Coral Reef Emissions of Atmospheric Dimethylsulfide and the Influence on Marine Aerosols in the Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Variability in atmospheric dimethylsulfide (DMSa) and the potential influence on atmospheric aerosols was investigated at Heron Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. This work compiles previously published DMSa data (reported in Swan, Jones, Deschaseaux, & Eyre, 2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg‐14‐229‐2017), with additional surveys of DMSa, atmospheric particle number concentration, and other oceanic and atmospheric data sets. DMSa was higher in summer (mean 3.2 nmol m−3/78 ppt) than winter (mean 1.3 nmol m−3/32 ppt), reflective of seasonal shifts in phytoplankton biomass and emissions from corals in the southern GBR. Seasonally extreme spikes in DMSa were detected during low tide and low wind speed, supporting findings that the coral reef can be an important source of DMSa above background oceanic emissions. A significant link was present between DMSa and aerosol concentration (ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 μm) during calm, daylight hours, when conditions were optimal for the local oxidation of DMSa to sulfate aerosol precursors. This link may reflect condensational growth of existing fine particles (< 0.5 μm), which is the dominant pathway by which biogenic trace gases influence aerosols in the marine boundary layer. Aerosol concentration significantly correlated with reduced surface solar irradiance and sea surface temperature, which is potential evidence of a local negative feedback mitigating coral physiological stress. These findings provide a step toward a better understanding of the processes influencing DMSa and aerosol concentrations and of the consequences for the local radiative balance over coral reefs; an increasingly important topic with ongoing ocean warming and coral bleaching.Full Tex

Microbial dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) cycling in the ultraoligotrophic eastern Indian Ocean

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is an important source of dissolved organic matter for the marine food web and its cycling is a key step in ocean-atmosphere fluxes involved in the global sulfur cycle. To date, the abundance and biogeography of the genes encoding bacterial DMSP cycling in the eastern Indian Ocean (EIO) is virtually unknown. Moreover, DMSP measurements from the IO are sparse compared to other major oceans. In May–June 2019, we characterized dissolved DMSP (DMSPd) concentrations and the abundance of representative bacterial DMSP cycling genes along the 110 °E transect line as part of a voyage that contributed to Australia's involvement in the second International Indian Ocean Expedition. During the multidisciplinary voyage, surface water samples were collected from 19 stations spanning temperate to tropical waters of the EIO (39.5 °S to 11.5 °S, 110 °E). Somewhat surprisingly, a trend of greater DMSPd was measured in ultraoligotrophic (<0.02 μmol L−1 of nitrate/nitrite), low latitude waters compared to relatively nutrient-rich high latitudes, which contradicts global DMSPd patterns of high concentrations at high latitudes. Additionally, the average DMSPd concentration in EIO samples (17.2 ± 18.64 nM) was an order of magnitude greater than concentrations previously reported at similar latitudes in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, which suggests DMSPd is a readily available food source for microbes in a region that is often considered an ocean desert. The abundances of the bacterial DMSP production gene (dsyB), the DMSP lyase gene (dddP) and phylogenetically diverse DMSP demethylation genes (dmdA subclade A/1, D/all and E/2) were reported for the first time in the EIO region, demonstrating significant shifts in all genes with latitude. The SAR11 dmdA (D/all) gene was the dominant DMSP degradation gene across the transect (3.4 ± 0.94% of bacteria) and was notably positively correlated to DMSPd, demonstrating a tight coupling between the variables across the 30° transect. Our results also showed greater DMSPd and relative abundance of genes encoding both DMSP degradation pathways (dddP, dmdA A/1 and D/all) within a Leeuwin Current meander when compared to adjacent stations outside of the meander, providing evidence that mesoscale perturbations from the Leeuwin Current can greatly influence the EIO sulfur cycle. Overall, our data indicates that reduced sulfur in the form of DMSP is an abundant and readily available food source for some microbial metabolisms within the ultraoligotrophic surface waters of the EIO

Parameterizing the Impact of Seawater Temperature and Irradiance on Dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the Great Barrier Reef and the Contribution of Coral Reefs to the Global Sulfur Cycle

