C- and N-fixation of coral reefs in response to environmental factors (CANCOR)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian Wild
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: from 2011 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 209672090

Tropical coral reefs are among the marine ecosystems with the highest gross primary productivity, although they are surrounded by very oligotrophic waters. This reef paradoxon is not yet completely understood; however, it is evident that mechanisms must be in place allowing extraction of essential elements, particularly N, against this concentration gradient along together with their fast recycling and conservation. Several key reef C-fixing primary producers (e.g. corals, macro and turf algae) and substrates (e.g. reef sands, dead coral and rocky surfaces), exhibit internal or external association with N-fixing microbes like cyanobacteria. Such association potentially facilitates primary production and growth, but there are no studies that address linkage of C- and N-fixation in corals and their reefs and the controlling environmental factors. Therefore, this research project will simultaneously quantify both C- and N-fixation of key reef primary producers, and how this contributes to overall reef C- and N-fixation. Additionally, the influence of key environmental factors (e.g. light and inorganic nutrient availability, temperature, acidity) on these processes, both on the organism and ecosystem level, will be examined. This comprehensive dataset will help to gain new important insights in coral reef ecosystem functioning and resilience in a time of environmental change.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants