Calcification rates of crustose coralline algae (CCA) derived from Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) deployed at coral reef sites in Batangas, Philippines in 2012 and recovered in 2015 (NCEI Accession 0162831)

Laboratory experiments reveal calcification rates of crustose coralline algae (CCA) are strongly correlated to seawater aragonite saturation state. Predictions of reduced coral calcification rates, due to ocean acidification, suggest that coral reef communities will undergo ecological phase shifts as calcifying organisms are negatively impacted by changing seawater chemistry. Calcification accretion units, or CAUs, are used by the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP) to assess the current effects of changes in seawater carbonate chemistry on calcification and accretion rates of calcareous and fleshy algae.

CAUs, constructed in-house by CREP, are composed of two 10 x 10 cm flat, square, gray PVC plates, stacked 1 cm apart, and are attached to the benthos by SCUBA divers using stainless steel threaded rods. Deployed on the seafloor for a period of time, calcareous organisms, primarily crustose coralline algae and encrusting corals, recruit to these plates and accrete/calcify carbonate skeletons over time. By measuring the change in weight of the CAUs, the reef carbonate accretion rate can be calculated for that time period.

The calcification rate data described here were collected by CREP from CAUs moored at fixed climate survey sites located on hard bottom shallow water (< 15 m) habitats in the Philippines, in accordance with protocols developed by Price et al. (2012). Climate sites were established by CREP to assess multiple features of the coral reef environment (in addition to the data described herein) from March 2012 to June 2015, and five CAUs were deployed at each survey site.

In conjunction with benthic community composition data (archived separately), these data serve as a baseline for detecting changes associated with changing seawater chemistry due to ocean acidification within coral reef environments.