Sea surface temperature （SST） proxies including B/Ca, Mg/Ca, St/Ca, U/Ca and δ180 were analyzed in the skeleton of a Porites coral collected from the Zhujiang River （Pearl River） Estuary （ZRE）. These geochemica...Sea surface temperature （SST） proxies including B/Ca, Mg/Ca, St/Ca, U/Ca and δ180 were analyzed in the skeleton of a Porites coral collected from the Zhujiang River （Pearl River） Estuary （ZRE）. These geochemical proxies are influenced by river runoff and this area of the northern South China Sea is strongly affected by seasonal freshwater floods. We assessed the robustness of each SST proxy through comparison with the local instrumental SST. Coral St/Ca shows the highest correlation with SST variations （r2=0.59）, suggesting St/Ca is the most robust SST proxy. In contrast, coral δ180 （r2=0.46）, B/Ca （r2=0.43） and U/Ca （r2=0.41） ratios were only moderately correlated with SST variations, suggesting that they are disturbed by some other factors in addition to SST. The poor correlation （r2=0.27） between SST and Mg/Ca indicates that Mg/Ca in coral skeletons is not a simple function of SST variations. This may ultimately limit the use of Mg/Ca as a coral paleothermometer.展开更多
Marginal scleractinian corals growing at their latitudinal limits should be quite sensitive to variations in winter sea surface temperatures(SSTs). An extreme cold event occurring in early 2008 offered a unique opport...Marginal scleractinian corals growing at their latitudinal limits should be quite sensitive to variations in winter sea surface temperatures(SSTs). An extreme cold event occurring in early 2008 offered a unique opportunity to examine the effect of cold-water anomalies on Porites lutea corals and their physiological tolerance and acclimation in the subtropical northern South China Sea(NSCS). Besides in-situ observation, a subsequent aquarium-based experiment was designed for reproducing the chilling process and a 50-year-long Sr/Ca ratio profile from two P. lutea skeletal slabs was analyzed for reconstructed the historical annual minimum SSTs which ceased Porites calcification. The 2008 low-temperature anomaly caused the minimum daily mean SSTs dropped below 13°C in the Daya Bay. The stress symptoms displayed by local P. lutea colonies included polyp retraction, reduced coloration and pale, but none showed tissue sloughing. The ability of P. lutea to survive implied its tolerance of extreme low temperatures. Here we suggest a model on the tolerance of high-latitude Porites under low-temperature stresses, which is when SSTs drop below 18°C, Porites corals contract their tentacles(losing heterotrophic capability), then cease calcification(reducing energy consumption), and meanwhile maintain relatively high levels of zooxanthellae density(sustaining host’s life via photosynthetic capacity of symbiotic zooxanthellae). This study revealed remarkable acclimatization of P. lutea corals to low temperature extremes. This acclimatization is beneficial for Porites corals in the NSCS to expand their living ranges towards the higher-latitude areas and have the potential to be the incipient reef former.展开更多
基金The National Basic Research Program(973 program) of China under contract No.2013CB956104the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41106054,41306109 and 41476038
文摘Sea surface temperature （SST） proxies including B/Ca, Mg/Ca, St/Ca, U/Ca and δ180 were analyzed in the skeleton of a Porites coral collected from the Zhujiang River （Pearl River） Estuary （ZRE）. These geochemical proxies are influenced by river runoff and this area of the northern South China Sea is strongly affected by seasonal freshwater floods. We assessed the robustness of each SST proxy through comparison with the local instrumental SST. Coral St/Ca shows the highest correlation with SST variations （r2=0.59）, suggesting St/Ca is the most robust SST proxy. In contrast, coral δ180 （r2=0.46）, B/Ca （r2=0.43） and U/Ca （r2=0.41） ratios were only moderately correlated with SST variations, suggesting that they are disturbed by some other factors in addition to SST. The poor correlation （r2=0.27） between SST and Mg/Ca indicates that Mg/Ca in coral skeletons is not a simple function of SST variations. This may ultimately limit the use of Mg/Ca as a coral paleothermometer.
基金The National Basic Research Program(973 Program)of China under contract Nos 2013CB956103 and 2013CB956104the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41306109,41476038 and 41676049the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS under contract No.2015284
文摘Marginal scleractinian corals growing at their latitudinal limits should be quite sensitive to variations in winter sea surface temperatures(SSTs). An extreme cold event occurring in early 2008 offered a unique opportunity to examine the effect of cold-water anomalies on Porites lutea corals and their physiological tolerance and acclimation in the subtropical northern South China Sea(NSCS). Besides in-situ observation, a subsequent aquarium-based experiment was designed for reproducing the chilling process and a 50-year-long Sr/Ca ratio profile from two P. lutea skeletal slabs was analyzed for reconstructed the historical annual minimum SSTs which ceased Porites calcification. The 2008 low-temperature anomaly caused the minimum daily mean SSTs dropped below 13°C in the Daya Bay. The stress symptoms displayed by local P. lutea colonies included polyp retraction, reduced coloration and pale, but none showed tissue sloughing. The ability of P. lutea to survive implied its tolerance of extreme low temperatures. Here we suggest a model on the tolerance of high-latitude Porites under low-temperature stresses, which is when SSTs drop below 18°C, Porites corals contract their tentacles(losing heterotrophic capability), then cease calcification(reducing energy consumption), and meanwhile maintain relatively high levels of zooxanthellae density(sustaining host’s life via photosynthetic capacity of symbiotic zooxanthellae). This study revealed remarkable acclimatization of P. lutea corals to low temperature extremes. This acclimatization is beneficial for Porites corals in the NSCS to expand their living ranges towards the higher-latitude areas and have the potential to be the incipient reef former.
基金Supported by Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KZCX2-YW-318)National Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2007CB815905)+1 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.40830852)the Australian Research Council(Grant No.DP0773081)
