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Sun F, Yang H, Zhang X, Shi Q. Metabolic and metatranscriptional characteristics of corals bleaching induced by the most severe marine heatwaves in the South China Sea. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 858:160019. [PMID: 36356778 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Coral bleaching significantly affects the function and health of coral reef ecosystems; however, the mechanisms underlying metabolism and transcription in corals remain unclear. In this study, untargeted metabolomics and metatranscriptomic analyses were performed to analyze the differences between unbleached and bleached Pocillopora corals during the most severe marine heatwaves. Difference analysis showed that bleached corals had significant metabolomic characteristics compared with those in unbleached corals. These differences were significant (p < 0.05) according to partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis revealed that the metabolites were significantly enriched in numerous pathways in bleached or unbleached corals, such as steroid hormone biosynthesis, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and pyrimidine metabolism. Bleaching greatly affects coral reproduction as well as the tolerance of coral symbionts to heat stress. In metatranscriptomic analysis, we observed large gene expression differences between unbleached and bleached corals. Three Gene Ontology directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) were constructed to show the significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Many biological and molecular processes were significantly enriched between bleached corals to unbleached corals, such as metabolic processes, lipid metabolic processes, oxidation-reduction processes, single-organism metabolic processes, and protein metabolic processes. Metabolome and metatranscriptome analyses showed that bleaching caused substantial physiological damage to corals. This study provides insight into the metabolic and transcriptional changes that occur in corals during bleaching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fulin Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China; Daya Bay Marine Biology Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya, China
| | - Hongqiang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China; Nansha Marine Ecological and Environmental Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sansha, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya, China.
| | - Xiyang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya, China
| | - Qi Shi
- Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China; Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, Sanya, China
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Liu Z, An M, Geng X, Wu Z, Cai W, Tang J, Zhang K, Zhou Z. The scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis relies on neuroendocrine regulation to cope with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under heat stress. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 316:120565. [PMID: 36332711 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are highly toxic environmental pollutants and are threatening scleractinian corals. In this study, PAHs treatment did not induce significant physiological responses of the coral Pocillopora damicornis and its algal symbionts, but biological processes including response to toxin, drug metabolic, and oxidation reduction were triggered at the mRNA level. These results implied that PAHs could be a group of slow-acting environmental toxicants, whose effects were moderate but persistent. Besides, it was interesting to find that PAHs activated the neuroendocrine system in the coral by triggering the expression of monoaminergic and acetylcholinergic system related genes, indicating that PAHs might function as environmental hormones. Moreover, the combined treatments of PAHs and heat caused a much obvious effect on the coral and its algal symbionts by elevating antioxidant activity and suppressing photosynthesis in the symbionts. Results from the transcriptome data further indicated that corals might perform stress responses upon PAHs and heat challenges through the TNF and apoptosis pathways, which perhaps was modulated by the neuroendocrine system of corals. Collectively, our survey demonstrates that the PAHs can function as environmental hormones and activate the neuroendocrine regulation in scleractinian corals, which may contribute to the stress responses of symbiotic association by modulating photosynthesis, antioxidation, and apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoqun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Mingxun An
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Xinxing Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Zhongjie Wu
- Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou, 571126, China
| | - Wenqi Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou, 571126, China
| | - Jia Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Kaidian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Zhi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Key Laboratory of Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
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Barkman AL, Richmond RH. The effects of brodifacoum cereal bait pellets on early life stages of the rice coral Montipora capitata. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13877. [PMID: 35990912 PMCID: PMC9390324 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is home to ground nesting birds that are threatened by invasive mice. Planned rodent eradication efforts for the island involve aerial application of cereal bait pellets containing the chemical rodenticide brodifacoum. Given the nature of the application method, drift of cereal bait pellets into the coastal waters surrounding Midway Atoll is unavoidable. To understand whether cereal bait pellets impact marine invertebrates, gametes and larvae of the reef-building coral Montipora capitata were exposed to brodifacoum, cereal bait pellets containing brodifacoum, and inert cereal bait pellets without the rodenticide. Fertilization success and larval survival were assessed at nominal brodifacoum concentrations of 1, 10, and 100 ppb. Fertilization success decreased by 15% after exposure to 100 ppb brodifacoum solutions. Larval survival was not reduced by exposure to brodifacoum solutions. Cereal bait pellets containing brodifacoum reduced fertilization success at 10 ppb brodifacoum in 0.4 g per L pellet solutions by 34.84%, and inhibited fertilization at 100 ppb brodifacoum in 4 g of pellet per L solution. Inert cereal bait pellets had similar effects, reducing fertilization success at 0.4 g of pellet per L by 40.50%, and inhibiting fertilization at 4 g per L pellet solutions. Larval survival was reduced by >43% after prolonged exposure to 4 g per L pellet solutions. The highest concentration used in this study was meant to represent an extreme and unlikely condition resulting from an accidental spill. Our findings indicate large amounts of cereal bait pellets entering the coastal environment of Midway Atoll, if occurring during a coral spawning event, would reduce coral reproduction by decreasing fertilization success. It is difficult to know the ecologically relevant concentrations of cereal bait pellets in coastal environments due to unavoidable bait drift after land applications, but results indicate small amounts of pellet drifting into coastal environments would not severely reduce coral reproductive capacity. Best management practices should consider known coral reproductive periods when scheduling applications of pellets on tropical islands to reduce the risk of negative impacts of large-scale accidents on corals.
