The Effects of the Red Tide Producing Dinoflagellate, Karenia Brevis, And
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UNF Digital Commons UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations Student Scholarship 2018 The effects of the red tide producing dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and associated brevetoxins on viability and sublethal stress responses in scleractinian coral: a potential regional stressor to coral reefs David A. Reynolds University of North Florida Suggested Citation Reynolds, David A., "The effects of the red tide producing dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and associated brevetoxins on viability and sublethal stress responses in scleractinian coral: a potential regional stressor to coral reefs" (2018). UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 829. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/829 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at UNF Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UNF Digital Commons. For more information, please contact Digital Projects. © 2018 All Rights Reserved The effects of the red tide producing dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and associated brevetoxins on viability and sublethal stress responses in scleractinian coral: a potential regional stressor to coral reefs by David Anthony Reynolds A thesis submitted to the Department of Biology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biology UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE August, 2018 i CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL The effects of the red tide producing dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and associated brevetoxins on viability and sublethal stress responses in scleractinian coral: a potential regional stressor to coral reefs The thesis of David A. Reynolds is approved: Date ____________________________________ __________________ Dr. Cliff Ross Committee Chairperson ____________________________________ __________________ Dr. James J. Gelscleichter ____________________________________ __________________ Dr. Kate Lunz Accepted for the Department of Biology: ____________________________________ __________________ Dr. Cliff Ross Chairperson Accepted for the College of Arts and Sciences: ____________________________________ __________________ Dr. George Rainbolt Dean Accepted for the University: ____________________________________ __________________ Dr. John Kantner Dean of Graduate School ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank everyone who helped me reach this milestone in my carrier and who’s support made this project possible. I especially would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Cliff Ross, for his unwavering patience and irreplaceable guidance. I owe him my deepest gratitude for the knowledge and experience he has instilled in me and I am truly indebted to his mentorship. A heartfelt thank you to my committee members, Dr. James Gelscleichter and Dr. Kate Lunz, for giving me direction during this project, I greatly appreciate the time and resources that they have sacrificed to provide me with the tools necessary to complete this research. I would like to extend special regards to Dr. Jin Koh and Dr. Michelle Yoo for providing their invaluable expertise with proteomic analysis, Matt Garrett for supplying Karenia brevis, and Dr. Eric Johnson for lending his statistical knowledge. It was an honor to work with such dedicated scientists. I would like to acknowledge all the graduate and undergraduate students who helped in data collection; including Kelsey Yetsko, Amber Brown, Paige Duffin, Amanda Schaaf, James Shannon, Clara Robison, Daniel Hoover, Arien Widrick, Emily Floore, and Erin Bassett. A distinct recognition to Florida Fish and Wildlife for providing funding that supported this project; and the University of North Florida for also aiding in financial support and providing me the best educational experience possible. Finally, I dedicate this project to all my friends and family who have helped me succeed throughout my graduate studies. I specifically wish to express my deepest appreciation to: my parents, Judith Reynolds and Michael Reynolds, for their endless love and support, and for always encouraging my sister and I to pursue our dreams; my sister, Regina De Canto, for being my source of inspiration; and my partner, Paige Duffin, for her love and encouragement which gave me the strength to reach my goals. iii Table of Contents Title Page.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………i Certificate of Approval.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ iv Figures and Tables ........................................................................................................................ viii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... xii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Scleractinian Corals ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Annual Red Tide Events in the Gulf of Mexico ...................................................................... 3 2. Behavioral and physiological responses of coral species to the red tide producing dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and associated brevetoxins ......................................................... 12 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.1 Reef Building Coral ....................................................................................................... 13 2.1.2 Red Tide ........................................................................................................................ 14 2.2 Methods and Materials ....................................................................................................... 17 2.2.1 Karenia brevis Culture Maintenance and Brevetoxins ................................................. 17 2.2.2. Coral Collection ............................................................................................................ 18 iv 2.2.3 Larvae Behavioral Study ............................................................................................... 19 2.2.4 Larvae Settlement Kinetics ........................................................................................... 21 2.2.5 Photochemical Efficiency .............................................................................................. 23 2.2.6 Analysis of Cellular Stress Biomarkers .......................................................................... 23 2.2.7 Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................................ 24 2.3 Results ................................................................................................................................. 27 2.3.1 Larvae Discrimination Between Ambient Seawater and Seawater Contaminated with Karenia brevis or Brevetoxins. ............................................................................................... 27 2.3.2 Larvae Percent Settlement and Survival Following Exposure to Karenia brevis or Brevetoxins ............................................................................................................................ 29 2.3.3 Photochemical Efficiency of Symbiodinium Following Exposure to Karenia brevis or Brevetoxins ............................................................................................................................ 33 2.3.4 Presence of Biomarkers of Cellular Oxidative Stress Following Exposure to Karenia brevis or Brevetoxins ............................................................................................................. 35 2.4 Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 40 2.4.1 Karenia brevis and Associated Brevetoxins Impact Larvae Behavior ........................... 40 2.4.2 Karenia brevis and Associated Brevetoxins Impact Larval Settlement and Survival.... 41 2.4.3 Karenia brevis and Associated Brevetoxins Cause Reduction of Photochemical Efficiency of Symbiodinium and Result in Variable Effects of Oxidative Stress in Coral ....... 44 2.4.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 47 v 3. Changes in the proteome of the non-model coral species, Porites astreoides, following acute exposure to the red tide producing dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and its associated brevetoxins ....................................................................................................................................................... 49 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 49 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 50 3.2 Methods and Materials ......................................................................................................