DOCSLIB.ORG

Spatially Distinct and Regionally Endemic Symbiodinium Assemblages in the Threatened Caribbean Reef-Building Coral Orbicella Faveolata

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Spatially Distinct and Regionally Endemic Symbiodinium Assemblages in the Threatened Caribbean Reef-Building Coral Orbicella Faveolata Coral Reefs (2015) 34:535–547 DOI 10.1007/s00338-015-1277-z REPORT Spatially distinct and regionally endemic Symbiodinium assemblages in the threatened Caribbean reef-building coral Orbicella faveolata Dustin W. Kemp • Daniel J. Thornhill • Randi D. Rotjan • Roberto Iglesias-Prieto • William K. Fitt • Gregory W. Schmidt Received: 28 October 2014 / Accepted: 19 February 2015 / Published online: 27 February 2015 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 Abstract Recently, the Caribbean reef-building coral Or- with species of Symbiodinium in clades A (type A3), B (B1 bicella faveolata was listed as ‘‘threatened’’ under the U.S. and B17), C (C3, C7, and C7a), and D (D1a/Symbiodinium Endangered Species Act. Despite attention to this species’ trenchii). Within-colony distributions of Symbiodinium conservation, the extent of geographic variation within O. species correlated with light availability, cardinal direction, faveolata warrants further investigation. O. faveolata is and depth, resulting in distinct zonation patterns of en- unusual in that it can simultaneously harbor multiple ge- dosymbionts within a host. Symbiodinium species from netically distinct and co-dominant species of endosymbiotic clades A and B occurred predominantly in the light-exposed dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium. Here, we inves- tops, while species of clade C generally occurred in the tigate the geographic and within-colony complexity of shaded sides of colonies or in deeper-water habitats. Fur- Symbiodinium-O. faveolata associations from Florida Keys, thermore, geographic comparisons of host–symbiont asso- USA; Exuma Cays, Bahamas; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; and ciations revealed regional differences in Symbiodinium Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. We collected coral samples along associations. Symbiodinium A3 was detected in Me- intracolony axes, and Symbiodinium within O. faveolata soamerican coral colonies, but not in colonies from the samples was analyzed using the nuclear ITS2 region and Florida Keys or Bahamas. Likewise, Symbiodinium B17 was chloroplast 23S rDNA genotyping. O. faveolata associated unique to Mesoamerican O. faveolata, whereas Symbio- dinium B1 was found at all localities sampled. However, using cp23S genotyping paired with ITS2 analysis revealed Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Simon Davy geographically endemic haplotypes among Symbiodinium D. W. Kemp (&) Á W. K. Fitt clades A, B, and C. Since Symbiodinium spatial hetero- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, geneity among this coral species is greater than most corals, a GA 30602, USA question arises as to whether all western Atlantic populations e-mail: [email protected] of O. faveolata should be considered equally ‘‘threatened’’? D. J. Thornhill Alternatively, geographically and spatially distinct coral– Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, symbiont associations may benefit from specialized man- AL 36849, USA agement protocols. R. D. Rotjan John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory, New England Aquarium, Keywords Biogeography Á Ecological speciation Á Boston, MA 02110, USA Endangered Species Act Á Orbicella faveolata Á Symbiosis Á Symbiodinium R. Iglesias-Prieto Unidad Acade´mica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Puerto Morelos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologı´a, Universidad Nacional Auto´noma de Me´xico, Puerto Morelos, Mexico Introduction G. W. Schmidt Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Coral reefs are among the most biologically rich and pro- GA 30602, USA ductive ecosystems