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Strand EL, Wong KH, Farraj A, Gray S, McMenamin A, Putnam HM. Coral species-specific loss and physiological legacy effects are elicited by an extended marine heatwave. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb246812. [PMID: 38774956 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.246812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Marine heatwaves are increasing in frequency and intensity, with potentially catastrophic consequences for marine ecosystems such as coral reefs. An extended heatwave and recovery time-series that incorporates multiple stressors and is environmentally realistic can provide enhanced predictive capacity for performance under climate change conditions. We exposed common reef-building corals in Hawai'i, Montipora capitata and Pocillopora acuta, to a 2-month period of high temperature and high PCO2 conditions or ambient conditions in a factorial design, followed by 2 months of ambient conditions. High temperature, rather than high PCO2, drove multivariate physiology shifts through time in both species, including decreases in respiration rates and endosymbiont densities. Pocillopora acuta exhibited more significantly negatively altered physiology, and substantially higher bleaching and mortality than M. capitata. The sensitivity of P. acuta appears to be driven by higher baseline rates of photosynthesis paired with lower host antioxidant capacity, creating an increased sensitivity to oxidative stress. Thermal tolerance of M. capitata may be partly due to harboring a mixture of Cladocopium and Durusdinium spp., whereas P. acuta was dominated by other distinct Cladocopium spp. Only M. capitata survived the experiment, but physiological state in heatwave-exposed M. capitata remained significantly diverged at the end of recovery relative to individuals that experienced ambient conditions. In future climate scenarios, particularly marine heatwaves, our results indicate a species-specific loss of corals that is driven by baseline host and symbiont physiological differences as well as Symbiodiniaceae community compositions, with the surviving species experiencing physiological legacies that are likely to influence future stress responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma L Strand
- Department of Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
- Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute, Gloucester, MA 01930, USA
| | - Kevin H Wong
- Department of Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Miami, FL 33149, USA
| | - Alexa Farraj
- Department of Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
| | - Sierra Gray
- Department of Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8P 5C2
| | - Ana McMenamin
- Department of Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
| | - Hollie M Putnam
- Department of Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
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2
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Zhou Y, Li Q, Zhang Q, Yuan M, Zhu X, Li Y, Li Q, Downs CA, Huang D, Chou LM, Zhao H. Environmental Concentrations of Herbicide Prometryn Render Stress-Tolerant Corals Susceptible to Ocean Warming. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:4545-4557. [PMID: 38386019 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c10417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Global warming has caused the degradation of coral reefs around the world. While stress-tolerant corals have demonstrated the ability to acclimatize to ocean warming, it remains unclear whether they can sustain their thermal resilience when superimposed with other coastal environmental stressors. We report the combined impacts of a photosystem II (PSII) herbicide, prometryn, and ocean warming on the stress-tolerant coral Galaxea fascicularis through physiological and omics analyses. The results demonstrate that the heat-stress-induced inhibition of photosynthetic efficiency in G. fascicularis is exacerbated in the presence of prometryn. Transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses indicate that the prometryn exposure may overwhelm the photosystem repair mechanism in stress-tolerant corals, thereby compromising their capacity for thermal acclimation. Moreover, prometryn might amplify the adverse effects of heat stress on key energy and nutrient metabolism pathways and induce a stronger response to oxidative stress in stress-tolerant corals. The findings indicate that the presence of prometryn at environmentally relevant concentrations would render corals more susceptible to heat stress and exacerbate the breakdown of coral Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis. The present study provides valuable insights into the necessity of prioritizing PSII herbicide pollution reduction in coral reef protection efforts while mitigating the effects of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyu Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
- Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Qiuli Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
- Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Quan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology for Industrial Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Meile Yuan
- Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Xiaoshan Zhu
- Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Yuanchao Li
- Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou 571126, China
| | - Qipei Li
- Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Craig A Downs
- Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, P.O. Box 92, Clifford, Virginia 24533, United States
| | - Danwei Huang
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117377, Singapore
- Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119227, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558, Singapore
| | - Loke-Ming Chou
- Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119227, Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558, Singapore
| | - Hongwei Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
- Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
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3
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Jacobovitz MR, Hambleton EA, Guse A. Unlocking the Complex Cell Biology of Coral-Dinoflagellate Symbiosis: A Model Systems Approach. Annu Rev Genet 2023; 57:411-434. [PMID: 37722685 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-072320-125436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
Symbiotic interactions occur in all domains of life, providing organisms with resources to adapt to new habitats. A prime example is the endosymbiosis between corals and photosynthetic dinoflagellates. Eukaryotic dinoflagellate symbionts reside inside coral cells and transfer essential nutrients to their hosts, driving the productivity of the most biodiverse marine ecosystem. Recent advances in molecular and genomic characterization have revealed symbiosis-specific genes and mechanisms shared among symbiotic cnidarians. In this review, we focus on the cellular and molecular processes that underpin the interaction between symbiont and host. We discuss symbiont acquisition via phagocytosis, modulation of host innate immunity, symbiont integration into host cell metabolism, and nutrient exchange as a fundamental aspect of stable symbiotic associations. We emphasize the importance of using model systems to dissect the cellular complexity of endosymbiosis, which ultimately serves as the basis for understanding its ecology and capacity to adapt in the face of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie R Jacobovitz
- Cell Biology and Biophysics, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Elizabeth A Hambleton
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;
| | - Annika Guse
- Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Munich, Germany;
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4
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Matthews JL, Hoch L, Raina JB, Pablo M, Hughes DJ, Camp EF, Seymour JR, Ralph PJ, Suggett DJ, Herdean A. Symbiodiniaceae photophysiology and stress resilience is enhanced by microbial associations. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20724. [PMID: 38007500 PMCID: PMC10676399 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48020-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Symbiodiniaceae form associations with extra- and intracellular bacterial symbionts, both in culture and in symbiosis with corals. Bacterial associates can regulate Symbiodiniaceae fitness in terms of growth, calcification and photophysiology. However, the influence of these bacteria on interactive stressors, such as temperature and light, which are known to influence Symbiodiniaceae physiology, remains unclear. Here, we examined the photophysiological response of two Symbiodiniaceae species (Symbiodinium microadriaticum and Breviolum minutum) cultured under acute temperature and light stress with specific bacterial partners from their microbiome (Labrenzia (Roseibium) alexandrii, Marinobacter adhaerens or Muricauda aquimarina). Overall, bacterial presence positively impacted Symbiodiniaceae core photosynthetic health (photosystem II [PSII] quantum yield) and photoprotective capacity (non-photochemical quenching; NPQ) compared to cultures with all extracellular bacteria removed, although specific benefits were variable across Symbiodiniaceae genera and growth phase. Symbiodiniaceae co-cultured with M. aquimarina displayed an inverse NPQ response under high temperatures and light, and those with L. alexandrii demonstrated a lowered threshold for induction of NPQ, potentially through the provision of antioxidant compounds such as zeaxanthin (produced by Muricauda spp.) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP; produced by this strain of L. alexandrii). Our co-culture approach empirically demonstrates the benefits bacteria can deliver to Symbiodiniaceae photochemical performance, providing evidence that bacterial associates can play important functional roles for Symbiodiniaceae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Matthews
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.
