MCR LTER: Coral Reef: Branches and plates of Porites rus insensitive to OA and warming. Lenz and Edmunds, JEMBE 2017

Data in support of Lenz & Edmunds, JEMBE 2017. [doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2016.10.002]
This study tested the hypothesis that intraspecific morphological plasticity within a scleractinian coral elicits
differential responses to elevated P CO2 and temperature. In Mo'orea, French Polynesia, two short-term laboratory
experiments (21 and 14 days) were conducted to test the effects of P CO2 (400 vs. 700 µatm), and P CO2 (400 vs
1000 µatm) combined with temperature (27.0 vs. 29.8 C), on branches and plates of Porites rus . Experiments
employed two irradiances (~1000 vs 200 µmol photons m-2 s-1), which characterized the microenvironments
on the shallow fringing reefs where branching and plating morphologies are common, respectively. Calcification
of both morphologies was insensitive to P CO2 , as well as the combined effects of elevated P CO2 and temperature.
Mean calcification rates were faster in high light than in low light for both morphologies, and biomass was greater
in plates than branches in all treatments. Together, our results suggest P. rus is robust to increased P CO2 and
high temperature within the constraints of the treatments applied. Morphological plasticity in this species
does not mediate physiological resistance to low pH and high temperature. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under
Grant No. OCE 16-37396 (and earlier awards) as well as a generous gift from the Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation. Research was completed under permits issued by the French Polynesian
Government (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-commissariat de la République en
Polynésie Francaise (DTRT) (Protocole d'Accueil 2005-2020). This work represents a
contribution of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER Site.