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Comparison of the effects of thermal stress and CO2-driven acidified seawater on fertilization in coral Acropora digitifera

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2014

Akira Iguchi ,
Atsushi Suzuki ,
Kazuhiko Sakai  and
Yukihiro Nojiri
Akira Iguchi*
Affiliation:
Okinawa National College of Technology, 905 Henoko, Nago-City, Okinawa 905–2192, Japan.
Atsushi Suzuki
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305–8567, Japan.
Kazuhiko Sakai
Affiliation:
Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 905–0227, Japan.
Yukihiro Nojiri
Affiliation:
Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan.
*
All correspondence to: Akira Iguchi. Okinawa National College of Technology, 905 Henoko, Nago-City, Okinawa 905–2192, Japan. Tel: +81 980 55 4205. Fax: +81 980 55 4012. e-mail: iguchi.a0218@gmail.com
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Summary

Global warming (GW) and ocean acidification (OA) have been recognized as severe threats for reef-building corals that support coral reef ecosystems, but these effects on the early life history stage of corals are relatively unknown compared with the effects on calcification of adult corals. In this study, we evaluated the effects of thermal stress and CO2-driven acidified seawater on fertilization in a reef-building coral, Acropora digitifera. The fertilization rates of A. digitifera decreased in response to thermal stress compared with those under normal seawater conditions. In contrast, the changes of fertilization rates were not evident in the acidified seawater. Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) predicted that sperm/egg crosses and temperature were explanatory variables in the best-fitted model for the fertilization data. In the best model, interactions between thermal stress and acidified seawater on the fertilization rates were not selected. Our results suggested that coral fertilization is more sensitive to future GW than OA. Taking into consideration the previous finding that sperm motility of A. digitifera was decreased by acidified seawater, the decrease in coral cover followed by that of sperm concentration might cause the interacting effects of GW and OA on coral fertilization.

Keywords

CoralFertilizationGlobal warmingInteractionOcean acidification
Type
Short Communication
Information
Zygote , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 631 - 634
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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