Climate change doubles sedimentation-induced coral recruit mortality (NESP TWQ 5.2, AIMS, JCU and AIMS@JCU)

This dataset consists of one spreadsheet, which shows the survival, number of polyps and ability to remove sediment of up to fourteen weeks old Acropora millepora coral recruits while being exposed to three different climate scenarios resembling current climate conditions and conditions expected by mid and end of the century. Coral recruit resilience towards sedimentation was tested by exposing the recruits either five- and ten-weeks following settlement (experiment 1) or only ten-weeks following settlement (experiment 2). Additional tabs show temperature, pCO2 and sediment loads used in the experiment. The study was conducted at the National Sea Simulator.The aim of this study was to 1) identify lethal concentration thresholds for coral recruits under simultaneous exposure to climate stress (temperature and pCO2) and sedimentation and 2) identify survival mechanisms (i.e., number of polyps, sediment removal capability).This data will inform the development of water-quality management guidelines, a key aim of NESP project 5.2. The full research report can be found at:Brunner CA, Uthicke S, Ricardo GF, Hoogenboom MO, Negri AP (2020) Climate change doubles sedimentation-induced coral recruit mortality. Science of the Total Environment, doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143897Methods:Coral recruits of Acropora millepora, a branching coral species abundant in shallow reefs on the Great Barrier Reef, were raised for 14 weeks in ‘current’ and realistic ‘medium’ and ‘high’ climate scenarios (increased temperature and acidification), and were exposed to six environmentally relevant sediment deposition loads typical of flood plumes and dredging operations. The sedimentation events were simulated at different recruit ages: (1) five- and ten-weeks following settlement, and (2) after ten weeks only. One-hour following sediment exposures, sediment removal capabilities were photographically quantified. After a four-week recovery phase, survival and polyp numbers were documented photographically and the data are presented here.Specific details of the methodology may be found in:Brunner CA, Uthicke S, Ricardo GF, Hoogenboom MO, Negri AP (2020) Climate change doubles sedimentation-induced coral recruit mortality. Science of the Total Environment, doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143897Format:This dataset consists of one excel workbook xlsx.Data Dictionary:Experiment tabDATE SETTLEMENT - Date of coral larvae settlement, t0DATE MEASUREMENT - Date survival and polyp numbers were documentedAGE - age in weeks following settlementEXPERIMENT - (1): Coral recruits were exposed for three days to sedimentation when 5 and 10 weeks old; (2): Coral recruits were exposed for three days to sedimentation when 10 weeks old, see also "date sediment exposure"CLIMATE SCENARIO - climate scenarios based on manipulated temperature and pCO2, see "Temperatures" and "pCO2" tab for detailsID TANK - identification number of climate controllable aquariumID DISC TRAY - identification number of tray where the discs were mounted ID DISC - identification number of discs where coral recruits settled onID RECRUIT PER DISC - identification number of each recruit on each discSEDIMENT (mg / cm²) - sediment loadNUMBER OF POLYPS - number of alive polypsCORAL ALIVE - (1): coral is alive, (0): coral is dead DATE SEDIMENT EXPOSURE - timeframe of sedimentation, NA shows that no sediment was applied in this periodSEDIMENT FREE AFTER 1 HOUR - (1): coral was sediment free 1h after sediment was applied, (0): coral was not sediment freeTemperature tabDATE - date of temperature measurementTIME - time of temperature measurementCORAL AGE (WEEKS AFTER SETTLEMENT) - age in weeks following settlementCURRENT TEMPERATURE (°C) - 26.2 – 28.7MEDIUM TEMPERATURE (°C) - Current + 0.6HIGH TEMPERATURE (°C) - Current + 1.2pCO2 tabDATE - date of pCO2 measurementTIME - time of pCO2 measurementCORAL AGE (WEEKS AFTER SETTLEMENT) - age in weeks following settlementCURRENT pCO2 (ppm) - 410 ± 50MEDIUM pCO2 (ppm) - 680 ± 50HIGH pCO2 (ppm) - 940 ± 50Sediment tabCLIMATE SCENARIO - climate scenarios based on manipulated temperature and pCO2, see "Temperatures" and "pCO2" tab for detailsID TANK - identification number of climate controllable aquariumID DISC TRAY - identification number of tray where the discs were mounted ID DISC -identification number of discs where coral recruits settled onFILTER PREMASS (g) - Weight of 0.4 µm polycarbonate filtersFILTER WITH SEDIMENT (g) - weight of dried (60 °C for greater than or equal to 24 hours) 0.4 µm polycarbonate filters with sedimentSEDIMENT ON FILTER (g) - weight of filter with sediment - filter premassDISC SURFACE (cm²) - disc surface area based on 2 cm diameterSEDIMENT INITIALLY APPLIED (mg / cm²) - sediment load at the beginning of the sediment deposition experimentSEDIMENT REMAINING AFTER THREE DAYS (mg/cm²) - sediment load at the end of the sediment deposition experimentReferences:Brunner CA, Uthicke S, Ricardo GF, Hoogenboom MO, Negri AP (2020) Climate change doubles sedimentation-induced coral recruit mortality. Science of the Total Environment, doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143897Data Location:This dataset is filed in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: dataesp5\5.2_Cumulative-impacts