Environmental and biological controls on Na∕Ca ratios in scleractinian cold-water corals

Schleinkofer, Nicolai; Raddatz, Jacek; Freiwald, André; Evans, David; Beuck, Lydia; Rüggeberg, Andres; Liebetrau, Volker

doi:10.5194/bg-16-3565-2019

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Environmental and biological controls on Na∕Ca ratios in scleractinian cold-water corals

Schleinkofer, Nicolai Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany - Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
Raddatz, Jacek Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany - Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
Freiwald, André Senckenberg am Meer, Marine Research Department, Wilhelmshaven, Germany - MARUM (Zentrum für Marine Umweltwissenschaften), Bremen University, Bremen, Germany
Evans, David Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany - Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
Beuck, Lydia Senckenberg am Meer, Marine Research Department, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Rüggeberg, Andres Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Liebetrau, Volker GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany

20.09.2019

Published in:

Biogeosciences. - 2019, vol. 16, no. 18, p. 3565–3582

English Here we present a comprehensive attempt to correlate aragonitic Na∕Ca ratios from Desmophyllum pertusum (formerly known as Lophelia pertusa), Madrepora oculata and a caryophylliid cold-water coral (CWC) species with different seawater parameters such as temperature, salinity and pH. Living CWC specimens were collected from 16 different locations and analyzed for their Na∕Ca ratios using solution- based inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) measurements.The results reveal no apparent correlation with salinity (30.1–40.57 g kg−1) but a significant inverse correlation with temperature (−0.31±0.04 mmolmol−1∘C−1). Other marine aragonitic organisms such as Mytilus edulis (inner aragonitic shell portion) and Porites sp. exhibit similar results highlighting the consistency of the calculated CWC regressions. Corresponding Na∕Mg ratios show a similar temperature sensitivity to Na∕Ca ratios, but the combination of two ratios appears to reduce the impact of vital effects and domain-dependent geochemical variation. The high degree of scatter and elemental heterogeneities between the different skeletal features in both Na∕Ca and Na∕Mg, however, limit the use of these ratios as a proxy and/or make a high number of samples necessary. Additionally, we explore two models to explain the observed temperature sensitivity of Na∕Ca ratios for an open and semi-enclosed calcifying space based on temperature-sensitive Na- and Ca-pumping enzymes and transport proteins that change the composition of the calcifying fluid and consequently the skeletal Na∕Ca ratio.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Géosciences

Language