| | - Lilian Hoch
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Jean-Baptiste Raina
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Marine Pablo
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
- Sorbonne University, Paris, France
| | - David J Hughes
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Emma F Camp
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Justin R Seymour
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Peter J Ralph
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - David J Suggett
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
- KAUST Reefscape Restoration Initiative (KRRI) and Red Sea Reseach Centre (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science & Technology, 23955, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Andrei Herdean
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
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Coffroth MA, Buccella LA, Eaton KM, Lasker HR, Gooding AT, Franklin H. What makes a winner? Symbiont and host dynamics determine Caribbean octocoral resilience to bleaching. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadj6788. [PMID: 37992160 PMCID: PMC10664981 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj6788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Unlike reef-building, scleractinian corals, Caribbean soft corals (octocorals) have not suffered marked declines in abundance associated with anthropogenic ocean warming. Both octocorals and reef-building scleractinians depend on a nutritional symbiosis with single-celled algae living within their tissues. In both groups, increased ocean temperatures can induce symbiont loss (bleaching) and coral death. Multiple heat waves from 2014 to 2016 resulted in widespread damage to reef ecosystems and provided an opportunity to examine the bleaching response of three Caribbean octocoral species. Symbiont densities declined during the heat waves but recovered quickly, and colony mortality was low. The dominant symbiont genotypes within a host generally did not change, and all colonies hosted symbiont species in the genus Breviolum. Their association with thermally tolerant symbionts likely contributes to the octocoral holobiont's resistance to mortality and the resilience of their symbiont populations. The resistance and resilience of Caribbean octocorals offer clues for the future of coral reefs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Louis A. Buccella
- Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo NY 14260, USA
| | - Katherine M. Eaton
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Howard R. Lasker
- Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Alyssa T. Gooding
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Harleena Franklin
- Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
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6
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Kemp DW, Hoadley KD, Lewis AM, Wham DC, Smith RT, Warner ME, LaJeunesse TC. Thermotolerant coral-algal mutualisms maintain high rates of nutrient transfer while exposed to heat stress. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231403. [PMID: 37727091 PMCID: PMC10509592 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Symbiotic mutualisms are essential to ecosystems and numerous species across the tree of life. For reef-building corals, the benefits of their association with endosymbiotic dinoflagellates differ within and across taxa, and nutrient exchange between these partners is influenced by environmental conditions. Furthermore, it is widely assumed that corals associated with symbionts in the genus Durusdinium tolerate high thermal stress at the expense of lower nutrient exchange to support coral growth. We traced both inorganic carbon (H13CO3-) and nitrate (15NO3-) uptake by divergent symbiont species and quantified nutrient transfer to the host coral under normal temperatures as well as in colonies exposed to high thermal stress. Colonies representative of diverse coral taxa associated with Durusdinium trenchii or Cladocopium spp. exhibited similar nutrient exchange under ambient conditions. By contrast, heat-exposed colonies with D. trenchii experienced less physiological stress than conspecifics with Cladocopium spp. while high carbon assimilation and nutrient transfer to the host was maintained. This discovery differs from the prevailing notion that these mutualisms inevitably suffer trade-offs in physiological performance. These findings emphasize that many host-symbiont combinations adapted to high-temperature equatorial environments are high-functioning mutualisms; and why their increased prevalence is likely to be important to the future productivity and stability of coral reef ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dustin W. Kemp
- Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA
| | | | - Allison M. Lewis
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Drew C. Wham
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Robin T. Smith
- Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, VI, USA
| | - Mark E. Warner
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, USA
| | - Todd C. LaJeunesse
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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7
