ABSTRACT: Cold-water corals (CWCs) have come under increasing pressure from human activities over the last decades. Of particular concern in Norway is the potential impact of open net pen aquaculture on CWC reefs formed by Lophelia pertusa, a threatened and declining habitat. We conducted a 1 yr in situ transplantation experiment and corresponding field measurements of 2 reefs located close to fish farms to elucidate the impacts of particulate organic waste released from the farms on coral colonies. Our study provided new evidence of negative impacts of organic effluents on L. pertusa ecophysiology. After 1 yr, both naturally occurring and transplanted corals, at distances ranging from 250 m to 1 km downstream of what would be regarded as an average-sized Norwegian fish farm, exhibited depressed metabolic rates compared to corals outside the main depositional footprint of the farms. The metabolic depression impeded energy acquisition, reducing growth and energy reserves by up to 70 and 50%, respectively. No clear threshold for significant biological impact could be detected along a distance gradient. Instead, a gradual decrease in metabolic rates, growth and lipid reserves occurred with increasing modelled sedimentation rate of organic waste from the farm. The strong statistical correlation between oxygen consumption, growth, energy stores and sedimentation rates implies that predictions of the short-term impact of aquaculture effluents on L. pertusa ecophysiology and CWC reef development may be achievable in the future. This would significantly improve the ability of management to make informed decisions on the licensing of new farms near CWC reefs.

中文翻译：

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养鱼场污水导致代谢抑制，减少能量储存和珊瑚礁形成珊瑚 Lophelia pertusa 的生长

摘要：在过去几十年中，冷水珊瑚 (CWC) 受到来自人类活动的越来越大的压力。挪威特别关注的是开放网围栏水产养殖对由Lophelia pertusa 形成的 CWC 珊瑚礁的潜在影响，这是一个受威胁和衰退的栖息地。我们对靠近养鱼场的 2 个珊瑚礁进行了为期 1 年的原位移植实验和相应的实地测量，以阐明从养鱼场释放的颗粒状有机废物对珊瑚群落的影响。我们的研究提供了有机污水对L. pertusa负面影响的新证据生态生理学。1 年后，与养殖场主要沉积足迹以外的珊瑚相比，在被视为中等大小的挪威养鱼场下游 250 米至 1 公里的距离范围内的天然珊瑚和移植珊瑚均表现出较低的代谢率. 代谢抑制阻碍了能量获取，分别使生长和能量储备减少了 70% 和 50%。沿距离梯度无法检测到显着生物影响的明确阈值。相反，随着农场有机废物的模拟沉降率增加，代谢率、生长和脂质储备逐渐下降。耗氧量、生长、L. pertusa生态生理学和 CWC 珊瑚礁开发可能在未来实现。这将显着提高管理层就 CWC 珊瑚礁附近新农场的许可做出明智决策的能力。