DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mcvdnck1w
title: Data from: Heritable variation and lack of tradeoffs suggest adaptive capacity in Acropora cervicornis despite negative synergism under climate change scenarios

description: Knowledge of multi-stressor interactions and the potential for trade-offs
 among tolerance traits is essential for developing intervention strategies
 for the conservation and restoration of reef ecosystems in a changing
 climate. Thermal extremes and acidification are two major co-occurring
 stresses predicted to limit the recovery of vital Caribbean reef-building
 corals. Here we conducted an aquaria-based experiment to quantify the
 effects of increased water temperatures and pCO2 individually and in
 concert on 12 genotypes of the endangered branching coral, Acropora
 cervicornis, currently being reared and outplanted for large-scale coral
 restoration. Quantification of 11 host, symbiont, and holobiont traits
 throughout the 2-month long experiment showed several synergistic negative
 effects, where the combined stress treatment often caused greater
 reduction in physiological function than the individual stressors alone.
 However, we found significant genetic variation for most traits and
 positive trait correlations among treatments indicating an apparent lack
 of tradeoffs, suggesting that adaptive evolution will not be constrained.
 Our results suggest that it may be possible to incorporate
 climate-resistant coral genotypes into restoration and selective breeding
 programs, potentially accelerating adaptation.  
description: This data comes from an aquaria-based experiment.
 First dataset
 ("Phenotype_metrics_measured.csv") -phenotype metrics
 measured throughout the study: skeletal growth, calcification (light and
 dark), P:R ratio, symbiont density, total chlorphyll, protein
 concentration, phenoloxidase (PO), prophenoloxidase (PPO), peroxidase
 (POX), change in maximal quantum yield of PS II (Δ Yield) and the change
 in maximum electron transport rate (ΔETRm). These data were collected
 using buoyant weight, respirometry, the alkalinity anomaly method, and PAM
 fluorometry. Second dataset (Water
 quality_alkalinity.csv") - Water quality and alkalinity
 metrics collected throughout the study. Water quality
 measurements were collected daily: temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved
 oxygen (DO). PAR readings were recorded at noon daily.
 PAR readings reported in the manuscript were averaged across all
 treatments over the course of experiment, since the measurements were not
 stratified by treatment (only randomly within the system).
 Alkalinity metrics: samples were collected weekly in duplicate
 from three concurrent aquariums per treatment for total alkalinity (TA)
 and spectrophotometric pH<sub>T</sub> analysis. Parameters of
 the carbonate system (<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>,
 CO<sub>3</sub><sup>2-</sup>,
 HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>, and Ωar) for each
 experimental treatment was calculated in CO2SYS v2.2 (Pierrot et al. 2006)
  from the measured parameters pH<sub>T</sub>, TA, temperature,
 and salinity (Table 1). CO2SYS was run using the K1K2 apparent equilibrium
 constants from Mehrbach (1973) and refit by Dickson and Millero (1987),
 HSO<sub>4</sub><sup>-</sup> dissociation constants
 were taken from Lee et al. (2010) and Dickson (1990), and pH was
 calculated on the total scale.
description: Please see the readme file for more details on the two data
 files.