in the world. Reef-building corals are 123 536 Coral Reefs (2015) 34:535–547 fundamentally important, serving as ecosystem engineers Reed 1985; Aronson et al. 2008). However, declines of this that form the structural basis for the ecosystem (Jones et al. species throughout the Caribbean (Miller et al. 2009) 1994). However, coral reefs are among the most globally caused the Center for Biological Diversity to seek protec- threatened ecosystems (Hoegh-Guldberg and Bruno 2010). tion of O. faveolata as a threatened species under the ESA. Rapid coral declines have resulted in substantial habitat Furthermore, O. faveolata routinely hosts multiple ge- loss revealing organismal sensitivity to environmental netically distinct and co-dominant Symbiodinium spp., and perturbations (Gardner et al. 2003). Current conservation these symbionts may likewise differ across the range of the and management efforts are focused on ways to minimize host (LaJeunesse 2002; Garren et al. 2006). Symbiodinium species decline and aid ecosystem recovery that may po- species associated with O. faveolata include members of tentially promote ecosystem resilience (capacity for stress clades A, B, C, and D that are distributed across the resistance and recovery) to local stressors (i.e., over-fish- landscape of the colony (Rowan and Knowlton 1995; ing, nutrient influx, sedimentation) and global climate Toller et al. 2001b; Garren et al. 2006; Kemp et al. 2008). change (Mumby and Steneck 2008; Anthony et al. 2014). Various types of Symbiodinium clades A and B tend to Reef-building corals confront managers with multiple dominate the light-exposed colony tops, with clade C types challenges due to biologic complexity and geographic found in greatest abundance on the colony sides, and specificity of host-symbiotic associations. Reef-building Symbiodinium ITS2 type D1a (S. trenchii) found in stress- corals are highly sensitive to environmental perturbations; exposed colonies (Rowan and Knowlton 1995; Toller et al. however, within-species physiologic differences (e.g., 2001a; Thornhill et al. 2006b; Kemp et al. 2008, 2014; thermal and high irradiance tolerance) can result from in- LaJeunesse et al. 2009, 2014). Flexibility in the symbiosis herent and acclimatization protection processes of coral ecology of O. faveolata has been documented spatially and and endosymbiotic algae (Warner and Berry-Lowe 2006; in response to environmental stress; such dynamism can Reynolds et al. 2008; Howells et al. 2013; Palumbi et al. alter coral physiology and stress responses (Rowan et al. 2014). 1997; Toller et al. 2001b; Thornhill et al. 2006b; Warner The relationship between reef-building corals and en- et al. 2006; LaJeunesse et al. 2009; Kemp et al. 2014). dosymbiotic dinoflagellates (genus Symbiodinium) enables Although the symbiosis of O. faveolata is well studied, no coral reefs to thrive in oligotrophic tropical and sub-tro- large-scale survey has investigated Symbiodinium species pical oceans (Muscatine and Porter 1977). Symbiodinium and type diversity within this species across the Caribbean can provide [90 % of the coral’s metabolic requirements basin. Recent evidence from Symbiodinium clade C via photosynthetically fixed carbon that is translocated to demonstrated that O. faveolata and its congeners associate the coral as carbohydrates, fatty acids, sugars, starches, and with highly specific endosymbionts—Symbiodinium species amino acids (reviewed by: Yellowlees et al. 2008). Sym- that apparently do not associate with other host taxa biodinium is a diverse group of dinoflagellates comprising (Thornhill et al. 2014). These host-specific symbionts can be nine major clades (A-I) (Coffroth and Santos 2005; Pochon further divided into regionally endemic lineages and haplo- and Gates 2010) that can be further divided using rapidly types (Thornhill et al. 2014). Such an evolutionary pattern evolving molecular markers into various phylotypes and likely resulted from long-term processes of lineage diversi- species (Sampayo et al. 2009; LaJeunesse and Thornhill fication due to ecological speciation (by host taxa) as well as 2011; LaJeunesse et al. 2012, 2014). Different Symbio- regional differentiation due to allopatry (Santos et al. 2004; dinium spp. often have biochemical differences leading to LaJeunesse 2005, 2010; Thornhill et al. 2009). However, species- and phlyotype-specific physiological responses to such patterns have only been documented in Symbiodinium environmental conditions (Warner et al. 1999; Tchernov clade C for Orbicella. The prevalence of other Symbiodinium et al. 2004; Reynolds et al. 2008; Takahashi et al. 2009). clades and types associated with O. faveolata has been Notably, differential thermal and irradiance tolerances inadequately determined, although preliminary results for have been identified in genetically distinct Symbiodinium, clades A and B—but not D—suggest similar patterns which can lead to different holobiont responses to stress (Thornhill et al. 2010a; Pinzo´n et al. 2011). Thus, we used (Rowan and Knowlton 1995; Baker 2003; Iglesias-Prieto here a micro-sampling technique combined with nuclear ri- et al. 2004). bosomal and chloroplast genotyping of Symbiodinium from Recently the National Oceanic Atmospheric Adminis- O. faveolata colonies to further explore the genotypic var- tration (NOAA) extended Endangered Species Act (ESA) iation in clades and types with respect to geographic corre- protections to the mountainous star coral, Orbicella lates. Colonies were examined in shallow (higher irradiance) faveolata, and 19 other species (NMFS 2014). O. faveolata and deeper (lower irradiance) reefs at four different regions is found from the intertidal zone to 80 m deep and is often of the western Atlantic. the most abundant reef-building coral in forereef environ- We document predictable and stratified heterogeneity of ments throughout the Caribbean (Goreau and Wells 1967; Symbiodinium spp. associated with O. faveolata that likely 123 Coral Reefs (2015) 34:535–547 537 reflects long-term
Load more

Recommended publications
  • GIGA III Draft Program 12 October 2018
    Third Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance Research Conference and Workshop (GIGA III) PROGRAM October 19-21, 2018 Curaçao Welcome to GIGA III Sponsored by: The organizing committee welcomes all of the enthusiastic attendees to the stunningly beautiful island of Curaçao for GIGA III. This is the third official conference for the Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance, informally known as GIGA. Following our first meeting at Nova Southeastern University in Dania Beach, and our second meeting at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, we are witnessing increasing interest in and growth of our group and its collective research. Thank you for attending and helping to focus on the latest achievements. GIGA I laid the ground work, defining the purpose for gathering “a grassroots community of scientists”. GIGA II reinforced the GIGA goals outlined in the first white paper, published in the Journal of Heredity, and also expanded the scope of GIGA to fully consider transcriptomes, open access data repositories, and the logistics of sample collecting and permitting. These were presented in a second white paper. At GIGA III, we continue along this track, as the primary mission remains the same – to promote genomic studies of invertebrate animals. In this context, special symposia on conservation genomics, phylogenomics, and existing and emerging genomic technologies have been organized, attracting many interesting talks. To highlight the broad scope of invertebrate genomics, we have also had the good fortune to bring in three highly respected keynote speakers (Federico Brown, Joie Cannon, and Mónica Medina) to discuss the field from their own unique research perspectives and experiences. i In addition, we have now hardwired the original charge by providing limited yet intensive practical bioinformatics workshops, which begin on day two.
