title: Gains and losses of coral skeletal porosity changes with ocean acidification acclimation.
abstract: Ocean acidification is predicted to impact ecosystems reliant on calcifying organisms, potentially reducing the socioeconomic benefits these habitats provide. Here we investigate the acclimation potential of stony corals living along a pH gradient caused by a Mediterranean CO2 vent that serves as a natural long-term experimental setting. We show that in response to reduced skeletal mineralization at lower pH, corals increase their skeletal macroporosity (features >10 μm) in order to maintain constant linear extension rate, an important criterion for reproductive output. At the nanoscale, the coral skeleton's structural features are not altered. However, higher skeletal porosity, and reduced bulk density and stiffness may contribute to reduce population density and increase damage susceptibility under low pH conditions. Based on these observations, the almost universally employed measure of coral biomineralization, the rate of linear extension, might not be a reliable metric for assessing coral health and resilience in a warming and acidifying ocean.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy [2] Centro Enrico Fermi, Piazza del Viminale 1, 00184 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fantazzini
authors.affiliation: Department of Management, University of Bologna, Via Capo di Lucca 34, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mengoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pasquini
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Villiam
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bortolotti
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy [2] Centro Enrico Fermi, Piazza del Viminale 1, 00184 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brizi
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy [2] Centro Enrico Fermi, Piazza del Viminale 1, 00184 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry 'G. Ciamician', University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Giosia
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry 'G. Ciamician', University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fermani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Geology, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta S. Donato 1, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Capaccioni
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caroselli
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Fiorella
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Prada
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zaccanti
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Zvy
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dubinsky
authors.affiliation: Section Computational Science, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, room C3.147, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jaap A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kaandorp
authors.affiliation: Section Computational Science, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, room C3.147, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pirom
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Konglerd
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Outstation at DESY, Building 25c Notkestr. 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Hammel
authors.affiliation: Micropaléontologie, UFR TEB Université P. &M. Curie, 75252 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Yannicke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dauphin
authors.affiliation: Micropaléontologie, UFR TEB Université P. &M. Curie, 75252 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cuif
authors.affiliation: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, 60 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville, 4810 Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Katharina E
authors.identifier: 0000000176714358
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Fabricius
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wagermaier
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomaterials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fratzl
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry 'G. Ciamician', University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Falini
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goffredo
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D016062:Porosity; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide