1Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
2Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China
3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
4ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
5Shenzhen Research Institute and Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Hong Kong SAR, China
1Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
2Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China
3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
4ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
5Shenzhen Research Institute and Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Hong Kong SAR, China
Correspondence: Pei-Yuan Qian (boqianpy@ust.hk) and Hui Huang (huanghui@scsio.ac.cn)
Received: 01 Apr 2017 – Discussion started: 08 May 2017 – Revised: 13 Nov 2017 – Accepted: 16 Nov 2017 – Published: 21 Dec 2017
Abstract. Diurnal fluctuations in seawater temperature are ubiquitous on tropical reef flats. However, the effects of such dynamic temperature variations on the early stages of corals are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the responses of larvae and new recruits of Pocillopora damicornis to two constant temperature treatments (29 and 31 °C) and two diurnally fluctuating treatments (28–31 and 30–33 °C with daily means of 29 and 31 °C, respectively) simulating the 3 °C diel oscillations at 3 m depth on the Luhuitou fringing reef (Sanya, China). Results showed that the thermal stress on settlement at 31 °C was almost negated by the fluctuating treatment. Further, neither elevated temperature nor temperature fluctuations caused bleaching responses in recruits, while the maximum excitation pressure over photosystem II (PSII) was reduced under fluctuating temperatures. Although early growth and development were highly stimulated at 31 °C, oscillations of 3 °C had little effects on budding and lateral growth at either mean temperature. Nevertheless, daytime encounters with the maximum temperature of 33 °C in fluctuating 31 °C elicited a notable reduction in calcification compared to constant 31 °C. These results underscore the complexity of the effects caused by diel temperature fluctuations on early stages of corals and suggest that ecologically relevant temperature variability could buffer warming stress on larval settlement and dampen the positive effects of increased temperatures on coral growth.
The negative effects of elevated temperature (31 °C) on larval settlement of P. damicornis was greatly tempered by diurnal temperature fluctuations, whilst diel oscillations in temperature reduced the heat stress on photo-physiology of coral recruits. Although elevated temperature greatly stimulated the growth of recruits, the daytime encounters with the maximum temperature of 33 °C in the fluctuating treatment elicited a notable reduction in calcification.
The negative effects of elevated temperature (31 °C) on larval settlement of P. damicornis was...