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Baseline shifts in coral skeletal oxygen isotopic composition: a signature of symbiont shuffling?

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An Erratum to this article was published on 27 February 2013

Abstract

Decades-long records of the stable isotopic composition of coral skeletal cores were analyzed from four sites on the Mesoamerican Reef. Two of the sites exhibited baseline shifts in oxygen isotopic composition after known coral bleaching events. Changes in pH at the calcification site caused by a change in the associated symbiont community are invoked to explain the observed shift in the isotopic composition. To test the hypothesis that changes in symbiont clade could affect skeletal chemistry, additional coral samples were collected from Belize for paired Symbiodinium identification and skeletal stable isotopic analysis. We found some evidence that skeletal stable isotopic composition may be affected by symbiont clade and suggest this is an important topic for future investigation. If different Symbiodinium clades leave consistent signatures in skeletal geochemical composition, the signature will provide a method to quantify past symbiont shuffling events, important for understanding how corals are likely to respond to climate change.

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  1. M. Garren

    Present address: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02141, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Environmental Research, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, Lucas Heights, NSW, 2234, Australia

    J. E. Carilli

  2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    C. D. Charles, M. Garren & R. D. Norris

  3. Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative, Smithsonian Institution, Belize City, Belize

    M. McField

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  1. J. E. Carilli
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  2. C. D. Charles
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  3. M. Garren
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  4. M. McField
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  5. R. D. Norris
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Correspondence to J. E. Carilli.

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Carilli, J.E., Charles, C.D., Garren, M. et al. Baseline shifts in coral skeletal oxygen isotopic composition: a signature of symbiont shuffling?. Coral Reefs 32, 559–571 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-1004-y

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