Dataset: Coral and Algal Stable Isotope Data

This dataset has not been validatedPreliminary and in progressVersion 1 (2024-10-29)Dataset Type:Other Field Results

Principal Investigator: Michael D. Fox (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Sawyer Newman (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Project: The Biophysics of Coral Reef Resilience: hydrodynamic and ecological drivers of coral survival under extreme heat (Biophysics of Coral Reef Resilience)

Abstract

Large-scale oceanographic processes shape the dynamics of coral reef ecosystems and influence their future survival under climate change. In the central Pacific Ocean, high ocean temperatures associated with the strong El Niño event in 2015-16 led to widespread coral bleaching and mortality. This El Niño also altered the flow of major ocean current, which led to anomalously high upwelling on Palmyra Atoll. This corresponded with lower than expected coral mortality given the magnitude of thermal ...

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Sample Collection and Processing

Coral and algal samples were collected at 10m depth on Palmyra's fore reef habitat. Samples were frozen at -20C for transportation. Halimeda samples were decalcified in 5% HCl, dried, ground, and packaged into tin capsules. Pocillopora meandrina fragments were air blasted and the host and algal symbiont fractions were separated by centrifugation. Each fraction was loaded onto a pre-combusted GF/F filter (Whatmann), lightly acidified with 5% HCl, and packaged into tin capsules. 

Analysis Methods 

Bulk δ13C, δ15N, and mass percent Carbon and Nitrogen were measured via EA-IRMS with a Costech elemental analyzer (Valencia, CA, USA) coupled to a Thermo Scientific Delta XP Plus isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Bremen, Germany). Isotopic data are reported as delta values (δ) and expressed in ‰ relative to the international standards for Carbon (Vienna Hoffman and Rasmussen 2022) and Nitrogen (atmospheric N2). Within-run SD of in-house reference material was <0.2‰ for δ13C and δ15N.

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Results
Fox, M. D., Guillaume-Castel, R., Edwards, C. B., Glanz, J., Gove, J. M., Green, J. A. M., Juhlin, E., Smith, J. E., & Williams, G. J. (2023). Ocean currents magnify upwelling and deliver nutritional subsidies to reef-building corals during El Niño heatwaves. Science Advances, 9(24). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add5032
Methods
Hoffman, D. W., & Rasmussen, C. (2022). Absolute Carbon Stable Isotope Ratio in the Vienna Peedee Belemnite Isotope Reference Determined by 1H NMR Spectroscopy. Analytical Chemistry, 94(13), 5240–5247. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04565

Fox, M. D. (2024) Coral and Algal Stable Isotope Data. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2024-10-29 [if applicable, indicate subset used]. http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset/941648 [access date]

Terms of Use

This dataset is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.


If you wish to use this dataset, it is highly recommended that you contact the original principal investigators (PI). Should the relevant PI be unavailable, please contact BCO-DMO (info@bco-dmo.org) for additional guidance. For general guidance please see the BCO-DMO Terms of Use document.

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Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation