Diurnal and tidal patterns of carbon uptake and calcification in geniculate inter‐tidal coralline algae |
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| Authors: | Sophie J McCoy Catherine A Pfister Gerard Olack Albert S Colman |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;2. Department of Geophysical Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA |
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| Abstract: | Research on coralline algal responses to ocean acidification and other environmental stressors has increased in recent years as coralline algae is thought to stand a higher chance of being affected by acidification stress than other macroalgae. To provide context and enhance the existing eco‐physiological framework for climate change studies, it is important to understand the effects of non‐extreme stressors experienced regularly by inter‐tidal coralline algae. In this study, we tested the potentially interacting effects of diurnal and tidal treatments on calcification in the geniculate coralline algae Corallina frondescens and Corallina vancouveriensis using 13C‐labeled bicarbonate. Both species deposited more calcium carbonate during the day than at night, and also when submerged (high tide) compared with when emerged (low tide) in their apical and mature segments (intergenicula). These results indicate that inter‐tidal coralline algae do in fact pay a cost for living inter‐tidally at the edge of an adaptive zone. |
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| Keywords: | Calcification coralline algae diurnal inter‐tidal tidal |
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