Remobilized volcanogenic sediments boost photophysiological activity in three symbiotic reef-building coral species
- 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva 1 , Geneva, Switzerland
- 2Equipe Biologie Corallienne, Centre Scientifique de Monaco 2 , Monaco-Ville, Monaco
- 3GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel 3 , Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Abstract
Coral reefs that surround volcanic islands are continually influenced by run-off carrying remobilized volcanogenic sediments. Although unaltered volcanic ash is known to supply trace metals that enhance coral holobiont productivity, the impacts of long-term exposure to weathered tephra, a far more likely scenario in island settings, are less understood. To assess possible effects of tephra exposure on coral physiology, we conducted controlled culture experiments with three scleractinian corals (Stylophora pistillata, Turbinaria reniformis and Pocillopora damicornis) exposed to weekly additions of 50 g of untreated tephra, collected from the volcanic island of St. Vincent, and its leachate over a six-week period. All exposed colonies experienced optimized photosynthetic light-harvesting processes, while most other physiological parameters were not affected. Remobilized tephra supplies hormetic concentrations of water soluble trace metals, with high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HR-ICP-MS) analyses showing significant increases in seawater trace metal (V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd and Pb) concentrations. This highlights tephra's previously underrecognized contribution to the island mass effect affecting corals.
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BibTeX
@article{forster2026remobilized,
title = {{Remobilized volcanogenic sediments boost photophysiological activity in three symbiotic reef-building coral species}},
author = {Frank Förster and Christine Ferrier-Pagès and Cécile Rottier and Allan Fries and Eric Achterberg and Tom Sheldrake},
journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1098/rsos.252217},
url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/252217/483490/Remobilized-volcanogenic-sediments-boost},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Remobilized volcanogenic sediments boost photophysiological activity in three symbiotic reef-building coral species
AU - Frank Förster
AU - Christine Ferrier-Pagès
AU - Cécile Rottier
AU - Allan Fries
AU - Eric Achterberg
AU - Tom Sheldrake
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Royal Society Open Science
DO - 10.1098/rsos.252217
UR - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/252217/483490/Remobilized-volcanogenic-sediments-boost
AB - Coral reefs that surround volcanic islands are continually influenced by run-off carrying remobilized volcanogenic sediments. Although unaltered volcanic ash is known to supply trace metals that enhance coral holobiont productivity, the impacts of long-term exposure to weathered tephra, a far more likely scenario in island settings, are less understood. To assess possible effects of tephra exposure on coral physiology, we conducted controlled culture experiments with three scleractinian corals (Stylophora pistillata, Turbinaria reniformis and Pocillopora damicornis) exposed to weekly additions of 50 g of untreated tephra, collected from the volcanic island of St. Vincent, and its leachate over a six-week period. All exposed colonies experienced optimized photosynthetic light-harvesting processes, while most other physiological parameters were not affected. Remobilized tephra supplies hormetic concentrations of water soluble trace metals, with high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HR-ICP-MS) analyses showing significant increases in seawater trace metal (V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd and Pb) concentrations. This highlights tephra's previously underrecognized contribution to the island mass effect affecting corals.
SN - 2054-5703
ER -