Natural hypoxic conditions do not affect the respiration rates of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum pertusum (Lophelia pertusa) living in the Angola margin (Southeastern Atlantic Ocean)

Large, well-developed and flourishing reefs dominated by the cold-water coral Desmophyllum pertusum have recently been discovered along the Angola margin in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean living under very low oxygen concentrations (0.6–1.5 mL L−1). This study assessed the respiration rates of this...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gori, Andrea, Orejas, Covadonga, Mienis, Furu, Ferrier-Pagès, Christine, Bilan, Meri, Flöter, Sebastian, Reynaud, Stephanie, Sweetman, Andrew K., Roberts, J Murray, Wienberg, Claudia, Hebbeln, Direk
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/219698
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/219698
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Angola
Coralls
Atlàntic (Oceà)
Respiració de les plantes
Corals
Atlantic Ocean
Plant respiration
Descripción
Sumario:Large, well-developed and flourishing reefs dominated by the cold-water coral Desmophyllum pertusum have recently been discovered along the Angola margin in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean living under very low oxygen concentrations (0.6–1.5 mL L−1). This study assessed the respiration rates of this coral in a short-term (10 days) aquarium experiment under naturally low oxygen concentrations (1.4 ± 0.5 mL L−1) as well as under saturated oxygen concentrations (6.1 ± 0.6 mL L−1). We found no significant difference in respiration rates between the two oxygen concentrations. Furthermore, the respiration rates of D. pertusum were in the same order of magnitude as those of the same species living under normoxic conditions in other areas. This work expands the current knowledge on the metabolic activity of cold-water corals under hypoxic conditions, evidencing that low oxygen conditions are not a general limiting factor for the overall distribution of D. pertusum.