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Tan ES, Hamazato H, Ishii T, Taira K, Takeuchi Y, Takekata H, Isomura N, Takemura A. Does estrogen regulate vitellogenin synthesis in corals? Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2021; 255:110910. [PMID: 33486078 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.110910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Most broadcast spawner corals have a vitellogenic phase that lasts at least 6 months. It is established that estrogen regulates vitellogenin synthesis in vertebrates. Although some research have been conducted on the physiological role of sex steroids in corals, little is known about their involvement in oocyte development. This study aimed to detect steroid hormones - progesterone, testosterone, and estradiol-17β (E2) - in Acropora tenuis and study the relationships between vitellogenesis/vitellogenin synthesis and these steroids. This study also investigated the effect of E2 on vitellogenin synthesis in corals and identified steroidogenic enzymes in A. tenuis genome. Branches from tagged coral colonies were collected monthly from March to November. Histological observations showed that oocytes were vitellogenic from March to May (Stage IV and V), but not in June, and that gonads were occupied by immature oocytes in September (Stage I). Real-time qPCR revealed that vitellogenin (vg1 and vg2) transcript levels in coral branches were high in April and May, implying that corals actively underwent vitellogenesis during these months, and spawned before June. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that E2 could be detected in coral branches in March, April, and May, but not in June, whereas testosterone and progesterone did not fluctuate much in the same months. Immersing branches in E2-containing seawater failed to increase vitellogenin transcript levels. The results indicate that E2 is involved in oogenesis but does not positively regulate vitellogenin synthesis. Steroidogenic enzymes (except CYP19A) were identified in A. tenuis, suggesting that corals may endogenously synthesize progestogens and androgens from cholesterol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ee Suan Tan
- Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
| | - Hirono Hamazato
- Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
| | - Takahiro Ishii
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
| | - Kenshiro Taira
- Okinawa Prefectural Naha International Senior High School, 1-29 Ameku, Naha, Okinawa 900-0005, Japan
| | - Yuki Takeuchi
- Developmental Neurobiology Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Onna 904-0412, Japan
| | - Hiroki Takekata
- Organization for Research Promotion, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
| | - Naoko Isomura
- Department of Bioresources Engineering, Okinawa National College of Technology, 905 Henoko, Nago-City, Okinawa 905-2192, Japan
| | - Akihiro Takemura
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan.
