Mitigating the Impact of the Acropora-Eating Flatworm, Prosthiostomum Acroporae on Captive Acropora Coral Colonies
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following work: Barton, Jonathan (2020) Mitigating the impact of the Acropora-eating flatworm, Prosthiostomum acroporae on captive Acropora coral colonies. PhD Thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: https://doi.org/10.25903/n8p7%2Dd341 Copyright © 2020 Jonathan Barton. The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owners of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please email [email protected] Mitigating the impact of the Acropora-eating flatworm, Prosthiostomum acroporae on captive Acropora coral colonies Thesis submitted by Jonathan Barton in May 2020 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy College of Science and Engineering James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland Supervised by: A/Prof Kate S Hutson A/Prof David Bourne Craig Humphrey Dr Kate Rawlinson ii Front piece: Whole, live Prosthiostomum acroporae from the captive culture we established and maintained at SeaSim, Australian Institute of Marine Science. Approximate length 7 mm. Photo: JB and Matt Salmon Statement of the Contribution of Others Assistance Contribution Contributor Intellectual support Writing and editing Kate Hutson David Bourne Craig Humphrey Kate Rawlinson Statistical support Rhondda Jones Sally Lau Javier Atalah Financial support Stipend International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) Research JCU IPRS AIMS (SeaSim) Cawthron Institute Travel AIMS Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, JCU Research Assistance Field Work David Bourne Bettina Glasl Paul O’Brien Tomoka Michimoto Lab Work Kate Rawlinson SeaSim Staff Rachel Neil Hillary Smith Julia Yun-Hsuan Hung David Vaughan Brett Bolte Philip Jones iii Statement of Contribution of Co-Authors The following chapters have been accepted, are in review or in preparation for publication. Below is an overview of each co-author’s contributions to the publications. Chapter Publication details Contributions of each author 2 Barton JA, Bourne DG, Humphrey C, Hutson KS All authors conceptualized the scope of (2020) Parasites and coral-associated the review. Barton sourced literature and invertebrates that impact coral health. Reviews wrote the manuscript with editing input in Aquaculture Early View (awaiting issue from co-authors. placement) doi: 10.1111/raq.12434 3 Barton JA, Hutson KS, Bourne DG, Humphrey C, Co-authors assisted in conceptualization Dybala C, Rawlinson KA (2019) The Life Cycle of of experiments. Barton ran three the Acropora Coral-Eating Flatworm (AEFW), experiments, Rawlinson assisted with Prosthiostomum acroporae; The Influence of two experiments, Dybala assisted with Temperature and Management Guidelines. one. Barton conducted data analysis and Frontiers in Marine Science, 6: 524. doi: managed draft preparation with editing 10.3389/fmars.2019.00524 input from co-authors. 4 Barton JA, Smith HA, Hung JYH, Humphrey C, Barton screened all corals and collected Bourne DG, Hutson KS, Rawlinson KA (in prep flatworm samples. Smith and Huan- for Coral Reefs) Polyclad flatworms associated Soung conducted molecular work. Barton with acroporid corals of the Great Barrier Reef: and Rawlinson did the morphological distribution and phylogenetics. analysis. Barton managed draft preparation with editing input from co- authors. 5 Barton JA, Humphrey C, Bourne DG, Hutson KS Barton conducted all experiments. Co- (2020). Biological controls to manage authors assisted in conceptualization of Acropora-eating flatworms in coral research. Barton managed draft aquaculture. Aquaculture Environment preparation with editing input from co- Interactions 12: 61-66. doi: 10.3354/aei00347 authors. 6 Barton JA, Neil RC, Bourne DG, Humphrey C, Co-authors assisted in conceptualization Hutson KS (2020) Efficacy of chemical of experiments. Barton and Neil treatments of captive infestations of the conducted experiments and conducted Acropora-eating flatworm infestations. data analysis. Barton managed draft Aquaculture 532. doi: preparation with editing input from co- 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.735978 authors. iv Declaration of Ethics The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in compliance with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 1983 (Commonwealth) and the Marine Parks Regulation 2006 (Queensland), permitted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service under GBRMPA Permit No. G12/3236.1. The work was undertaken according to James Cook University Animal Ethics Committee approval, permit number A2466. We acknowledge the Wulgurukaba and Bindal peoples (Townsville region), the Manbarra people (Palm Island region) and the Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang, Bailai and Taribelang Bunda peoples (Gladstone/Bundaberg region) as the traditional owners of the land and sea country on which this research was conducted. We would like to pay our respects to Elders past, present and future. Statement of Thesis Access I, Jonathan Barton, the author of this thesis, understand that James Cook University will make it available to use within the University Library and via the Australian Digital Thesis Network for use elsewhere. We understand that this thesis has significant protection under the Copyright Act and do not wish to put any further restrictions upon access to this thesis. Electronic Copy Declaration I, Jonathan Barton, declare that the electronic copy of this thesis provided to James Cook University is an accurate copy of the submitted thesis, within the limits of the available technology. v Acknowledgements The production of this thesis has been the most difficult, yet the most enriching part of my personal, academic, and professional life. I have been fortunate enough to meet amazing new people and to be mentored by brilliant, supportive minds. I would like to sincerely thank my wonderful advisors Kate Hutson, David Bourne, Craig Humphrey, and Kate Rawlinson who without which I would have not completed my thesis. Despite being out of character, Kate Hutson excelled in her role as the proverbial ‘bad cop’. Her expertise in parasitology in the context of aquaculture was priceless to my thesis. David Bourne, who provided super-human manuscript feedback regardless of whatever else he was doing. David’s barista abilities, flair for costume, and general friendly demeanor meant that I always left meetings with him feeling better about things than when I arrived. To Craig Humphrey, who was my AIMS sponsor and forever wild idea man. As the SeaSim operations manager, Craig’s pragmatic approach to research and its application provided a focus for how my work could be applied in a real way. His cynical nature meant there was no better person to have an argument with during my thesis. Special thanks to my special collaborator Kate Rawlinson, who has been an excellent mentor with her positivity and flatworm expertise. Her two visits to Townsville during my thesis allowed me to learn valuable skills in flatworm parasitology, but more importantly how to be a gracious and humble human being in general. Thank you to the members of the Marine Parasitology Laboratory at James Cook University for making the lab a family; Alejandro Trujillo-González, David Vaughan, Pauline Narvaez, and Katie Motson. Special thanks to ATG for showing me the ropes and being the “Lab Dad” we all needed. Thanks to Prof Rhondda Jones OA for her statistical advice, and general help navigating the wonderous world of R. Thanks to the wonderful Lauren, Libby, and Melissa who comprise the AIMS@JCU staff. vi Thanks to the entirety of the staff of the National Sea Simulator at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, who without which, none of my experiments would be possible. Those staff include Matt Salmon, Tom Barker, Justin Hochen, Steve Smith, Jonathan Armitage, Anton “The Roach” Rocconi, Andrea Severati, and many more. I would like to thank Hillary Smith and Julia Yun-Hsuan Hung for being my molecular saviors on more than one occasion, lending their expertise to support my thesis. Thank you to Eden Cartwright of Bird Circus for the graphic design supplied for Chapter 3. Also thank you to my friends who always provided me with positivity, company, and support when I needed it most. Bettina Glasl and Pedro Frade specifically provided me with more support than any friend could ask for. I had no idea what I was doing on my first field trip to Orpheus Island for which I was unprepared for. Bettina Glasl kindly saved the day with the most expert use of purple twine and sample bags that I have ever seen. I would like to thank the brilliant Ms. ‘Sally’ Cheuk Ying Lau whose moral support and general loveliness helped support me and my mental well-being throughout my candidature. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my family (Sarah, David, and Leonora Barton) who despite being in another hemisphere, supported me and helped me in every way they could. vii General Abstract Maintaining the health of captive corals is vital to supply the industries and related activities associated with the ornamental trade, research, and reef restoration. However, our limited understanding of the biology of captive pests, their management and the stressors coral-associated invertebrates exert on their hosts, represents a potential bottleneck in captive maintenance and aquaculture production. The relationship between corals and their diverse associated invertebrates may change as corals