Biogenic emissions of dimethylsulfide (DMS) are an important source of sulfur to the atmosphere, with implications for aerosol formation and cloud albedo over the ocean. Natural aerosol sources constitute the largest uncertainty in estimates of aerosol radiative forcing and climate and thus, an improved understanding of DMS sources is needed. Coral reefs are strong point sources of DMS; however, this coral source of biogenic sulfur is not explicitly included in climatologies or in model simulations. Consequently, the role of coral reefs in local and regional climate remains uncertain. We aim to improve the representation of tropical coral reefs in DMS databases by calculating a climatology of seawater DMS concentration (DMSw) and sea‐air flux in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. DMSw is calculated from remotely sensed observations of sea surface temperature and photosynthetically active radiation using a multiple linear regression model derived from field observations of DMSw in the GBR. We estimate that coral reefs and lagoon waters in the GBR (∼347,000 km2) release 0.03–0.05 Tg yr−1 of DMS (0.02 Tg yr−1 of sulfur). Based on this estimate, global tropical coral reefs (∼600,000 km2) could emit 0.08 Tg yr−1 of DMS (0.04 Tg yr−1 of sulfur), with the potential to influence the local radiative balance.Full Tex

A multi-trait systems approach reveals a response cascade to bleaching in corals

Background: Climate change causes the breakdown of the symbiotic relationships between reef-building corals and their photosynthetic symbionts (genus Symbiodinium), with thermal anomalies in 2015-2016 triggering the most widespread mass coral bleaching on record and unprecedented mortality on the Great Barrier Reef. Targeted studies using specific coral stress indicators have highlighted the complexity of the physiological processes occurring during thermal stress, but have been unable to provide a clear mechanistic understanding of coral bleaching. Results: Here, we present an extensive multi-trait-based study in which we compare the thermal stress responses of two phylogenetically distinct and widely distributed coral species, Acropora millepora and Stylophora pistillata, integrating 14 individual stress indicators over time across a simulated thermal anomaly. We found that key stress responses were conserved across both taxa, with the loss of symbionts and the activation of antioxidant mechanisms occurring well before collapse of the physiological parameters, including gross oxygen production and chlorophyll a. Our study also revealed species-specific traits, including differences in the timing of antioxidant regulation, as well as drastic differences in the production of the sulfur compound dimethylsulfoniopropionate during bleaching. Indeed, the concentration of this antioxidant increased two-fold in A. millepora after the corals started to bleach, while it decreased 70% in S. pistillata. Conclusions: We identify a well-defined cascading response to thermal stress, demarking clear pathophysiological reactions conserved across the two species, which might be central to fully understanding the mechanisms triggering thermally induced coral bleaching. These results highlight that bleaching is a conserved mechanism, but specific adaptations linked to the coral's antioxidant capacity drive differences in the sensitivity and thus tolerance of each coral species to thermal stress

Complex responses of intertidal molluscan embryos to a warming and acidifying ocean in the presence of UV radiation

Climate change and ocean acidification will expose marine organisms to synchronous multiple stressors, with early life stages being potentially most vulnerable to changing environmental conditions. We simultaneously exposed encapsulated molluscan embryos to three abiotic stressors—acidified conditions, elevated temperate, and solar UV radiation in large outdoor water tables in a multifactorial design. Solar UV radiation was modified with plastic filters, while levels of the other factors reflected IPCC predictions for near-future change. We quantified mortality and the rate of embryonic development for a mid-shore littorinid, Bembicium nanum, and low-shore opisthobranch, Dolabrifera brazieri. Outcomes were consistent for these model species with embryos faring significantly better at 26°C than 22°C. Mortality sharply increased at the lowest temperature (22°C) and lowest pH (7.6) examined, producing a significant interaction. Under these conditions mortality approached 100% for each species, representing a 2- to 4-fold increase in mortality relative to warm (26°C) non-acidified conditions. Predictably, development was more rapid at the highest temperature but this again interacted with acidified conditions. Development was slowed under acidified conditions at the lowest temperature. The presence of UV radiation had minimal impact on the outcomes, only slowing development for the littorinid and not interacting with the other factors. Our findings suggest that a warming ocean, at least to a threshold, may compensate for the effects of decreasing pH for some species. It also appears that stressors will interact in complex and unpredictable ways in a changing climate