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Yang T, Diao X, Cheng H, Wang H, Zhou H, Zhao H, Chen CM. Comparative study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (HMs) in corals, sediments and seawater from coral reefs of Hainan, China. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2020; 264:114719. [PMID: 32417574 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This work investigated levels of PAHs and HMs in fourteen species from seven genera of scleractinian corals, adjacent sediments, and surface seawater in Hainan, China. The sources of contaminations were analyzed as well. The results showed that scleractinian corals had a relatively higher bioaccumulation capacity for PAHs from sediments than for HMs. There were inter-species differences for these contaminants enriched in corals. Pavona varians and Porites lutea could accumulate PAHs more readily. While higher concentrations of Cr, Mn and Pb occurred in Favites flexuosa, other metal levels, such as for Ni, Cu, Zn and As, were found to be elevated in Pocillopora damicornis, as well as for Cd in Acropora echinata. It was found that PAHs originated from petrogenic and pyrolytic sources, and were mainly linked to onshore and on-sea activities, such as motorboats. Mn, Ni, As and Cd were from crustal materials or natural weathering, while Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb were non-crustal origin connecting with the use of anti-fouling boat paint and agricultural and/or aquacultural chemicals. This study suggested that corals could serve as good bioindicators for two types of chemical pollution in the reef system, especially for the two species P. varians and P. lutea for PAHs contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tinghan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Xiaoping Diao
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
| | - Huamin Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Haihua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Hailong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Hongwei Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Chien Min Chen
- Department of Environmental Resources and Management, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Taiwan, China
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6
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Shlesinger T, Loya Y. Breakdown in spawning synchrony: A silent threat to coral persistence. Science 2019; 365:1002-1007. [PMID: 31488683 DOI: 10.1126/science.aax0110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The impacts of human and natural disturbances on coral reefs are typically quantified through visible damage (e.g., reduced coral coverage as a result of bleaching events), but changes in environmental conditions may also cause damage in less visible ways. Despite the current paradigm, which suggests consistent, highly synchronized spawning events, corals that reproduce by broadcast spawning are particularly vulnerable because their reproductive phenology is governed by environmental cues. Here, we quantify coral spawning intensity during four annual reproductive seasons, alongside laboratory analyses at the polyp, colony, and population levels, and we demonstrate that, compared with historical data, several species from the Red Sea have lost their reproductive synchrony. Ultimately, such a synchrony breakdown reduces the probability of successful fertilization, leading to a dearth of new recruits, which may drive aging populations to extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Shlesinger
- School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Yossi Loya
- School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
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7
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Khalturin K, Billas IML, Chebaro Y, Reitzel AM, Tarrant AM, Laudet V, Markov GV. NR3E receptors in cnidarians: A new family of steroid receptor relatives extends the possible mechanisms for ligand binding. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2018; 184:11-19. [PMID: 29940311 PMCID: PMC6240368 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2018.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Steroid hormone receptors are important regulators of development and physiology in bilaterian animals, but the role of steroid signaling in cnidarians has been contentious. Cnidarians produce steroids, including A-ring aromatic steroids with a side-chain, but these are probably made through pathways different than the one used by vertebrates to make their A-ring aromatic steroids. Here we present comparative genomic analyses indicating the presence of a previously undescribed nuclear receptor family within medusozoan cnidarians, that we propose to call NR3E. This family predates the diversification of ERR/ER/SR in bilaterians, indicating that the first NR3 evolved in the common ancestor of the placozoan and cnidarian-bilaterian with lineage-specific loss in the anthozoans, even though multiple species in this lineage have been shown to produce aromatic steroids, whose function remain unclear. We discovered serendipitously that a cytoplasmic factor within epidermal cells of transgenic Hydra vulgaris can trigger the nuclear translocation of heterologously expressed human ERα. This led us to hypothesize that aromatic steroids may also be present in the medusozoan cnidarian lineage, which includes Hydra, and may explain the translocation of human ERα. Docking experiments with paraestrol A, a cnidarian A-ring aromatic steroid, into the ligand-binding pocket of Hydra NR3E indicates that, if an aromatic steroid is indeed the true ligand, which remains to be demonstrated, it would bind to the pocket through a partially distinct mechanism from the manner in which estradiol binds to vertebrate ER.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Khalturin
- Marine Genomics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Isabelle M L Billas
- Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), Department of Integrated Structural Biology, IGBMC (Institute of Genetics and of Molecular and Cellular Biology), Illkirch, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) UMR 7104, Illkirch, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U964, Illkirch, France; Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Yassmine Chebaro
- Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI), Department of Integrated Structural Biology, IGBMC (Institute of Genetics and of Molecular and Cellular Biology), Illkirch, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) UMR 7104, Illkirch, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U964, Illkirch, France; Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Adam M Reitzel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
| | - Ann M Tarrant
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
| | - Vincent Laudet
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Observatoire océanologique de Banyuls-sur-mer, Avenue de Fontaule, 66650 Banyuls-sur-mer, France
| | - Gabriel V Markov
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR 8227 Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Place Georges Teissier, CS 90074, 29688 Roscoff Cedex, France.