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Wang C, Zheng X, Kvitt H, Sheng H, Sun D, Niu G, Tchernov D, Shi T. Lineage-specific symbionts mediate differential coral responses to thermal stress. MICROBIOME 2023; 11:211. [PMID: 37752514 PMCID: PMC10521517 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-023-01653-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ocean warming is a leading cause of increasing episodes of coral bleaching, the dissociation between coral hosts and their dinoflagellate algal symbionts in the family Symbiodiniaceae. While the diversity and flexibility of Symbiodiniaceae is presumably responsible for variations in coral response to physical stressors such as elevated temperature, there is little data directly comparing physiological performance that accounts for symbiont identity associated with the same coral host species. Here, using Pocillopora damicornis harboring genotypically distinct Symbiodiniaceae strains, we examined the physiological responses of the coral holobiont and the dynamics of symbiont community change under thermal stress in a laboratory-controlled experiment. RESULTS We found that P. damicornis dominated with symbionts of metahaplotype D1-D4-D6 in the genus Durusdinium (i.e., PdD holobiont) was more robust to thermal stress than its counterpart with symbionts of metahaplotype C42-C1-C1b-C1c in the genus Cladocopium (i.e., PdC holobiont). Under ambient temperature, however, the thermally sensitive Cladocopium spp. exhibited higher photosynthetic efficiency and translocated more fixed carbon to the host, likely facilitating faster coral growth and calcification. Moreover, we observed a thermally induced increase in Durusdinium proportion in the PdC holobiont; however, this "symbiont shuffling" in the background was overwhelmed by the overall Cladocopium dominance, which coincided with faster coral bleaching and reduced calcification. CONCLUSIONS These findings support that lineage-specific symbiont dominance is a driver of distinct coral responses to thermal stress. In addition, we found that "symbiont shuffling" may begin with stress-forced, subtle changes in the rare biosphere to eventually trade off growth for increased resilience. Furthermore, the flexibility in corals' association with thermally tolerant symbiont lineages to adapt or acclimatize to future warming oceans should be viewed with conservative optimism as the current rate of environmental changes may outpace the evolutionary capabilities of corals. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenying Wang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology Conservation and Restoration, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Xinqing Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology Conservation and Restoration, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China.
- Observation and Research Station of Wetland Ecosystem in the Beibu Gulf, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beihai, 536015, China.
| | - Hagit Kvitt
- Marine Biology Department, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, 31905, Haifa, Israel
- Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Center for Mariculture, 88112, Eilat, Israel
| | - Huaxia Sheng
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Danye Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China
| | - Gaofeng Niu
- Marine Genomics and Biotechnology Program, Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Dan Tchernov
- Marine Biology Department, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, 31905, Haifa, Israel.
| | - Tuo Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
- Marine Genomics and Biotechnology Program, Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China.
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangzhou, 510000, China.
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8
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Turnham KE, Aschaffenburg MD, Pettay DT, Paz-García DA, Reyes-Bonilla H, Pinzón J, Timmins E, Smith RT, McGinley MP, Warner ME, LaJeunesse TC. High physiological function for corals with thermally tolerant, host-adapted symbionts. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231021. [PMID: 37465983 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1021] [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: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The flexibility to associate with more than one symbiont may considerably expand a host's niche breadth. Coral animals and dinoflagellate micro-algae represent one of the most functionally integrated and widespread mutualisms between two eukaryotic partners. Symbiont identity greatly affects a coral's ability to cope with extremes in temperature and light. Over its broad distribution across the Eastern Pacific, the ecologically dominant branching coral, Pocillopora grandis, depends on mutualisms with the dinoflagellates Durusdinium glynnii and Cladocopium latusorum. Measurements of skeletal growth, calcification rates, total mass increase, calyx dimensions, reproductive output and response to thermal stress were used to assess the functional performance of these partner combinations. The results show both host-symbiont combinations displayed similar phenotypes; however, significant functional differences emerged when exposed to increased temperatures. Negligible physiological differences in colonies hosting the more thermally tolerant D. glynnii refute the prevailing view that these mutualisms have considerable growth tradeoffs. Well beyond the Eastern Pacific, pocilloporid colonies with D. glynnii are found across the Pacific in warm, environmentally variable, near shore lagoonal habitats. While rising ocean temperatures threaten the persistence of contemporary coral reefs, lessons from the Eastern Pacific indicate that co-evolved thermally tolerant host-symbiont combinations are likely to expand ecologically and spread geographically to dominate reef ecosystems in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kira E Turnham
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | - D Tye Pettay
- Department of Natural Sciences, University of South Carolina Beaufort, 801 Carteret Street, Beaufort, SC 29902,USA
