Humphrey, C., Weber, M., Lott, C., Cooper, T., and Fabricius, K. (2008) Effects of suspended sediments, dissolved inorganic nutrients and salinity on fertilisation and embryo development in the coral Acropora millepora (Ehrenberg, 1834). Coral Reefs, 27 (4). pp. 837-850.

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Abstract

Exposure of coral reefs to river plumes carrying increasing loads of nutrients and sediments is a pressing issue for coral reefs around the world including the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of changes in inorganic nutrients (nitrate, ammonium and phosphate), salinity and various types of suspended sediments in isolation and in combination on rates of fertilisation and early embryonic development of the scleractinian coral Acropora millepora. Dose–response experiments showed that fertilisation declined significantly with increasing sediments and decreasing salinity, while inorganic nutrients at up to 20 μM nitrate or ammonium and 4 μM phosphate had no significant effect on fertilisation. Suspended sediments of ≥100 mg l−1 and salinity of 30 ppt reduced fertilisation by >50%. Developmental abnormality occurred in 100% of embryos at 30 ppt salinity, and no fertilisation occurred at ≤28 ppt. Another experiment tested interactions between sediment, salinity and nutrients and showed that fertilisation was significantly reduced when nutrients and low concentrations of sediments co-occurred, although both on their own had no effect on fertilisation rates. Similarly, while slightly reduced salinity on its own had no effect, fertilisation was reduced when it coincided with elevated levels of sediments or nutrients. Both these interactions were synergistic. A third experiment showed that sediments with different geophysical and nutrient properties had differential effects on fertilisation, possibly related to sediment and nutrient properties. The findings highlight the complex nature of the effects of changing water quality on coral health, particularly stressing the significance of water quality during coral spawning time.

Item ID:	49789
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1432-0975
Keywords:	Great Barrier Reef; coral fertilisation; salinity; sediment; nutrients; terrestrial runoff
Additional Information:	This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
Funders:	Australian Institute of Marine Science, Cooperative Research Centre of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (CRC), Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Max Planck Society
Projects and Grants:	CRC Catchment-to-Reef Program
Date Deposited:	06 Aug 2017 23:17
FoR Codes:	06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0604 Genetics > 060407 Genome Structure and Regulation @ 100%
SEO Codes:	96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960808 Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity @ 100%
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