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Serrano E, Ribes M, Coma R. Demographics of the zooxanthellate coral Oculina patagonica along the Mediterranean Iberian coast in relation to environmental parameters. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 634:1580-1592. [PMID: 29710655 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2018] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Marine ecosystems are threatened by cumulative human-related impacts that cause structural and functional alterations. In the Mediterranean Sea, the zooxanthellate coral Oculina patagonica (Scleractinia, Oculinidae) can turn algal forests into coral-dominated ecosystems and provides a case study for examining how zooxanthellate corals can affect the structure of algal-dominated shallow-water rocky ecosystems in temperate areas. Our goal was to provide a quantitative baseline assessment of O. patagonica demographics along ~1300km of the Mediterranean Iberian coast and relate them to environmental parameters. The highest coral success was in the South Balearic Sea zone, where the populations exhibited >6-fold higher mean living coral cover, lower partial colony mortality and colony size distributions indicating that the populations in this zone were growing faster than those in the peripheral south-west (North Alborán Sea) and north-east (Mid and North Balearic Sea, and West Gulf of Lyons) zones. The coral demographics (i.e., density, cover, and skewness and kurtosis coefficients of colony size distributions) were positively correlated with each other and the annual mean seawater temperature (ST), 10th-ST percentile (P10th-ST), 90th-ST percentile (P90th-ST) and photosynthetically active radiation at 3-m depth (PAR-3m), but they were negatively correlated with chlorophyll-a. Based on these results, we identified the following thresholds that may constrain the growth of O. patagonica colonies and populations: annual mean ST <19-20°C, P10th-ST <14°C, P90th-ST <25°C and >27°C, and PAR-3m <30molphotonsm-2day-1. The species abundance along the Iberian coast conforms to the abundant-center pattern of distribution. However, the coral demographics indicated that this pattern was not only related to the time of establishment but also to differences in coral population growth, which were correlated with key environmental parameters. Our results contribute understanding of the forces driving population growth of O. patagonica and support the hypothesis of an ongoing coral-mediated tropicalization of macroalgae-dominated temperate ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduard Serrano
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB-CSIC), Accés Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain.
| | - Marta Ribes
- Institut de Ciències del Mar-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Rafel Coma
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEAB-CSIC), Accés Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain.
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9
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Leydet KP, Grupstra CGB, Coma R, Ribes M, Hellberg ME. Host-targeted RAD-Seq reveals genetic changes in the coralOculina patagonicaassociated with range expansion along the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:2529-2543. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2016] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Karine Posbic Leydet
- Department of Biological Sciences; Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge Louisiana
| | - Carsten G. B. Grupstra
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics; University of Amsterdam; Amsterdam The Netherlands
- Institut de Ciències del mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - Rafel Coma
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes; Blanes Girona Spain
| | - Marta Ribes
- Institut de Ciències del mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - Michael E. Hellberg
- Department of Biological Sciences; Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge Louisiana
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10
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Zhang R, Zhang R, Yu K, Wang Y, Huang X, Pei J, Wei C, Pan Z, Qin Z, Zhang G. Occurrence, sources and transport of antibiotics in the surface water of coral reef regions in the South China Sea: Potential risk to coral growth. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2018; 232:450-457. [PMID: 29021096 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.09.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2017] [Revised: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Laboratory research has indicated that antibiotics had negative effects on coral growth by disturbing natural microbiota; however, no field studies have reported antibiotic contamination levels and their influence on coral growth in natural coral reef regions (CRRs). This study investigated antibiotic occurrence and sources in the surface water from CRRs that have suffered from rapid coral degradation and evaluated their risk to coral growth. These regions are in the South China Sea, including four coastal and two offshore CRRs. The results show that 13 antibiotics were detected in the coastal CRRs with concentrations ranging from 10-2-100 ng L-1, while 5 antibiotics occurred in offshore CRRs (300-950 km from the mainland), with concentrations ranging from 10-2 to 10-1 ng L-1. Their concentrations decreased gradually from the coast to offshore in the transport process. However, Yongxing Island, which is approximately 300 km from the mainland, was an exception with relatively higher concentrations than the surrounding reefs because of the ever-increasing human activity on the island. The presence of anthropogenic contaminants antibiotics in CRRs may be a potential risk to coral growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruijie Zhang
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Ruiling Zhang
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Resources, Environment and Materials, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Kefu Yu
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
| | - Yinghui Wang
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
| | - Xueyong Huang
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Jiying Pei
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Chaoshuai Wei
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Ziliang Pan
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Zhenjun Qin
