2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Temperature dependence on elemental composition in the skeleton of scleractinian corals
| Project/Area Number |
26870246
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Geochemistry/Cosmochemistry
Environmental dynamic analysis
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo (2015-2016)
Shizuoka University (2014) |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Research Collaborator |
MEZAKI Takuma
SHIRAI Kotaro
YUYAMA Ikuko
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| Project Period (FY) |
2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
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| Keywords | バイオミネラリゼーション / アラゴナイト / カルサイト / 造礁サンゴ |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The molar Mg/Ca ratio fluctuated greatly throughout the Phanerozoic Eon, and seawater temperature was higher, with lower Mg/Ca levels, in the middle Cretaceous. We report the temperature dependence of aragonite and calcite formation by scleractinian corals in low-Mg/Ca seawater. Juveniles of scleractinian coral, Acropora solitaryensis, were incubated to monitor skeletal growth from the planula stage for 4 months with Mg/Ca = 5.2, 1.0, 0.5 at 19 to 28°C. Our results clearly indicated that polymorphism of modern scleractinian corals with low-Mg/Ca seawater depends on seawater temperature. However, corals produced aragonite more than inorganic precipitation under each condition, except at 19°C. Although the contents of aragonite were similar to the results of abiotic precipitation experiments at 19°C, it is suggested that aragonitic scleractinian corals biologically controlled their skeletal formation under low-Mg/Ca conditions at higher temperature.
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| Free Research Field |
海洋生物学
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