Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8870716 | Marine Pollution Bulletin | 2018 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
Watershed-based pollution is a common form of coral reef degradation. Affected reefs are often highly turbid, where light-limitation confines the distribution of photosynthetic benthic taxa and the capacity for photoacclimation is important for survival. We investigated low light photoacclimation in a Symbiodinium-hosting bioeroding sponge using in situ PAM fluorometry. Cliona aff. viridis was artificially shaded (70 & 95% ambient light reduction) on a low turbidity Indonesian reef for 25â¯days, with a subsequent 14-day recovery period. Significant changes in rETRmax, and qP, and a non-significant but observable decline in Ek, demonstrated that C. aff. viridis is able to photoacclimate to conditions of extreme light reduction and recover within a relatively short period of time. The sponge is therefore unlikely to be light limited on even the most turbid reefs. However, other aspects of watershed-pollution such as sedimentation may still limit their distribution in affected coastal waters.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Oceanography
Authors
Joseph Marlow, Simon K. Davy, Abdul Haris, James J. Bell,