Interactive effects of climate change and eutrophication on the dinoflagellate bearing benthic foraminifera Marginopora vertebralis

This study investigated the effects of increased temperature and nutrients on dinoflagellate-bearing foraminifera Marginopora vertebralis. The experiments manipulating temperature, and temperature combined with increased nitrate concentration, demonstrate that growth rates and mortality in M. vertebralis were significantly affected by temperature increase and nitrate addition.

Specimens were collected from Shaw Island in the Whitsunday Region of the Great Barrier Reef at depths of 3 - 5 meters.

Experiments tested a range of parameters including photosynthesis and respiration, composition of photosynthetic and photoprotective pigments, growth and mortality; measuring the response of the host-symbiont system.

This study included:

-a static incubator temperature range-finding experiment ran for 37 days. Five individual incubators were temperature controlled at 28, 30, 31, 32, and 34°C. Each incubator held 4 containers holding 16 specimens of M. vertebralis.

-a flow-through experiment where three temperature levels of 26, 29 and 31°C and three nitrate concentrations were studied over a 30 day period. Three replicas of each variation were used, resulting in 27 aquaria each holding 12 specimens of M. vertebralis.

本研究探究了增温与营养盐富集对携甲藻有孔虫（dinofellate-bearing foraminifera）缘边圆虫（Marginopora vertebralis）的影响。实验分别设置温度单因子调控组与温度联合硝酸盐浓度升高的复合调控组，结果显示，缘边圆虫的生长速率与死亡率均显著受升温及硝酸盐添加的影响。

实验所用标本采自大堡礁圣灵群岛地区的肖岛（Shaw Island），采集水深为3至5米。

本实验测试了多项生理参数，包括光合作用与呼吸作用、光合色素与光保护色素组成、生长及死亡率，以解析宿主-共生体系统的响应特征。

本研究包含两项实验：
1. 静态培养箱温度梯度预实验：实验周期为37天。设置5台温控培养箱，温度分别控制为28、30、31、32及34℃。每台培养箱内放置4个容器，每个容器容纳16枚缘边圆虫标本。
2. 流水培养实验：实验周期为30天，设置3个温度梯度（26、29及31℃）与3个硝酸盐浓度梯度，每个处理设置3个重复，共计27个水族箱，每个水族箱容纳12枚缘边圆虫标本。