft coral and H. Tomaru (Graduate School of Science and Technology, Chiba University) for analyses of ion concentrations. We acknowledge J. D. Reimer (Transdisciplinary Research Organization for Subtropical Island Studies, University of the Ryukyus) for checking and editing the English. This research was financially supported by a Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant and a Grant-in -Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Strategy for Ecosystem Symbiosis and Coexistence with Human Beings under Multiple Stresses).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

S.I. designed the study and compiled the manuscript with the help of all other co-authors. S.I. performed the field survey, collected soft coral samples, and performed the culture experiments. H. Kayanne supported the planning operations and conducted the field survey with S.I. and S.Y., who analysed seawater chemistry together with S.I. H. Kurihara designed the CO2-enriched culture experiment.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shihori Inoue.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 3299 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Inoue, S., Kayanne, H., Yamamoto, S. et al. Spatial community shift from hard to soft corals in acidified water. Nature Clim Change 3, 683–687 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1855

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1855

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing