[Coral-List] Effects of suspended sediments and nutrient enrichment on juvenile corals

[Adriana Humanes]

Dear Coral Listers,


We would like to bring to your attention to our new paper “Effects of
suspended sediments and nutrient enrichment on juvenile corals”, available
at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X17306732

Three to six-month-old juveniles of Acropora tenuis, A. millepora and
Pocillopora acuta were experimentally co-exposed to nutrient enrichment and
suspended sediments (without light attenuation or sediment deposition) for
40 days. Suspended sediments reduced survivorship of A. millepora strongly,
proportional to the sediment concentration, but not in A. tenuis or P.
acuta juveniles. However, juvenile growth of the latter two species was
reduced to less than half or to zero, respectively. Additionally, suspended
sediments increased effective quantum yields of symbionts associated with
A. millepora and A. tenuis, but not those associated with P. acuta.
Nutrient enrichment did not significantly affect juvenile survivorship,
growth or photophysiology for any of the three species, either as a sole
stressor or in combination with suspended sediments. Our results indicate
that exposure to suspended sediments can be energetically costly for
juveniles of some coral species, implying detrimental longer-term but
species-specific repercussions for populations and coral cover.

Best regards,

-- 

Adriana Humanes

www.adrianahumanes.com


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