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The Effect of Temperature and Light on the Stable Isotopic Compostition of Reef Coral Skeletons

The reef corals Pocillopora damicornis and Montipora verrucosa were
cultured under various controlled temperatures and light conditions at
Ulupau Head Microcosm facility. The skeletal carbonate deposited under
different experimental regimes was analyzed for 13C and 18O. Coral skeletal
013C values varied with light dose and correlated with changes in
zooxanthellar pigment. The o13C value of skeletal aragonite seems to be
controlled by oxidation of photosynthetically produced organic matter.
Functionally significant relationships between coral skeletal o18O
values and temperature have been determined. The temperature coefficients
of the o18O values (-4.20) are the same as the first order coefficient
in the equilibrium paleotemperature equation, but the o18O
values have species-specific offsets from equilibrium. These offsets
may be attributed to the activity of the coral's zooxanthellae. Based
upon the results of this study a model of coral skeletal isotopic incorporation
is presented. / Typescript. Thesis (M. S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1979. Bibliography: leaves 94-102.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UHAWAII/oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/18142
Date05 1900
CreatorsWeil, Sandra M.
PublisherUniversity of Hawaii, Honolulu
Source SetsUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa Libraries
Languageen-US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, Text
Format109 pages
RightsAll UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.

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