[Coral-List] Ideal Temperatures for Coral growth

Wiedenmann J. joerg.wiedenmann at noc.soton.ac.uk
Tue Sep 9 16:05:08 EDT 2014


Dear all,

I think it is worth to highlight the corals of the Persian/Arabian Gulf in this context: The species there are considered to represent mainly a subset of the Indian Ocean community including several cosmopolitan species. Despite being located close to the northern margin of reef distribution, these communities endure regular summer temperatures of 35 deg. C for several weeks (and cold temperatures in winter). So, the origin of the corals plays certainly a defining role in shaping the temperature optimum. Also, evidence is accumulating that the temperature tolerance is shaped by the nutrient environment. 

A few references: 

Sheppard, C. R. C., Price, A. R. G. & Roberts, C. J. Marine Ecology of the Arabian Area. Patterns and Processes in Extreme Tropical Environments. (Academic Press, London., 1992).
 
Coles, S. L. Coral species diversity and environmental factors in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman: A comparison to the Indo-Pacific region (2003). Atoll. Res. Bull., J1-J19.
 
Riegl, B. M., Purkis, S. J., Al-Cibahy, A. S., Abdel-Moati, M. A. & Hoegh-Guldberg, O (2011). Present limits to heat-adaptability in corals and population-level responses to climate extremes. PLoS One 6, e24802, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024802.
 
Hume B, D’Angelo C; Burt J, Baker A, Riegl B, Wiedenmann J (2013). Porites lobata from the Persian/Arabian Gulf as model for heat-stress tolerant corals. Mar Pollut Bull (Special Issue: Coral Reefs of the Arabian/Persian Gulf). Mar. Poll. Bull. 72, 313-322
 
D’Angelo C, Wiedenmann J (2014) Impacts of nutrient enrichment on coral reefs: new perspectives and implications for coastal management and reef survival. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 7:82-93.

Best wishes,

Joerg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prof. Dr. Jörg Wiedenmann
University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, NOCS
Southampton, SO14 3ZH, U.K.
http://noc.ac.uk/corals
email: joerg.wiedenmann at noc.soton.ac.uk
Mobile: +44 (0)7912564356

Projects on thermal stress tolerance of corals:
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/oes/research/projects/coral_bleaching.page
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/oes/research/projects/gulf_corals.page
Impact and Outreach:
http://www.mideastcrs.org/
http://noc.ac.uk/corals/nocs-coral-reef-tank
http://www.mobitec.com/cms/products/bio/07_fluores_tec/eosfp.html


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