107 resultados para tropical species


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In low and middle latitudes, the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary is marked by a sudden and pronounced decrease in d13C values of near-surface-water carbonates and a reduction in the surface-to-bottom d13C gradient. These isotopic data have been interpreted as evidence of a decline in surface-water productivity that was responsible for the extinction of many planktic foraminiferal species and other marine organisms at or near the K/T boundary. We present planktic and benthic foraminiferal isotopic data from two almost biostratigraphically complete sections at Ocean Drilling Program Site 738 in the antarctic Indian Ocean and at Nye Kløv in Denmark. These data suggest that planktic carbonate d13C values in high latitudes may not have decreased dramatically at the K/T boundary; thus, surface-water productivity may not have been reduced as much as in low and middle latitudes. Comparison of the records of Site 738 with those of ODP Sites 690 and 750 indicates a pronounced decline in d13C values of planktic and benthic foraminifera and fine-fraction/bulk carbonate ~200 000 yr after the K/T boundary. This reflects a regional shift in the carbon isotopic composition of oceanic total dissolved carbon (TDC) and correlates with a similar change in benthic foraminiferal d13C values at mid- and low-latitude Deep Sea Drilling Project Sites 527 and 577. This oceanographic event was followed by the ecosystem's global recovery ~500 000 yr after the K/T boundary. These data suggest that the environmental effects of the K/T boundary may have been less severe in the high-latitude oceans than in tropical and subtropical regions.

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In many marine biogeographic realms, bioeroding sponges dominate the internal bioerosion of calcareous substrates such as mollusc beds and coral reef framework. They biochemically dissolve part of the carbonate and liberate so-called sponge chips, a process that is expected to be facilitated and accelerated in a more acidic environment inherent to the present global change. The bioerosion capacity of the demosponge Cliona celata Grant, 1826 in subfossil oyster shells was assessed via alkalinity anomaly technique based on 4 days of experimental exposure to three different levels of carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) at ambient temperature in the cold-temperate waters of Helgoland Island, North Sea. The rate of chemical bioerosion at present-day pCO2 was quantified with 0.08-0.1 kg/m**2/year. Chemical bioerosion was positively correlated with increasing pCO2, with rates more than doubling at carbon dioxide levels predicted for the end of the twenty-first century, clearly confirming that C. celata bioerosion can be expected to be enhanced with progressing ocean acidification (OA). Together with previously published experimental evidence, the present results suggest that OA accelerates sponge bioerosion (1) across latitudes and biogeographic areas, (2) independent of sponge growth form, and (3) for species with or without photosymbionts alike. A general increase in sponge bioerosion with advancing OA can be expected to have a significant impact on global carbonate (re)cycling and may result in widespread negative effects, e.g. on the stability of wild and farmed shellfish populations, as well as calcareous framework builders in tropical and cold-water coral reef ecosystems.

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To evaluate the potential of community-based bird surveys in the tropics, we compared the species richness and abundances of bird functional groups that would be detected by a basic untrained observer (untrained observer survey, UOS) to a comprehensive bird species list compiled by a professional bird guide, in a coffee agroforestry landscape in the Peruvian East Andean foothills and compared functional signatures to global functional signatures of tropical bird assemblages. The submitted data comprises the transect counts of the UOS, the comprehensive bird list, ecological data of the recorded birds and information regarding the conservation status of the recorded birds from the IUCN Red List.

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Despite the heightened awareness of ocean acidification (OA) effects on marine organisms, few studies empirically juxtapose biological responses to CO2 manipulations across functionally distinct primary producers, particularly benthic algae. Algal responses to OA may vary because increasing CO2 has the potential to fertilize photosynthesis but impair biomineralization. Using a series of repeated experiments on Palmyra Atoll, simulated OA effects were tested across a suite of ecologically important coral reef algae, including five fleshy and six calcareous species. Growth, calcification and photophysiology were measured for each species independently and metrics were combined from each experiment using a meta-analysis to examine overall trends across functional groups categorized as fleshy, upright calcareous, and crustose coralline algae (CCA). The magnitude of the effect of OA on algal growth response varied by species, but the direction was consistent within functional groups. Exposure to OA conditions generally enhanced growth in fleshy macroalgae, reduced net calcification in upright calcareous algae, and caused net dissolution in CCA. Additionally, three of the five fleshy seaweeds tested became reproductive upon exposure to OA conditions. There was no consistent effect of OA on algal photophysiology. Our study provides experimental evidence to support the hypothesis that OA will reduce the ability of calcareous algae to biomineralize. Further, we show that CO2 enrichment either will stimulate population or somatic growth in some species of fleshy macroalgae. Thus, our results suggest that projected OA conditions may favor non-calcifying algae and influence the relative dominance of fleshy macroalgae on reefs, perpetuating or exacerbating existing shifts in reef community structure.

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Ocean acidification can have negative repercussions from the organism to ecosystem levels. Octocorals deposit high-magnesium calcite in their skeletons, and according to different models, they could be more susceptible to the depletion of carbonate ions than either calcite or aragonite-depositing organisms. This study investigated the response of the gorgonian coral Eunicea fusca to a range of CO2 concentrations from 285 to 4,568 ppm (pH range 8.1-7.1) over a 4-week period. Gorgonian growth and calcification were measured at each level of CO2 as linear extension rate and percent change in buoyant weight and calcein incorporation in individual sclerites, respectively. There was a significant negative relationship for calcification and CO2 concentration that was well explained by a linear model regression analysis for both buoyant weight and calcein staining. In general, growth and calcification did not stop in any of the concentrations of pCO2; however, some of the octocoral fragments experienced negative calcification at undersaturated levels of calcium carbonate (>4,500 ppm) suggesting possible dissolution effects. These results highlight the susceptibility of the gorgonian coral E. fusca to elevated levels of carbon dioxide but suggest that E. fusca could still survive well in mid-term ocean acidification conditions expected by the end of this century, which provides important information on the effects of ocean acidification on the dynamics of coral reef communities. Gorgonian corals can be expected to diversify and thrive in the Atlantic-Eastern Pacific; as scleractinian corals decline, it is likely to expect a shift in these reef communities from scleractinian coral dominated to octocoral/soft coral dominated under a "business as usual" scenario of CO2 emissions.