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Gan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
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11
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Crowder CM, Meyer E, Fan TY, Weis VM. Impacts of temperature and lunar day on gene expression profiles during a monthly reproductive cycle in the brooding coral Pocillopora damicornis. Mol Ecol 2017; 26:3913-3925. [PMID: 28467676 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Reproductive timing in brooding corals has been correlated to temperature and lunar irradiance, but the mechanisms by which corals transduce these environmental variables into molecular signals are unknown. To gain insight into these processes, global gene expression profiles in the coral Pocillopora damicornis were examined (via RNA-Seq) across lunar phases and between temperature treatments, during a monthly planulation cycle. The interaction of temperature and lunar day together had the largest influence on gene expression. Mean timing of planulation, which occurred at lunar days 7.4 and 12.5 for 28- and 23°C-treated corals, respectively, was associated with an upregulation of transcripts in individual temperature treatments. Expression profiles of planulation-associated genes were compared between temperature treatments, revealing that elevated temperatures disrupted expression profiles associated with planulation. Gene functions inferred from homologous matches to online databases suggest complex neuropeptide signalling, with calcium as a central mediator, acting through tyrosine kinase and G protein-coupled receptor pathways. This work contributes to our understanding of coral reproductive physiology and the impacts of environmental variables on coral reproductive pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camerron M Crowder
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Eli Meyer
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Tung-Yung Fan
- Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung, Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - Virginia M Weis
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
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12
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Rapuano H, Brickner I, Shlesinger T, Meroz-Fine E, Tamir R, Loya Y. Reproductive strategies of the coral Turbinaria reniformis in the northern Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). Sci Rep 2017; 7:42670. [PMID: 28195203 PMCID: PMC5307385 DOI: 10.1038/srep42670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Here we describe for the first time the reproductive biology of the scleractinian coral Turbinaria reniformis studied during three years at the coral reefs of Eilat and Aqaba. We also investigated the possibility of sex change in individually tagged colonies followed over a period of 12 years. T. reniformis was found to be a stable gonochorist (no detected sex change) that reproduces by broadcast spawning 5-6 nights after the full moon of June and July. Spawning was highly synchronized between individuals in the field and in the lab. Reproduction of T. reniformis is temporally isolated from the times at which most other corals reproduce in Eilat. Its relatively long reproductive cycle compared to other hermaphroditic corals may be due to the high reproductive effort associated with the production of eggs by gonochoristic females. Sex ratio in both the Aqaba and Eilat coral populations deviated significantly from a 1:1 ratio. The larger number of males than of females may provide a compensation for sperm limitation due to its dilution in the water column. We posit that such sex allocation would facilitate adaptation within gonochoristic species by increasing fertilization success in low density populations, constituting a phenomenon possibly regulated by chemical communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Rapuano
- Department of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Itzchak Brickner
- Department of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Tom Shlesinger
- Department of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Efrat Meroz-Fine
- The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, P.O. Box 469, Eilat 8810369, Israel
| | - Raz Tamir
- Department of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
- The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, P.O. Box 469, Eilat 8810369, Israel
| | - Yossi Loya
- Department of Zoology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
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13
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Rougée LRA, Richmond RH, Collier AC. Molecular reproductive characteristics of the reef coral Pocillopora damicornis. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2015; 189:38-44. [PMID: 26231839 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2015.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2015] [Revised: 07/11/2015] [Accepted: 07/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Coral reefs are an indispensible worldwide resource, accounting for billions of dollars in cultural, economic, and ecological services. An understanding of coral reproduction is essential to determining the effects of environmental stressors on coral reef ecosystems and their persistence into the future. Here, we describe the presence of and changes in steroidal hormones along with associated steroidogenic and steroid removal enzymes during the reproductive cycle of the brooding, pan-Pacific, hermaphroditic coral, Pocillopora damicornis. Detectable levels of 17β-estradiol, estrone, progesterone and testosterone were consistently detected over two consecutive lunar reproductive cycles in coral tissue. Intra-colony variation in steroid hormone levels ranged between 1.5- and 2.2-fold and were not statistically different. Activities of the steroidogenic enzymes 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and cytochrome P450 (CYP) 17 dehydrogenase were detectable and did not fluctuate over the reproductive cycle. Aromatase-like activity was detected during the lunar reproductive cycle with no significant fluctuations. Activities of regeneration enzymes did not fluctuate over the lunar cycle; however, activity of the clearance enzyme UDP-glucuronosyl transferases increased significantly (ANOVA, post hoc p<0.01) during the two weeks before and after peak larval release (planulation), suggesting that the activity of this enzyme family may be linked to the reproductive state of the coral. Sulfotransferase enzymes could not be detected. Our findings provide the first data defining normal physiological and lunar/reproductive variability in steroidal enzymes in a coral species with respect to their potential role in coral reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc R A Rougée
