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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
Skeletal morphometrics suggests high fitness of hybrid coral recruits under ocean warming and acidification
Coral reefs, Vol.44(3), pp.1007-1015
06/2025
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Abstract
Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions increase sea surface temperature and acidification, inhibiting calcification of reef-building corals. While ocean acidification is known to hinder skeletal development of newly settled coral recruits, little is known of its effects on older purebred or interspecific hybrid recruits, or its combined effects with temperature. Using 3D X-ray microscopy, we found that predicted mid-century ocean warming and acidification conditions (28 degrees C, 685 ppm pCO(2)) negatively affected the skeletal development of 7-month-old Acropora purebreds and hybrids in one direction (Acropora cf. kenti mother x Acropora loripes father). Conversely, the skeletal parameters of reciprocal hybrids (A. loripes mother x A. cf. kenti father) remained unaffected. Skeletal measurements taken from 3D data revealed patterns overlooked by previous 2D measurements, leading support to the likelihood of hybrid vigour in hybrids of A. loripes (mother) and A. cf. kenti (father) and the potential of interspecific hybridization as a reef restoration tool to enhance coral resilience.
Details
- Title
- Skeletal morphometrics suggests high fitness of hybrid coral recruits under ocean warming and acidification
- Creators
- Luka Meyers - University of MelbourneJeremy Shaw - University of Western AustraliaPeta Clode - University of Western AustraliaPeter Harrison - Southern Cross UniversityMadeleine J. H. van Oppen - University of MelbourneWing Yan Chan - University of Melbourne
- Publication Details
- Coral reefs, Vol.44(3), pp.1007-1015
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- Native Australian Animals Trust Award University, State and Commonwealth Governments International Coral Reef Society Graduate Fellowship DE240100317 / Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award; Australian Research Council Westpac Research Fellowship FL180100036 / ARC Laureate Fellowship; Australian Research Council
- Identifiers
- 991013274310802368
- Copyright
- © Crown 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article