Tropical seagrass meadows modify seawater carbon chemistry: implications for coral reefs impacted by ocean acidification
Tropical seagrass meadows modify seawater carbon chemistry: implications for coral reefs impacted by ocean acidification
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热带海草甸改变海水碳化学：对受海洋酸化影响的珊瑚礁的影响
DOI：
10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024026
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发表时间：
2012
影响因子：
6.7
通讯作者：
L. McKenzie
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
R. Unsworth;C. Collier;G. Henderson;L. McKenzie
高产的热带海草通常生长在珊瑚礁附近或珊瑚礁之间，并利用大量无机碳。在这项研究中，基于对已发表数据的分析，对海草生产力对海水碳酸盐化学和珊瑚钙化的影响进行了建模。已发表的数据（11项研究，64条记录）显示，印度 - 太平洋地区的海草草甸有83%的可能性是净自养的，导致平均净碳汇为155克碳/平方米·年。利用一个经验模型分析了海草生产力的能力，以研究其对海水碳酸盐化学的影响。我们的分析表明，在有海草草甸存在的情况下（相较于无海草草甸），pH值可能升高多达0.38个单位，文石饱和度可能增加2.9，这些增加的精确数值取决于水的停留时间（潮汐冲刷）和水深。在浅水珊瑚礁环境中，海草下游的石珊瑚钙化可能比没有海草的环境高出约18%。如果这种对珊瑚礁钙化生物的潜在益处得到进一步研究的支持，它将为当地海洋公园管理提供一种潜在的工具。这一点的适用性将取决于当地的物理条件以及栖息地的空间配置，以及影响其生产力的因素。这项新颖的研究表明，除了对渔业、沉积物稳定和初级生产的重要性之外，海草草甸可能会增强珊瑚礁对未来海洋酸化的适应能力。
Highly productive tropical seagrasses often live adjacent to or among coral reefs and utilize large amounts of inorganic carbon. In this study, the effect of seagrass productivity on seawater carbonate chemistry and coral calcification was modelled on the basis of an analysis of published data. Published data (11 studies, 64 records) reveal that seagrass meadows in the Indo-Pacific have an 83% chance of being net autotrophic, resulting in an average net sink of 155 gC m−2 yr−1. The capacities for seagrass productivity were analysed using an empirical model to examine the effect on seawater carbonate chemistry. Our analyses indicate that increases in pH of up to 0.38 units, and Ωarag increases of 2.9 are possible in the presence of seagrass meadows (compared to their absence) with the precise values of these increases dependent on water residence time (tidal flushing) and water depth. In shallow water reef environments, Scleractinian coral calcification downstream of seagrass has the potential to be ≈18% greater than in an environment without seagrass. If this potential benefit to reef calcifiers is supported by further study it offers a potential tool in marine park management at a local scale. The applicability of this will depend upon local physical conditions as well as the spatial configuration of habitats, and the factors that influence their productivity. This novel study suggests that, in addition to their importance to fisheries, sediment stabilization and primary production, seagrass meadows may enhance coral reef resilience to future ocean acidification.