- Kewalo Marine Laboratory, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 41 Ahui Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
| | - Robert H Richmond
- Kewalo Marine Laboratory, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 41 Ahui Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
| | - Abby C Collier
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
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14
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Wear SL, Thurber RV. Sewage pollution: mitigation is key for coral reef stewardship. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2015; 1355:15-30. [PMID: 25959987 PMCID: PMC4690507 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2014] [Revised: 03/21/2015] [Accepted: 04/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Coral reefs are in decline worldwide, and land-derived sources of pollution, including sewage, are a major force driving that deterioration. This review presents evidence that sewage discharge occurs in waters surrounding at least 104 of 112 reef geographies. Studies often refer to sewage as a single stressor. However, we show that it is more accurately characterized as a multiple stressor. Many of the individual agents found within sewage, specifically freshwater, inorganic nutrients, pathogens, endocrine disrupters, suspended solids, sediments, and heavy metals, can severely impair coral growth and/or reproduction. These components of sewage may interact with each other to create as-yet poorly understood synergisms (e.g., nutrients facilitate pathogen growth), and escalate impacts of other, non-sewage–based stressors. Surprisingly few published studies have examined impacts of sewage in the field, but those that have suggest negative effects on coral reefs. Because sewage discharge proximal to sensitive coral reefs is widespread across the tropics, it is imperative for coral reef–focused institutions to increase investment in threat-abatement strategies for mitigating sewage pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L Wear
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina.,The Nature Conservancy, Beaufort, North Carolina
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15
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The effect of filamentous turf algal removal on the development of gametes of the coral Orbicella annularis. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0117936. [PMID: 25658586 PMCID: PMC4320090 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2014] [Accepted: 01/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Macroalgae and filamentous turf algae (FTA) are abundant on degraded coral reefs, and the reproductive responses of corals may indicate sub-lethal stress under these conditions. The percentage of gametogenic stages (PGS) and the maximum diameter of eggs (MDE; or egg size) of Orbicella annularis were used to evaluate the effect of long- (7–10 months) and short-term (2.5 months) FTA removal (treatments T1 and T2, respectively) at both the beginning (May) and the end (August) of gametogenesis. Ramets (individual lobes of a colony) surrounded by FTA (T3) or crustose coralline algae (CCA; T4) were used as controls. The removal of FTA enhanced the development of gametes (i.e., a larger and higher percentage of mature gametes (PMG)) of O. annularis for T1 vs. T3 ramets in May and T1 and T2 vs. T3 ramets in August. Similar values of PGS and MDE between gametes from T3 and T4 in both May and August were unexpected because a previous study had shown that the same ramets of T4 (with higher tissue thickness, chlorophyll a cm-2 and zooxanthellae density and lower mitotic index values) were less stressed than ramets of T3. Evaluating coral stress through reproduction can reveal more sensitive responses than other biological parameters; within reproductive metrics, PGS can be a better stress indicator than egg size. The presence of turf algae strongly impacted the development of gametes and egg size (e.g., PMG in ramets with FTA removal increased almost twofold in comparison with ramets surrounded by FTA in August), most likely exerting negative chronic effects in the long run due to the ubiquity and permanence of turf algae in the Caribbean. These algae can be considered a stressor that affects coral sexual reproduction. Although the effects of turf algae on O. annularis are apparently less severe than those of other stressors, the future of this species is uncertain because of the combined impacts of these effects, the decline of O. annularis populations and the almost complete lack of recruitment.
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Impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals on reproduction in wildlife. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2014; 753:55-70. [PMID: 25091906 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0820-2_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The European Environment Agency (The Weybridge + 15 (1996-2011) report. EEA Technical report, vol 2. Copenhagen, 2012) and the United Nations Environment programme together with the World Health Organisation (State of the science of endocrine disrupting chemicals-2012. Geneva, Switzerland) both recently published major and highly authoritative reviews of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the natural environment and their effects on reproduction and health in both humans and wildlife. One surprising conclusion to emerge from these reviews was that there are relatively few well documented reports of endocrine disruption (ED) in wild mammals, mainly because much of the available evidence is correlative and does not conclusively demonstrate that the chemicals in question cause the physiological and phenotypic problems attributed to them. However, based on strong evidence from studies of wild birds, reptiles, invertebrates, and laboratory animals, it is difficult to imagine that wild mammals would be the exception. This chapter is therefore included to emphasize the point that the role of reproductive science within wildlife conservation is much broader than a narrow focus on artificial breeding technologies.
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