Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 6-15-2015 Investigating the Driving Mechanisms Behind Differences in Bleaching and Disease Susceptibility Between Two Scleractinian Corals, Pseudodiploria Strigosa and Diploria Labyrinthiformis Zoe A. Pratte Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FIDC000082 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, Bacteriology Commons, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons, Genomics Commons, Immunity Commons, Marine Biology Commons, and the Other Animal Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Pratte, Zoe A., "Investigating the Driving Mechanisms Behind Differences in Bleaching and Disease Susceptibility Between Two Scleractinian Corals, Pseudodiploria Strigosa and Diploria Labyrinthiformis" (2015). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2217. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2217 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida INVESTIGATING THE DRIVING MECHANISMS BEHIND DIFFERENCES IN BLEACHING AND DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY BETWEEN TWO SCLERACTINIAN CORALS, PSEUDODIPLORIA STRIGOSA AND DIPLORIA LABYRINTHIFORMIS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in BIOLOGY by Zoe A. Pratte 2015 To: Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts and Sciences This dissertation, written by Zoe A. Pratte, and entitled Investigating the Driving Mechanisms Behind Differences in Bleaching and Disease Susceptibility Between Two Scleractinian Corals, Pseudodiploria strigosa and Diploria labyrinthiformis, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Christina Kellogg _______________________________________ Krish Jayachandran _______________________________________ Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty _______________________________________ Eric Bishop von Wettberg _______________________________________ Laurie Richardson, Major Professor Date of Defense: June 15, 2015 The dissertation of Zoe A. Pratte is approved. _______________________________________ Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts and Sciences _______________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2015 ii DEDICATION To my mom, dad, and little brother, who answered every phone call. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First I must thank my family, Julie, Doug, and Luke, who answered every phone call through all my undergraduate and graduate years (even at midnight). Thank you to my committee members and advisors, especially Dr. Christina Kellogg, who set me on this path long ago, and my major professor Dr. Laurie Richardson who pushed me throughout the entire process. Thank you to those of who helped me in the field, Jennifer Sweatman, Abigael Brownell, and Jeff Knapp, who continually set me in the right direction. I am indebted to my roommate, Sam Rhodes, who edited more of my writing than one roommate should. To all my lab mates past and present, Aaron Miller, Beth Zimmer, Abigael Brownell, Chinmayee Bhedi, and Patricia Waikel, thank you for the continuous support. I am also grateful to Dr. Paul Sharp for answering an unending stream of questions with the utmost patience, and Lauri Maclaughlin of the NOAA FKNMS who always made sure I had the corals I needed. Finally, I would like to thank the teaching assistantship and MBRS RISE program for providing support throughout my years at Florida International University, and the Save Our Reefs grant program, which funded the majority of this research. iv ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION INVESTIGATING THE DRIVING MECHANISMS BEHIND DIFFERENCES IN BLEACHING AND DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY BETWEEN TWO SCLERACTINIAN CORALS, PSEUDODIPLORIA STRIGOSA AND DIPLORIA LABYRINTHIFORMIS by Zoe A. Pratte Florida International University, 2015 Miami, Florida Professor Laurie Richardson, Major Professor Disease and bleaching are two conditions which commonly lead to coral death. Among coral species, susceptibility to disease and bleaching is variable, and Pseudodiploria strigosa tends to be diseased more than Diploria labyrinthiformis, while D. labyrinthiformis bleaches more readily. The focus of this dissertation was to investigate and compare multiple components of these two coral species, and identify how they may relate to disease and bleaching resistance. Compenetnts examined included the surface mucopolysacharide layer (SML) thickness, gene expression, microbial associates, and a white plague aquarium study. The SML thickness decresased with increasing temperature regardless of coral species, indicating that SML thickness does not likely play a role in differences between susceptablities of these two coral species. However, Diploria labyrinthiformis had a lower mortality rate at 31°C, had fewer v differentially expressed genes assossiated with stress, and upregulated genes associated with innate immunity in the summer, all of which may contribute to its relative disease resistance. The bacterial associates of each coral species were also monitored. Differences between the two coral species were primarily caused by Clostridia, Gammaproteobacteria, and rare species which may contribute to the relatively higher disease susceptibility of P. strigosa. Lastly, an aquarium study suggested that a potential pathogen of the Roseobacter clade infects both D. labyrinthiformis and P. strigosa, and might be transmitted by the Cryptochiridae gall crab, indicating that potential disease vectors associated with these two coral species may also play a role in disease resistance and resilience. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 References ................................................................................................................4 2. IMPACTS OF TEMPERATURE INCREASE AND ACIDIFICATION ON THICKNESS OF THE SURFACE MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDE LAYER OF THE CARIBBEAN CORAL DIPLORIA SPP*. .....................................................7 Abstract ....................................................................................................................8 Introduction ..............................................................................................................9 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................14 Results ....................................................................................................................18 Discussion ..............................................................................................................21 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................29 References ..............................................................................................................29 3. DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION OF TWO SCLERACTINIAN CORAL SPECIES WITH DISSIMILAR DISEASE AND BLEACHING SUSCEPTABILITES DURING ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND LOWERED pH STRESS .......................................................................................40 Abstract ..................................................................................................................41 Introduction ............................................................................................................42 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................44 Results ....................................................................................................................48 Discussion ..............................................................................................................53 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................62 References ..............................................................................................................62 4. MICROBIAL ASSOCIATES OF TWO SCLERACTINIAN CORAL SPECIES WITH DISSIMILAR DISEASE AND BLEACHING SUSCEPTABILITES DURING ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND LOWERED pH STRESS .......................................................................................73 Abstract ..................................................................................................................74 Introduction ............................................................................................................74 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................76 Results ....................................................................................................................80 Discussion ..............................................................................................................86 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................92 References ..............................................................................................................92