Highly conserved thermal performance strategies may limit adaptive potential in corals

Author:

Álvarez-Noriega Mariana1,Marrable Isabella1,Noonan Sam H. C.1,Barneche Diego R.23,Ortiz Juan C.1

Affiliation:

1. Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia

2. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia

3. Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia

Abstract

Increasing seawater temperatures are expected to have profound consequences for reef-building corals' physiology. Understanding how demography changes in response to chronic exposure to warming will help forecast how coral communities will respond to climate change. Here, we measure growth rates of coral fragments of four common species, while exposing them to temperatures ranging from 19°C to 31°C for one month to calibrate their thermal-performance curves (TPCs). Our results show that, while there are contrasting differences between species, the shape of the TPCs was remarkably consistent among individuals of the same species. The low variation in thermal sensitivity within species may imply a reduced capacity for rapid adaptive responses to future changes in thermal regimes. Additionally, interspecific differences in thermal responses show a negative relationship between maximum growth and thermal optima, contradicting expectations derived from the classic ‘warmer-is-better’ hypothesis. Among species, there was a trade-off between current and future growth, whereby most species perform well under current thermal regimes but are susceptible to future increases in temperature. Increases in water temperature with climate change are likely to reduce growth rates, further hampering future coral reef recovery rates and potentially altering community composition.

Funder

Australian Governments Reef Trust

Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program

Great Barrier Reef Foundation

Publisher

The Royal Society

Subject

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Environmental Science,General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine

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