Environmental stability and phenotypic plasticity benefit the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus in an acidified fjord

Global distribution pattern and conservation of the cosmopolitan cold-water coral species Desmophyllum dianthus under climate change

Global climate change impacts marine ecosystems differently across oceanic regions and depths. Thus, understanding how widespread key species adapt globally and locally to multidimensional climate change is crucial for targeted conservation. This study focuses on the cosmopolitan cold-water coral (CWC) Desmophyllum dianthus using ecological niche models (ENMs) to explore climate adaptation and conservation strategies. The findings indicated that D. dianthus occupied a broad ecological niche but had low ecological niche overlap across populations, suggesting local adaptations and supporting population-level ENMs. The models predicted that over 80% of D. dianthus suitable habitats would persist under SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 climate scenarios by the 2100s, potentially increasing to 95% as new habitats emerge, demonstrating its robust adaptability. However, localized environmental shifts could precipitate habitat losses in areas like the Reykjanes Ridge, Rockall Plateau, Mediterranean Sea, and Patagonian Shelf. We also applied Linkage Mapper to identify potential ecological corridors that intertwined nearshore macrohabitat patches with deep-sea stepping-stone habitats such as escarpments, seamounts, and ridges, maintaining population connectivity. Despite this, the habitats and ecological corridors of D. dianthus remained largely unprotected, with vulnerable portions lying outside of marine protected areas (MPAs), thus underscoring the urgent need for more MPA. These spatial-temporal predictions provide essential insights for the conservation and management of cosmopolitan CWC D. dianthus and serve as a benchmark for the adaptive survival of similar taxa.

Cold-water coral energy reserves and calcification in contrasting fjord environments

The relationship between energy reserves of cold-water corals (CWCs) and their physiological performance remains largely unknown. In addition, it is poorly understood how the energy allocation to different metabolic processes might change with projected decreasing food supply to the deep sea in the future. This study explores the temporal and spatial variations of total energy reserves (proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) of the CWC Desmophyllum dianthus and their correlation with its calcification rate. We took advantage of distinct horizontal and vertical physico-chemical gradients in Comau Fjord (Chile) and examined the changes in energy reserves over one year in an in situ reciprocal transplantation experiment (20 m vs. 300 m and fjord head vs. mouth). Total energy reserves correlated positively with calcification rates. The fast-growing deep corals had higher and less variable energy reserves, while the slower-growing shallow corals showed pronounced seasonal changes in energy reserves. Novel deep corals (transplanted from shallow) were able to quickly increase both their calcification rates and energy reserves to similar levels as native deep corals. Our study shows the importance of energy reserves in sustaining CWC growth in spite of aragonite undersaturated conditions (deep corals) in the present, and potentially also future ocean.

Ecophysiological and behavioural response of juveniles of the Chilean cold-water coral Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) huinayensis to increasing sediment loads

Chilean Patagonia is a hotspot of biodiversity, harbouring cold-water corals (CWCs) that populate steep walls and overhangs of fjords and channels. Through anthropogenic activities such as deforestation, roadworks, aquafarming and increased landslide frequency, sediment input increases in the fjord region. While the absence of CWCs on moderately steep slopes has been suggested to reflect high vulnerability to sedimentation, experimental evidence has been lacking. Here, we investigated the sensitivity of CWCs to sediment stress, using juvenile Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) huinayensis as a model. A 12-week aquarium experiment was conducted with three sediment loads: the average natural sediment concentration in Comau Fjord, 100- and 1000-fold higher sediment levels, expected from gravel road use and coastal erosion. Changes in coral mass and calyx dimensions, polyp expansion, tissue retraction and respiration were measured. For CWCs exposed to two and three order of magnitude higher sediment concentrations, 32% and 80% of the animals experienced a decrease in tissue cover, respectively, along with a decrease in respiration rate of 34% and 66%. Under the highest concentration corals showed reduced polyp expansion and a significantly reduced growth of ~ 95% compared to corals at natural concentration. The results show that C. huinayensis is affected by high sediment loads. As human activities that increase sedimentation steadily intensify, coastal planners need to consider detrimental effects on CWCs.

Ontogenetic differences in the response of the cold-water coral Caryophyllia huinayensis to ocean acidification, warming and food availability

Cold-water corals (CWCs) are considered vulnerable to environmental changes. However, previous studies have focused on adult CWCs and mainly investigated the short-term effects of single stressors. So far, the effects of environmental changes on different CWC life stages are unknown, both for single and multiple stressors and over long time periods. Therefore, we conducted a six-month aquarium experiment with three life stages of Caryophyllia huinayensis to study their physiological response (survival, somatic growth, calcification and respiration) to the interactive effects of aragonite saturation (0.8 and 2.5), temperature (11 and 15 °C) and food availability (8 and 87 μg C L-1). The response clearly differed between life stages and measured traits. Elevated temperature and reduced feeding had the greatest effects, pushing the corals to their physiological limits. Highest mortality was observed in adult corals, while calcification rates decreased the most in juveniles. We observed a three-month delay in response, presumably because energy reserves declined, suggesting that short-term experiments overestimate coral resilience. Elevated summer temperatures and reduced food supply are likely to have the greatest impact on live CWCs in the future, leading to reduced coral growth and population shifts due to delayed juvenile maturation and high adult mortality.

Vulnerability of six cold-water corals to sediment resuspension from bottom trawling fishing

Bottom trawling can significantly affect benthic communities, directly through immediate removal of sessile organisms and indirectly through sediment resuspension. Submarine canyons, often surrounded by fishing grounds, are important habitats for cold-water corals (CWC). Vulnerability of CWCs to increased suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is key to understanding the severity of bottom trawling effects on those communities. Here we show survival, growth, and physiological response of six CWCs from a Mediterranean submarine canyon (Dendrophyllia cornigera, Desmophyllum dianthus, Desmophyllum pertusum, Madrepora oculata, Leiopathes glaberrima and Muriceides lepida), exposed to a long-term, aquarium-based sedimentary disturbance experiment. Compared to cup coral and octocoral, which did not exhibit symptoms of distress, our data indicate that colonial scleractinian corals and black coral, which experienced substantial polyp mortality in enhanced SSC treatments, are more vulnerable. Indirect impact of bottom trawling could thus contribute to structural simplification of CWC communities posing an additional stressor alongside with global climate change.

Life cycle of the cold-water coral Caryophyllia huinayensis

Little is known about the biology of cold-water corals (CWCs), let alone the reproduction and early life stages of these important deep-sea foundation species. Through a three-year aquarium experiment, we described the reproductive mode, larval release periodicity, planktonic stage, larval histology, metamorphosis and post-larval development of the solitary scleractinian CWC Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) huinayensis collected in Comau Fjord, Chilean Patagonia. We found that C. huinayensis is a brooder releasing 78.4 ± 65.9 (mean ± standard deviation [SD]) planula larvae throughout the year, a possible adaptation to low seasonality. Planulae had a length of 905 ± 114 µm and showed a well-developed gastrovascular system. After 8 ± 9.3 days (d), the larvae settled, underwent metamorphosis and developed the first set of tentacles after 2 ± 1.5 d. Skeletogenesis, zooplankton feeding and initiation of the fourth set of tentacles started 5 ± 2.1 d later, 21 ± 12.9 d, and 895 ± 45.9 d after settlement, respectively. Our study shows that the ontogenetic timing of C. huinayensis is comparable to that of some tropical corals, despite lacking zooxanthellae.