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The Role of Natural Variability in Shaping the Response of Coral Reef Organisms to Climate Change

  • Corals and Climate Change (C Langdon, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

We investigate whether regimes of greater daily variability in temperature or pH result in greater tolerance to ocean warming and acidification in key reef-building taxa (corals, coralline algae).

Recent Findings

Temperature and pH histories will likely influence responses to future warming and acidification. Past exposure of corals to increased temperature variability generally leads to greater thermotolerance. However, the effects of past pH variability are unclear. Variability in pH or temperature will likely modify responses during exposure to stressors, independent of environmental history. In the laboratory, pH variability often limited the effects of ocean acidification, but the effects of temperature variability on responses to warming were equivocal.

Summary

Environmental variability could alter responses of coral reef organisms to climate change. Determining how both environmental history as well as the direct impacts of environmental variability will interact with the effects of anthropogenic climate change should now be high priority.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Emma Camp for sharing the raw data from her study. We also acknowledge Kristy Kroeker and Sarah Lummis for their contributions in designing and assembling a database of studies that test the effects of changes in carbonate chemistry on corals. This paper is Contribution No. 3677 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary.

Funding

Funding was provided to SC by an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE160100668).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, Gloucester Point, VA, USA

    Emily B. Rivest

  2. School of Earth Science, Oceans Institute, and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Steeve Comeau & Christopher E. Cornwall

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  1. Emily B. Rivest
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  2. Steeve Comeau
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  3. Christopher E. Cornwall
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Correspondence to Emily B. Rivest.

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Rivest, E.B., Comeau, S. & Cornwall, C.E. The Role of Natural Variability in Shaping the Response of Coral Reef Organisms to Climate Change. Curr Clim Change Rep 3, 271–281 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-017-0082-x

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