Improving the ecological relevance of toxicity tests on scleractinian corals: Influence of season, life stage, and seawater temperature.

Metal pollutants in marine systems are broadly acknowledged as deleterious: however, very little data exist for tropical scleractinian corals. We address this gap by investigating how life-history stage, season and thermal stress influence the toxicity of copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) in the coral Pocillopora damicornis. Our results show that under ambient temperature, adults and larvae appear to tolerate exposure to unusually high levels of copper (96 h-LC50 ranging from 167 to 251 μg Cu L(-1)) and lead (from 477 to 742 μg Pb L(-1)).