    [Show full text]
  • STAFF WORKING PAPER SUMMARY of SELECTED PEARL HARBOR MARINE NATURAL RESOURCES DATA from 1999 – 2015 - in SUPPORT of PROPOSED PROJECT P 516 Prepared by Stephen H
    1 STAFF WORKING PAPER SUMMARY OF SELECTED PEARL HARBOR MARINE NATURAL RESOURCES DATA FROM 1999 – 2015 - IN SUPPORT OF PROPOSED PROJECT P 516 Prepared by Stephen H. Smith Marine Ecologist SSC Scientific Diving Services March 18, 2015 Introduction Overview. The objective of this Staff Working Paper is to summarize selected data gathered by the author between 1999 and February 2015. During that time period, the author conducted a variety of assessments throughout Pearl Harbor and the Pearl Harbor Entrance Channel. The specific resources which will be addressed in this partial summary are: 1) corals, 2) selected fin fish species and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH), 3) sea turtles, 4) miscellaneous and 5) perceived data gaps. This summary is not intended to reiterate material already presented in the Pearl Harbor INRMP or the many other documents which contain pertinent marine natural resource data; it is intended to summarize unpublished and/or unreported data gathered by the author. In this document, Pearl Harbor is defined as the area north of Hammer Point, as designated on Nautical Chart No. 19366 (Oahu South Coast Pearl Harbor). The Pearl Harbor Entrance Channel (PHEC) is defined as the area south of Hammer Point between the channel markers on the eastern and western sides of the PHEC and extending to the outermost Channel Marker Buoys (No. 1 on the west side and No. 2 on the east side). Figure 1 illustrates the boundaries of the P 516 project assessment area. All the data summarized in this document was gathered by the author, with periodic biological support from Donald Marx, and others.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pennsylvania State University the Graduate School Eberly College of Science
    The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Eberly College of Science COMPLEMENTARITY IN THE CORAL HOLOBIONT: A GENOMIC ANALYSIS OF BACTERIAL ISOLATES OF ORBICELLA FAVEOLATA AND SYMBIODINIUM SPP. A Thesis in Biology by Styles M. Smith ©2018 Styles M. Smith Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science August 2018 The thesis of Styles M. Smith was reviewed and approved* by the following: Mónica Medina Associate Professor of Biology Thesis Advisor Steven W. Schaeffer Professor of Biology Head of Graduate Program Kevin L. Hockett Assistant Professor of Microbial Ecology *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii Abstract All holobionts, defined as a multicellular host and all of its associated microorganisms, rely on interactions between its members. Corals, which demonstrate a strong symbiosis with an algal partner, have a diverse holobiont that can be sequenced and analyzed that could reveal important roles of microbes that benefit its health. This microbial community has been predicted to be composed of nitrogen fixers, phototrophs, sulfur and phosphorus cyclers. However, the identity of these microbes responsible for these roles remain uncertain. In addition, there may be complementary roles that are unknown. Predicting these roles is challenging because…. A suggested method to overcome this problem is sequencing the genomes of the microbes found in the coral holobiont. I hypothesize that bacterial members of the holobiont play an important role in coral biology via complementary metabolisms in nutrient cycling and aiding the coral in stress response. The complete metabolic capabilities of ten bacteria isolated from the coral holobiont were examined via the sequencing and annotation of the whole genome, followed by pangenomic analysis with 31 whole genomes of closely related strains of bacteria previously sequenced.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing the Effectiveness of Two Intervention Methods for Stony Coral
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Assessing the efectiveness of two intervention methods for stony coral tissue loss disease on Montastraea cavernosa Erin N. Shilling 1*, Ian R. Combs 1,2 & Joshua D. Voss 1* Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was frst observed in Florida in 2014 and has since spread to multiple coral reefs across the wider Caribbean. The northern section of Florida’s Coral Reef has been heavily impacted by this outbreak, with some reefs experiencing as much as a 60% loss of living coral tissue area. We experimentally assessed the efectiveness of two intervention treatments on SCTLD-afected Montastraea cavernosa colonies in situ. Colonies were tagged and divided into three treatment groups: (1) chlorinated epoxy, (2) amoxicillin combined with CoreRx/Ocean Alchemists Base 2B, and (3) untreated controls. The experimental colonies were monitored periodically over 11 months to assess treatment efectiveness by tracking lesion development and overall disease status. The Base 2B plus amoxicillin treatment had a 95% success rate at healing individual disease lesions but did not necessarily prevent treated colonies from developing new lesions over time. Chlorinated epoxy treatments were not signifcantly diferent from untreated control colonies, suggesting that chlorinated epoxy treatments are an inefective intervention technique for SCTLD. The results of this experiment expand management options during coral disease outbreaks and contribute to overall knowledge regarding coral health and disease. Coral reefs face many threats, including, but not limited to, warming ocean temperatures, overfshing, increased nutrient and plastic pollution, hurricanes, ocean acidifcation, and disease outbreaks 1–6. Coral diseases are com- plex, involving both pathogenic agents and coral immune responses.