Mortality of L. pertusa specimens exposed to different temperatures collected on R/V Ronald Brown in Florida from October to November 2010 (Lophelia OA project)

Mortality of L. pertusa specimens exposed to different temperatures collected on R/V Ronald Brown in Florida from October to November 2010 (Lophelia OA project)

transported overnight to the laboratory on wet ice.
In the laboratory, corals were maintained in one of two 570 liter recirculating aquaria systems at temperature 8 degrees celsius and salinity 35 ppt (Lunden et al., 2014). Regular partial water changes (15-20%) were performed with seawater made using Instant Ocean sea salt. Submersible power heads were placed in each holding tank to ensure water movement and turbulence sufficient to cause swaying of coral polyps. Corals were fed three times weekly using a combination of MarineSnow PlanktonDiet (Two Little Fishies, Miami Gardens, FL) and freshly hatched Artemia nauplii.
Survivorship was assessed by daily observations of polyp tissue presence and behavior.
Final survivorship counts were taken 3 to 4 days following the end of each treatment after transfer to the maintenance tank. Survivorship is reported as percent cumulative mortality.
Net calcification was measured using the buoyant weight technique (Davies, 1989). Coral nubbins were buoyantly weighed at the start and end of each experimental period (days eight and fifteen) using a Denver Instruments SI-64 analytical balance (d = 0.1mg, Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA). A weighing chamber was constructed using 1/2" plexiglass to prevent disturbances from air movement during weighing. Each coral nubbin was transported individually from its respective aquarium to the weighing chamber in a four-liter Pyrex beaker and suspended from the balance. The buoyant weight was recorded after the coral nubbin stabilized, typically 2 min. Each coral nubbin was weighed three times to determine measurement precision (2-3 mg). Seawater density was determined in each aquarium by buoyantly weighing a 2.5 cm^2 aluminum block with known density (2.7 g/cm^−3). Coral weight in air (i.e., dry weight) was calculated by the following equation:

Description
Category of instrument that simultaneously measures electrical conductivity and temperature in the water column to provide temperature and salinity data.

Generic Instrument
Name Aquarium

Dataset-specific
Description 20 L aquaria were used on the ship and 570 L recirculating aquaria systems were used in the lab

Description
Aquarium -a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept reactive phosphorus. These will be used in combination with historical data in a model to hindcast Aragonite saturation state. This project will provide new physiological and genetic data on an ecologically-significant and anthropogenically-threatened deepwater coral in the Gulf of Mexico. An experimental system, already developed by the PIs, offers controlled conditions to test the effect of Aragonite saturation state on calcification rates in scleractinians and, subsequently, to identify candidate genes and pathways involved in the response to reduced pH and Aragonite saturation state. Both long-term and population sampling experiments will provide additional transcriptomic data and specifically investigate the expression of the candidate genes. These results will contribute to our understanding of the means by which scleractinians may acclimate and acclimatize to low pH, alkalinity, and Aragonite saturation state. Furthermore, the investigators will continue a time series of oceanographic measurements of the carbonate system in the Gulf of Mexico, which will allow the inclusion of this significant body of water in models of past and future ocean acidification scenarios. [