Modeling the radiative, thermal and chemical microenvironment of 3D scanned corals

作者：Swathi Murthy, Cristian Picioreanu, Michael Kühl · 发表于：bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1101/2023.01.31.526450 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies、Marine and coastal plant biology、Cephalopods and Marine Biology

Abstract Reef building corals are efficient biological collectors of solar radiation and consist of a thin stratified tissue layer spread over a light scattering calcium carbonate skeleton surface that together construct complex three dimensional (3D) colony structures forming the foundation of coral reefs. They exhibit a vast diversity of structural forms to maximize photosynthesis of their dinoflagellate endosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae), while simultaneously minimizing photodamage. The symbiosis takes place in the presence of dynamic gradients of light, temperature and chemical species that are affected by the interaction of incident irradiance and water flow with the coral colony. We developed a multiphysics modelling approach to simulate microscale spatial distribution of light, temperature and O 2 in coral fragments with accurate morphology determined by 3D scanning techniques. Model results compared well with spatial measurements of light, O 2 and temperature under similar flow and light conditions. The model enabled us to infer the effect of coral morphology and light scattering in tissue and skeleton on the internal light environment experienced by the endosymbionts, as well as the combined contribution of light, water flow and ciliary movement on O 2 and temperature distributions in the coral. The multiphysics modeling approach is general enough to enable simulation of external and internal light, O 2 and temperature microenvironments in 3D scanned coral species with ...