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Merced UC Merced Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Merced UC Merced Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Deep Amplicon Sequencing Quantitatively Detected Mixed Community Assemblages of Symbiodinium in Orbicella faveolata and Orbicella franksi Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/31n4975j Author Green, Elizabeth Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED Deep Amplicon Sequencing Quantitatively Detected Mixed Community Assemblages of Symbiodinium in Orbicella faveolata and Orbicella franksi THESIS submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Quantitative and Systems Biology by Elizabeth A. Green Committee in charge: David Ardell, chair Miriam Barlow Mónica Medina Michele Weber 2014 © Elizabeth A. Green, 2014 All rights reserved The thesis of Elizabeth A. Green is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Miriam Barlow Mónica Medina Michele Weber David Ardell Chair University of California, Merced 2014 iii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my loving and supportive husband, Colten Green. iv Table of Contents Page SIGNATURE PAGE ……………………….…………………………………… iii LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………... vi LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………………. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………… viii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………… ix INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………… 1 METHODS ………………………………………………………………………… 6 RESULTS ………………………………………………………………………….
    [Show full text]
  • Genetic Differentiation in the Mountainous Star Coral Orbicella Faveolata Around Cuba
    Coral Reefs (2018) 37:1217–1227 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-018-1722-x REPORT Genetic differentiation in the mountainous star coral Orbicella faveolata around Cuba 1 2,3 4 1 Gabriela Ulmo-Dı´az • Didier Casane • Louis Bernatchez • Patricia Gonza´lez-Dı´az • 5 1 6 Amy Apprill • Jessy Castellanos-Gell • Leslie Herna´ndez-Ferna´ndez • Erik Garcı´a-Machado1 Received: 6 March 2018 / Accepted: 16 July 2018 / Published online: 19 July 2018 Ó Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Caribbean coral reefs are biodiversity-rich populations. Here, we analyzed the variation at the mito- habitats which provide numerous ecosystem services with chondrial DNA control region and six microsatellite loci both ecological and economical values, but nowadays they from O. faveolata colonies from five distant localities are severely degraded. In particular, populations of the representing most of the main coral reefs around Cuba. major framework-building coral Orbicella faveolata have Both genetic markers showed evidence of genetic differ- declined sharply, and therefore, understanding how these entiation between the northwestern area (Colorados threatened coral populations are interconnected and how Archipelago) and the other reefs. Colonies from the Col- demographic changes have impacted their genetic diversity orados Archipelago harbored the largest number of unique is essential for their management and conservation. Pre- mtDNA haplotypes and microsatellite alleles, which sug- vious population genetic surveys showed that gene flow in gests long-term large population size or gene flow from this species is sometimes locally restricted in the Car- other areas of the Caribbean. These results indicate that the ibbean; however, little genetic data are available for Cuban Colorados Archipelago area is particularly important for O.
    [Show full text]
  • Marine Ecology Progress Series 506:129
    Vol. 506: 129–144, 2014 MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES Published June 23 doi: 10.3354/meps10808 Mar Ecol Prog Ser FREEREE ACCESSCCESS Long-term changes in Symbiodinium communities in Orbicella annularis in St. John, US Virgin Islands Peter J. Edmunds1,*, Xavier Pochon2,3, Don R. Levitan4, Denise M. Yost2, Mahdi Belcaid2, Hollie M. Putnam2, Ruth D. Gates2 1Department of Biology, California State University, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8303, USA 2Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, PO Box 1346, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA 3Environmental Technologies, Cawthron Institute, 98 Halifax Street East, Private Bag 2, Nelson 7042, New Zealand 4Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295, USA ABSTRACT: Efforts to monitor coral reefs rarely combine ecological and genetic tools to provide insight into the processes driving patterns of change. We focused on a coral reef at 14 m depth in St. John, US Virgin Islands, and used both sets of tools to examine 12 colonies of Orbicella (for- merly Montastraea) annularis in 2 photoquadrats that were monitored for 16 yr and sampled genetically at the start and end of the study. Coral cover and colony growth were assessed annu- ally, microsatellites were used to genetically identify coral hosts in 2010, and their Symbiodinium were genotyped using chloroplastic 23S (cloning) and nuclear ITS2 (cloning and pyrosequencing) in 1994 and 2010. Coral cover declined from 40 to 28% between 1994 and 2010, and 3 of the 12 sampled colonies increased in size, while 9 decreased in size. The relative abundance of Symbio- dinium clades varied among corals over time, and patterns of change differed between photo- quadrats but not among host genotypes.
