TY - JOUR
T1 - Resistance of Lophelia pertusa to coverage by sediment and petroleum drill cuttings
AU - Allers, Elke
AU - Abed, Raeid M M
AU - Wehrmann, Laura M.
AU - Wang, Tao
AU - Larsson, Ann I.
AU - Purser, Autun
AU - de Beer, Dirk
PY - 2013/9/15
Y1 - 2013/9/15
N2 - In laboratory experiments, the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa was exposed to settling particles. The effects of reef sediment, petroleum drill cuttings and a mix of both, on the development of anoxia at the coral surface were studied using O2, pH and H2S microsensors and by assessing coral polyp mortality. Due to the branching morphology of L. pertusa and the release of coral mucus, accumulation rates of settling material on coral branches were low. Microsensors detected H2S production in only a few samples, and sulfate reduction rates of natural reef sediment slurries were low (-3d-1). While the exposure to sediment clearly reduced the coral's accessibility to oxygen, L. pertusa tolerated both partial low-oxygen and anoxic conditions without any visible detrimental short-term effect, such as tissue damage or death. However, complete burial of coral branches for >24h in reef sediment resulted in suffocation.
AB - In laboratory experiments, the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa was exposed to settling particles. The effects of reef sediment, petroleum drill cuttings and a mix of both, on the development of anoxia at the coral surface were studied using O2, pH and H2S microsensors and by assessing coral polyp mortality. Due to the branching morphology of L. pertusa and the release of coral mucus, accumulation rates of settling material on coral branches were low. Microsensors detected H2S production in only a few samples, and sulfate reduction rates of natural reef sediment slurries were low (-3d-1). While the exposure to sediment clearly reduced the coral's accessibility to oxygen, L. pertusa tolerated both partial low-oxygen and anoxic conditions without any visible detrimental short-term effect, such as tissue damage or death. However, complete burial of coral branches for >24h in reef sediment resulted in suffocation.
KW - Anoxia
KW - Cold-water coral reef
KW - Cold-water coral-derived mucus
KW - Drill cuttings
KW - Lophelia pertusa
KW - Sedimentation
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U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.07.016
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.07.016
M3 - Article
C2 - 23915980
AN - SCOPUS:84884143607
VL - 74
SP - 132
EP - 140
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
SN - 0025-326X
IS - 1
ER -