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Ocean acidification reduces demersal zooplankton that reside in tropical coral reefs

Nature Climate Change volume 6, pages 1124–1129 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

The in situ effects of ocean acidification on zooplankton communities remain largely unexplored. Using natural volcanic CO2 seep sites around tropical coral communities, we show a threefold reduction in the biomass of demersal zooplankton in high-CO2 sites compared with sites with ambient CO2. Differences were consistent across two reefs and three expeditions. Abundances were reduced in most taxonomic groups. There were no regime shifts in zooplankton community composition and no differences in fatty acid composition between CO2 levels, suggesting that ocean acidification affects the food quantity but not the quality for nocturnal plankton feeders. Emergence trap data show that the observed reduction in demersal plankton may be partly attributable to altered habitat. Ocean acidification changes coral community composition from branching to massive bouldering coral species, and our data suggest that bouldering corals represent inferior daytime shelter for demersal zooplankton. Since zooplankton represent a major source of nutrients for corals, fish and other planktivores, this ecological feedback may represent an additional mechanism of how coral reefs will be affected by ocean acidification.

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Figure 1: Differences in zooplankton biomass between control and high-CO2 sites, derived from horizontal net tows.
Figure 2: Abundance ratios (high-CO2/control) for selected zooplankton taxa.
Figure 3: Differences in communities of nocturnal reef-associated zooplankton between control and high-CO2 conditions at two reefs (Dobu and Upa-Upasina) across three expeditions.
Figure 4: Influences of CO2, reef, date and substratum on dominant zooplankton taxa from emergence traps.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank crew members of the M/V Chertan for help in the field, in particular O. Daniel and R. Luke, along with other members of the Hamamas Team. We also thank the community of Upa-Upasina and Dobu Island for permission to study zooplankton in their reef. Additional thanks to S. Noonan from the Australian Institute of Marine Science for logistical support, and H. Auel and P. Wencke from Bremen University for laboratory help and advice for the biochemical analysis. This project was funded in part by the Erasmus Mundus funded joint doctoral programme MARES (FPA 2011-0016), the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s ‘Resilient Coral Reefs Successfully Adapting to Climate Change’ programme in collaboration with the Australian Government, the BIOACID Phase II Programme of the German Science Ministry BMBF (Grant 03F0655B), and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Institute of Marine Science, 4810 Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    Joy N. Smith, Glenn De’ath & Katharina E. Fabricius

  2. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27568 Bremerhaven, Germany

    Joy N. Smith, Claudio Richter & Astrid Cornils

  3. Department of Marine Zoology, University of Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany

    Joy N. Smith & Claudio Richter

  4. Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK

    Joy N. Smith & Jason M. Hall-Spencer

  5. Shimoda Marine Research Centre, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda City, Shizuoka 415-0025, Japan

    Jason M. Hall-Spencer

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Contributions

J.N.S., K.E.F., C.R. and A.C. designed the experiment. J.N.S. and K.E.F. carried out the fieldwork. J.N.S. performed the laboratory work. G.D., J.N.S. and K.E.F. carried out the statistical analysis. All authors contributed to writing the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Joy N. Smith.

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Smith, J., De’ath, G., Richter, C. et al. Ocean acidification reduces demersal zooplankton that reside in tropical coral reefs. Nature Clim Change 6, 1124–1129 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3122

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