The in situ light microenvironment of corals

Daniel Wangpraseurt; Lubos Polerecky; Anthony W.D. Larkum; Peter J. Ralph; Daniel A. Nielsen; Mathieu Pernice; Michael Kühl

doi:10.4319/lo.2014.59.3.0917

The in situ light microenvironment of corals

Daniel Wangpraseurt, Lubos Polerecky, Anthony W.D. Larkum, Peter J. Ralph, Daniel A. Nielsen, Mathieu Pernice, Michael Kühl

Marine Biology

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We used a novel diver-operated microsensor system to collect in situ spectrally resolved light fields on corals with a micrometer spatial resolution. The light microenvironment differed between polyp and coenosarc tissues with scalar irradiance (400-700 nm) over polyp tissue, attenuating between 5.1- and 7.8-fold from top to base of small hemispherical coral colonies, whereas attenuation was at most 1.5-fold for coenosarc tissue. Fluctuations in ambient solar irradiance induced changes in light and oxygen microenvironments, which were more pronounced and faster in coenosarc compared with polyp tissue. Backscattered light from the surrounding benthos contributed > 20% of total scalar irradiance at the coral tissue surface and enhanced symbiont photosynthesis and the local O₂ concentration, indicating an important role of benthos optics for coral ecophysiology. Light fields on corals are species and tissue specific and exhibit pronounced variation on scales from micrometers to decimeters. Consequently, the distribution, genetic diversity, and physiology of coral symbionts must be coupled with the measurements of their actual light microenvironment to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of coral ecophysiology.

Original language	English
Journal	Limnology and Oceanography
Volume	59
Issue number	3
Pages (from-to)	917–926
Number of pages	10
ISSN	0024-3590
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2014.59.3.0917
Publication status	Published - 2014

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title = "The in situ light microenvironment of corals",

abstract = "We used a novel diver-operated microsensor system to collect in situ spectrally resolved light fields on corals with a micrometer spatial resolution. The light microenvironment differed between polyp and coenosarc tissues with scalar irradiance (400-700 nm) over polyp tissue, attenuating between 5.1- and 7.8-fold from top to base of small hemispherical coral colonies, whereas attenuation was at most 1.5-fold for coenosarc tissue. Fluctuations in ambient solar irradiance induced changes in light and oxygen microenvironments, which were more pronounced and faster in coenosarc compared with polyp tissue. Backscattered light from the surrounding benthos contributed > 20% of total scalar irradiance at the coral tissue surface and enhanced symbiont photosynthesis and the local O2 concentration, indicating an important role of benthos optics for coral ecophysiology. Light fields on corals are species and tissue specific and exhibit pronounced variation on scales from micrometers to decimeters. Consequently, the distribution, genetic diversity, and physiology of coral symbionts must be coupled with the measurements of their actual light microenvironment to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of coral ecophysiology.",

author = "Daniel Wangpraseurt and Lubos Polerecky and Larkum, {Anthony W.D.} and Ralph, {Peter J.} and Nielsen, {Daniel A.} and Mathieu Pernice and Michael K{\"u}hl",

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language = "English",

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T1 - The in situ light microenvironment of corals

AU - Wangpraseurt, Daniel

AU - Polerecky, Lubos

AU - Larkum, Anthony W.D.

AU - Ralph, Peter J.

AU - Nielsen, Daniel A.

AU - Pernice, Mathieu

AU - Kühl, Michael

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - We used a novel diver-operated microsensor system to collect in situ spectrally resolved light fields on corals with a micrometer spatial resolution. The light microenvironment differed between polyp and coenosarc tissues with scalar irradiance (400-700 nm) over polyp tissue, attenuating between 5.1- and 7.8-fold from top to base of small hemispherical coral colonies, whereas attenuation was at most 1.5-fold for coenosarc tissue. Fluctuations in ambient solar irradiance induced changes in light and oxygen microenvironments, which were more pronounced and faster in coenosarc compared with polyp tissue. Backscattered light from the surrounding benthos contributed > 20% of total scalar irradiance at the coral tissue surface and enhanced symbiont photosynthesis and the local O2 concentration, indicating an important role of benthos optics for coral ecophysiology. Light fields on corals are species and tissue specific and exhibit pronounced variation on scales from micrometers to decimeters. Consequently, the distribution, genetic diversity, and physiology of coral symbionts must be coupled with the measurements of their actual light microenvironment to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of coral ecophysiology.

AB - We used a novel diver-operated microsensor system to collect in situ spectrally resolved light fields on corals with a micrometer spatial resolution. The light microenvironment differed between polyp and coenosarc tissues with scalar irradiance (400-700 nm) over polyp tissue, attenuating between 5.1- and 7.8-fold from top to base of small hemispherical coral colonies, whereas attenuation was at most 1.5-fold for coenosarc tissue. Fluctuations in ambient solar irradiance induced changes in light and oxygen microenvironments, which were more pronounced and faster in coenosarc compared with polyp tissue. Backscattered light from the surrounding benthos contributed > 20% of total scalar irradiance at the coral tissue surface and enhanced symbiont photosynthesis and the local O2 concentration, indicating an important role of benthos optics for coral ecophysiology. Light fields on corals are species and tissue specific and exhibit pronounced variation on scales from micrometers to decimeters. Consequently, the distribution, genetic diversity, and physiology of coral symbionts must be coupled with the measurements of their actual light microenvironment to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of coral ecophysiology.

U2 - 10.4319/lo.2014.59.3.0917

DO - 10.4319/lo.2014.59.3.0917

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0024-3590

VL - 59

SP - 917

EP - 926

JO - Limnology and Oceanography

JF - Limnology and Oceanography

IS - 3

ER -

The in situ light microenvironment of corals

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