Tañedo, Mikhael Clotilde S.Villanueva, Ronald D.Torres, Andrew F.Ravago-Gotanco, RachelSan Diego-McGlone, Maria Lourdes2025-05-182021-09-09Tañedo, M. C. S., Villanueva, R. D., Torres, A. F., Ravago-Gotanco, R., & San Diego-McGlone, M. L. (2021). Individual and interactive effects of ocean warming and acidification on adult <i>Favites colemani</i>. <i>Frontiers in Marine Science</i>, <i>8</i>, Article 704487.2296-774510.3389/fmars.2021.704487https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14697/487We are grateful to the Marine Biogeochemistry Laboratory and Bolinao Marine Laboratory of the Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines for the valuable logistical and laboratory support provided. We would also like to thank Drs. Haruko Kurihara, Atsushi Watanabe, and Toshihiro Miyajima for the design of the mass flow controller used in the experiments. This is UP-MSI contribution number 484.Tropical coral reefs are threatened by local-scale stressors that are exacerbated by global ocean warming and acidification from the post-industrial increase of atmospheric CO2 levels. Despite their observed decline in the past four decades, little is known on how Philippine coral reefs will respond to ocean warming and acidification. This study explored individual and synergistic effects of present-day (pH 8.0, 28°C) and near-future (pH 7.7, 32°C) scenarios of ocean temperature and pH on the adult <i>Favites colemani</i>, a common massive reef-building coral in Bolinao-Anda, Philippines. Changes in seawater temperature drive the physiological responses of <i>F. colemani</i>, whereas changes in pH create an additive effect on survival, growth, and photosynthetic efficiency. Under near-future scenarios, <i>F. colemani</i> showed sustained photosynthetic competency despite the decline in growth rate and zooxanthellae density. <i>F. colemani</i> exhibited specificity with the <i>Cladocopium</i> clade C3u. This coral experienced lower growth rates but survived projected near-future ocean warming and acidification scenarios. Its pH-thermal stress threshold is possibly a consequence of acclimation and adaptation to local environmental conditions and past bleaching events. This research highlights the importance of examining the susceptibility and resilience of Philippine corals to climate-driven stressors for future conservation and restoration efforts in the changing ocean.enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Coral reefsGlobal warmingCoral reefs and islandsGlobal warmingOcean acidificationOcean temperatureAcclimatizationArticleSDG 14 - Life below waterSDG 13 - Climate actioncoral reefsglobal warmingacidificationtemperaturezooxanthellaestressacclimatizationchemicophysical propertiessurvivalChallenge 2: Protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversityChallenge 5: Unlock ocean-based solutions to climate changeChallenge 10: Change humanity’s relationship with the ocean