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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Changes in Radial Polyp Tissues of Acropora Longicyathus After Long-Term Exposure to Experimentally Elevated Nutrient Concentrations
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol.5, pp.1-8
23/10/2018
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Coral tissues control growth and calcification processes that ultimately build coral reefs but relatively little information is available on the effects of nutrients on polyp tissues. The structure and organization of coral tissues were investigated using thin (0.5–1 µm) sections of young (<3 months) radial polyps of the reef-building coral Acropora longicyathus that had been exposed to elevated concentrations of ammonium ('N') and/or phosphate ('P') in the ENCORE experiment at One Tree Island, southern Great Barrier Reef. Young polyps of N-treated corals had similar porosity but significantly decreased length of calicoblastic body wall per cross-section of the septotheca compared with controls. Other studies using older skeletons of the same corals found they were significantly less porous than controls and their branches had reduced extension rates and reduced lesion-healing ability, indicating that increased calcification occurred in the infilling process rather than during apical extension. The free body wall epidermal tissues of P-treated polyps were significantly thicker than corals in control conditions and their calyx walls had significantly greater length of calicoblastic body wall per cross-section despite similar porosity to controls. This suggests that phosphate stimulated tissue growth and apical calcification. Although other studies of the chlorophyll content of older tissue found it was significantly increased by phosphate treatments, more rapid extension of the branches kept Symbiodiniacean densities in the younger polyps similar to controls. We recorded a reduction in the density of mucous bodies in P-treated corals, which is potentially significant for the survival of corals in polluted water because of the important roles of mucus in facilitating removal of sediment from the coral surface and as a barrier to pathogen infection.
Details
- Title
- Changes in Radial Polyp Tissues of Acropora Longicyathus After Long-Term Exposure to Experimentally Elevated Nutrient Concentrations
- Creators
- Daniel J Bucher - Southern Cross UniversityPeter L Harrison - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol.5, pp.1-8
- Publisher
- Frontiers Research Foundation
- Grant note
- The field work for this study was funded by a grant from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority through the ENCORE program to PH, and several internal research grants from Southern Cross University to DB and PH.
- Identifiers
- 991012926991702368
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2018 Bucher and Harrison. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
- Academic Unit
- Marine Ecology Research Centre; Faculty of Science and Engineering; School of Environment, Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article