    [Show full text]
  • Optimizing Lighting Regimes for Rearing Orbicella Faveolata and Acropora Cervicornis Recruits Paul D
    Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations HCNSO Student Work 7-23-2019 Optimizing lighting regimes for rearing Orbicella faveolata and Acropora cervicornis recruits Paul D. Kreh Nova Southeastern University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd Part of the Marine Biology Commons, and the Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Paul D. Kreh. 2019. Optimizing lighting regimes for rearing Orbicella faveolata and Acropora cervicornis recruits. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (518) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/518. This Thesis is brought to you by the HCNSO Student Work at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thesis of Paul D. Kreh Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science M.S. Marine Biology Nova Southeastern University Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography July 2019 Approved: Thesis Committee Major Professor: Joana Figueiredo Ph.D. Committee Member: Brian Walker Ph.D. Committee Member: Bernhard Riegl Ph.D. This thesis is available at NSUWorks: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/518 NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY HALMOS COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND OCEANOGRAPHY Optimizing lighting regimes for rearing Orbicella faveolata and Acropora cervicornis recruits By: Paul Kreh Submitted to the Faculty of Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science with a specialty in: Marine Science Nova Southeastern University July 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………….....3 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...4 METHODS………………………………………………………………………………………..7 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Corals Sustain Growth but Not Skeletal Density Across the Florida Keys Reef Tract Despite Ongoing Warming
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/310037; this version posted April 28, 2018. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. 1 Title: Corals sustain growth but not skeletal density across the Florida Keys Reef Tract despite 2 ongoing warming 3 Running head: Coral growth on the Florida Keys Reef Tract 4 5 John P. Rippe1*, Justin H. Baumann1, Daphne N. De Leener1, Hannah E. Aichelman1,y, Eric B. 6 Friedlander2, Sarah W. Davies1,g and Karl D. Castillo1,3 7 8 1Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3202 Murray Hall, 9 Chapel Hill, NC, USA. 10 2Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 11 318 Hanes Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. 12 3Curriculum for Environment and Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3202 13 Murray Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. 14 yCurrent address: Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, 110 Mills 15 Godwin Life Sciences Building, Norfolk, VA, USA. 16 gCurrent address: Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 17 USA. 18 *Corresponding author (Email: [email protected]) 19 20 Keywords: Coral reef, calcification, Caribbean, Florida Keys, sclerochronology, climate change, 21 global warming, ocean acidification 22 Paper type: Primary research article 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/310037; this version posted April 28, 2018.
