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Water flow influences oxygen transport and photosynthetic efficiency in corals

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Abstract

Recent studies indicate that the incidence and persistence of damage from coral reef bleaching are often highest in areas of restricted water motion, and that resistance to and recovery from bleaching is increased by enhanced water motion. We examined the hypothesis that water motion increases the efflux of oxygen from coral tissue thereby reducing oxidative stress on the photosynthetic apparatus of endosymbiotic zooxanthellae. We experimentally exposed colonies of Montastrea annularis and Agaricia agaricites to manipulations of water flow, light intensity, and oxygen concentration in the field using a novel mini-flume. We measured photosynthetic efficiency using a pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer to test the short-term response of corals to our manipulations. Under normal oxygen concentrations, A. agaricites showed a significant 8% increase in photosynthetic efficiency from 0.238 (± 0.032) in still water to 0.256 (± 0.037) in 15 cm s−1 flow, while M. annularis exhibited no detectable change. Under high-ambient oxygen concentrations, the observed effect of flow on A. agaricites was reversed: photosynthetic efficiencies showed a significant 11% decrease from 0.236 (± 0.056) in still water to 0.211 (± 0.048) in 15 cm s−1 flow. These results support the hypothesis that water motion helps to remove oxygen from coral tissues during periods of maximal photosynthesis. Flow mitigation of oxidative stress may at least partially explain the increased incidence and severity of coral bleaching in low flow areas and observations of enhanced recovery in high-flow areas.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by contracts from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration via the National Undersea Research Program administered by the University of North Carolina–Wilmington (NA96RU-0260/SEGM-2002–26A). We would like to thank the entire staff at NURC–Key Largo for their absolute and uniform professionalism and expert support. We also acknowledge the help of Matt Mills, Ken Fedorka, Michael O’Donnell, Colette Dryden, Henry Bush, and Karl Castillo whose countless hours in the water made this research possible. We are grateful for the helpful comments from two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, 8124 Highway 56 , Chauvin, LA, 70344, USA

    Christopher M. Finelli

  2. Department of Biological Sciences and Marine Science Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Brian S. T. Helmuth

  3. Department of Biology, Loyola-Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, 90045, USA

    N. Dean Pentcheff

  4. Department of Biological Sciences and Marine Science Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    David S. Wethey

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  1. Christopher M. Finelli
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  3. N. Dean Pentcheff
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Correspondence to Christopher M. Finelli.

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Communicated by Environmental Editor B.G. Hatcher

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Finelli, C.M., Helmuth, B.S.T., Pentcheff, N.D. et al. Water flow influences oxygen transport and photosynthetic efficiency in corals. Coral Reefs 25, 47–57 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0055-8

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