Electronic Supplementary Material
ESM Table S2. Previously published calcification rates of various coral species derived from buoyant weight data
or calculated from linear extension and skeletal bulk density. For earlier work see summary table in CarricartGanivet et al. (2000). IWP = Indo-west Pacific, GBR = Great Barrier Reef.
Calcification rate Species
Method
Location
Reference
-2
-1
(g cm yr )
1.3
Montastraea annularis
buoyant weight
Curaçao
Meesters et al. (1994)
0.2 to 0.5
Montastraea faveolata
buoyant weight
Florida Keys
Cook et al. (2002)
3.1 to 5.4
Porites compressab
buoyant weight
Hawaii
Kuffner (2002)
a
0.25
Diploria labyrinthiformis buoyant weight
Bermuda
Bates et al. (2010)
a
0.5
Porites astreoides
buoyant weight
Florida Keys
Vega Thurber et al. (2012)
0.99
Siderastrea siderea
buoyant weight
Florida Keys
This study
0.5 to 3.0
Porites spp.
linear ext. x density IWP
Lough (2008)
1.6 to 2.0
Porites spp.
linear ext. x density GBR
Cooper et al. (2008)
1.5 to 1.8
Porites spp.
linear ext. x density GBR
De'ath et al. (2009)
0.85 to 0.97
Montastraea faveolata
linear ext. x density Florida Keys
Helmle et al. (2011)
0.6 to 1.7
various
linear ext. x density various
Carricart-Ganivet et al. (2012)
a Calculated based on 3-D surface area. Researchers have used a variety of denominators to normalize buoyant weight data
to coral size, including a cube-root transformation of colony radius (Jokiel and Coles 1977), the coral’s initial mass (Dodge
et al. 1984), and 3-D surface area as determined by the aluminum foil technique (Marsh 1970). In studies where coral plugs
of massive species were used as the experimental units (Meesters et al. 1994; Cook et al. 2002), 2-D and 3-D surface area
would be roughly equivalent. We propose that, for the purpose of monitoring coral calcification rates over space and time,
standardization to a “bird’s-eye” 2-D surface area is superior because it is simple to measure, allows easier comparison
among species of different morphologies, can be easily scaled up for modeling purposes, and allows for direct comparison
to calcification rates estimated for whole reef areas using techniques based upon biogeochemical changes in water masses
(the latter is discussed in Langdon et al. 2010).
b Calcification rates for this branching species reported per nubbin in Kuffner (2002) were converted to g cm-2 yr-1
by using an approximated “footprint” of 1.5 cm2.
References Cited in ESM Table S2
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changes in biological processes and ocean acidification. Biogeosciences 7: 2509-2530
Carricart-Ganivet JP, Beltran-Torres AU, Merino M, Ruiz-Zarate MA (2000) Skeletal extension, density and calcification rate of the
reef building coral Montastraea annularis (Ellis and Solander) in the Mexican Caribbean. Bull Mar Sci 66: 215-224
Carricart-Ganivet JP, Cabanillas-Teran N, Cruz-Ortega I, Blanchon P (2012) Sensitivity of calcification to thermal stress varies among
genera of massive reef-building corals. PLoS One 7: e32859.
Cook CB, Mueller EM, Ferrier MD, Annis E (2002) The influence of nearshore waters on corals of the Florida reef tract. In: Porter
JW, Porter KG (eds) The Everglades, Florida Bay, and coral reefs of the Florida Keys: An ecosystem sourcebook. CRC Press,
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Helmle KP, Dodge RE, Swart PK, Gledhill DK, Eakin CM (2011) Growth rates of Florida corals from 1937 to 1996 and their
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