    [Show full text]
  • Photochemical Efficiencies in Reef-Dwelling Anthozoans
    aphy an OPEN ACCESS Freely available online gr d M no a a r e in c e O R f e o s l e a a Journal of n r r c u h o J ISSN: 2572-3103 Oceanography and Marine Research Research Article Photochemical Efficiencies in Reef-Dwelling Anthozoans: Insights from “Survivor” Species Natasha Mendez-Ferrer*, Pamela Hallock College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 7th Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA ABSTRACT In recent decades, populations of many coral species have declined dramatically on reefs worldwide. A major factor in coral mortality has been photo-oxidative stress associated with both solar irradiance and elevated temperatures. While many studies have focused on species that have declined, fewer efforts have focused on the “survivor” species, those that have maintained relatively stable populations or even increased in abundance. The objective of this study was to assess temporal variability in photochemical efficiencies (Fv/Fm) as an indicator of potential photo-oxidative stress in the dinoflagellate symbionts in three species, the scleractinians Siderastrea siderea and Montastraea cavernosa, and the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum, whose populations have remained relatively stable along the Florida reef tract. Coral colonies with no visual indication of disease or bleaching were assessed quarterly in 2012 and 2013, at sites at 6 or 18 m depths. Colonies were dark-acclimated prior to measurements using pulse-amplitude modulated fluorometry. The mean Fv/Fm values for P. caribaeorum colonies assessed at 6 m depth were consistently the lowest (0.59, 0.02 SE). Siderastrea siderea assessed at both 6 and 18 m revealed significantly lower Fv/Fm values (p=0.0006) for those living at 6 m (0.64, 0.02 SE) than for those living at 18 m (0.68, 0.01 SE) depths.
    [Show full text]
  • Coral Bleaching Response Plan - GBRMPA 1
    Coral Bleaching Response Plan - GBRMPA 1 Executive Summary Climate change poses a multitude of threats to reefs but the increased frequency and severity of coral bleaching events is among the most pressing (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2007). To meet the challenge of responding to coral bleaching events, the Climate Change Group at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) developed a Coral Bleaching Response Plan (the Response Plan) in 2002, as part of a response to the bleaching event that occurred in the late summer (February and March) of that year. Since then, the Climate Change Group has coordinated implementation of the Response Plan each summer – December to March – and has reviewed and refined it annually. The Plan outlines a strategic approach for monitoring bleaching risk and responding to coral bleaching events when they occur, and has four components. Within this document, the objectives of each of the four primary components are outlined and described in detail: 1. Early Warning System 2. Incident Response 3. Management Actions 4. Communication Strategy The Plan includes related routine and responsive tasks. When Early Warning System tools predict bleaching, monitoring network participants ground-truth these predictions and report to managers. Managers and researchers confirm reports of bleaching by conducting site inspections that determine the level of response required under the Incident Response (IR) component of the Plan (based on Australian standard incident response protocols). Thresholds for response levels (1, 2, or 3) in the IR are based on the severity of bleaching impacts as well as the spatial extent of the event. More detailed monitoring during IR enables detailed reporting on reef condition and the severity of bleaching impacts, and works to target management actions.
    [Show full text]
  • Sex, Polyps, and Medusae: Determination and Maintenance of Sex in Cnidarians†
    e Reviewl Article Sex, Polyps, and Medusae: Determination and maintenance of sex in cnidarians† Runningc Head: Sex determination in Cnidaria 1* 1* i Stefan Siebert and Celina E. Juliano 1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA t 95616, USA *Correspondence may be addressed to [email protected] or [email protected] r Abbreviations:GSC, germ line stem cell; ISC, interstitial stem cell. A Keywords:hermaphrodite, gonochorism, Hydra, Hydractinia, Clytia Funding: NIH NIA 1K01AG044435-01A1, UC Davis Start Up Funds Quote:Our ability to unravel the mechanisms of sex determination in a broad array of cnidariansd requires a better understanding of the cell lineage that gives rise to germ cells. e †This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which t may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: [10.1002/mrd.22690] p e Received 8 April 2016; Revised 9 August 2016; Accepted 10 August 2016 c Molecular Reproduction & Development This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved DOI 10.1002/mrd.22690 c This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved A e l Abstract Mechanisms of sex determination vary greatly among animals. Here we survey c what is known in Cnidaria, the clade that forms the sister group to Bilateria and shows a broad array of sexual strategies and sexual plasticity. This observed diversity makes Cnidariai a well-suited taxon for the study of the evolution of sex determination, as closely related species can have different mechanisms, which allows for comparative studies.t In this review, we survey the extensive descriptive data on sexual systems (e.g.
    [Show full text]