Stumbling upon a new source of underwater caffeine was just an added bonus of a new study examining the impact of chemical compounds that corals release into the seawater.
Stumbling upon a new source of underwater caffeine was just an added bonus of a new study examining the impact of chemical compounds that corals release into the seawater.
The study found that the organic chemical compounds produced through metabolism —known as metabolites or exudates—vary significantly by coral species and that the compounds impact the abundances and compositions of reef microorganisms differently.
This differential release of metabolites from benthic reef organisms is particularly significant in the Caribbean where coral dominance is shifting from hard stony corals to soft octocorals in response to human-caused stressors such as eutrophication, overfishing, and global climate change.
The study “demonstrates the importance of benthic exudates for structuring microbial communities on oligotrophic reefs by focusing on the exudates released from abundant stony corals, octocorals, and an invasive alga,” according to the paper led by authors from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), “Benthic exometabolites and their ecological significance on threatened Caribbean coral reefs,” published in ISME Communications.
Read more at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Image: Invasive crustose coralline algae (yellow/brown color) that has overgrown reef corals in the Virgin Islands National Park in St. John. A WHOI-led study found this alga released caffeine in high quantities, impacting healthy reef growth. (Image credit: Cynthia Becker © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