| | - David A Paz-García
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), Av. IPN 195, La Paz, Baja California Sur 23096, México
| | - Héctor Reyes-Bonilla
- Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, Carretera al Sur 5.5, La Paz, C.P 23080, Mexico
| | - Jorge Pinzón
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Ellie Timmins
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Robin T Smith
- Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
| | - Michael P McGinley
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, USA
| | - Mark E Warner
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, USA
| | - Todd C LaJeunesse
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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9
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Cruz AR, Davidowitz G, Moore CM, Bronstein JL. Mutualisms in a warming world. Ecol Lett 2023. [PMID: 37303268 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14264] [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: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the impacts of global warming on mutualisms poses a significant challenge given the functional and life history differences that usually exist among interacting species. However, this is a critical endeavour since virtually all species on Earth depend on other species for survival and/or reproduction. The field of thermal ecology can provide physiological and mechanistic insights, as well as quantitative tools, for addressing this challenge. Here, we develop a conceptual and quantitative framework that connects thermal physiology to species' traits, species' traits to interacting mutualists' traits and interacting traits to the mutualism. We first identify the functioning of reciprocal mutualism-relevant traits in diverse systems as the key temperature-dependent mechanisms driving the interaction. We then develop metrics that measure the thermal performance of interacting mutualists' traits and that approximate the thermal performance of the mutualism itself. This integrated approach allows us to additionally examine how warming might interact with resource/nutrient availability and affect mutualistic species' associations across space and time. We offer this framework as a synthesis of convergent and critical issues in mutualism science in a changing world, and as a baseline to which other ecological complexities and scales might be added.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin R Cruz
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Goggy Davidowitz
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Department of Entomology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | | | - Judith L Bronstein
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Department of Entomology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
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10
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McRae CJ, Keshavmurthy S, Chen HK, Ye ZM, Meng PJ, Rosset SL, Huang WB, Chen CA, Fan TY, Côté IM. Baseline dynamics of Symbiodiniaceae genera and photochemical efficiency in corals from reefs with different thermal histories. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15421. [PMID: 37283898 PMCID: PMC10239617 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Ocean warming and marine heatwaves induced by climate change are impacting coral reefs globally, leading to coral bleaching and mortality. Yet, coral resistance and resilience to warming are not uniform across reef sites and corals can show inter- and intraspecific variability. To understand changes in coral health and to elucidate mechanisms of coral thermal tolerance, baseline data on the dynamics of coral holobiont performance under non-stressed conditions are needed. We monitored the seasonal dynamics of algal symbionts (family Symbiodiniaceae) hosted by corals from a chronically warmed and thermally variable reef compared to a thermally stable reef in southern Taiwan over 15 months. We assessed the genera and photochemical efficiency of Symbiodiniaceae in three coral species: Acropora nana, Pocillopora acuta, and Porites lutea. Both Durusdinium and Cladocopium were present in all coral species at both reef sites across all seasons, but general trends in their detection (based on qPCR cycle) varied between sites and among species. Photochemical efficiency (i.e., maximum quantum yield; Fv/Fm) was relatively similar between reef sites but differed consistently among species; no clear evidence of seasonal trends in Fv/Fm was found. Quantifying natural Symbiodiniaceae dynamics can help facilitate a more comprehensive interpretation of thermal tolerance response as well as plasticity potential of the coral holobiont.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal J McRae
- Department of Planning and Research, National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Hung-Kai Chen
- Department of Planning and Research, National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Zong-Min Ye
- Department of Planning and Research, National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Jie Meng
- Department of Planning and Research, National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Sabrina L Rosset
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Wen-Bin Huang
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien, Taiwan
| | | | - Tung-Yung Fan
- Department of Planning and Research, National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Isabelle M Côté
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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Armstrong EJ, Lê-Hoang J, Carradec Q, Aury JM, Noel B, Hume BCC, Voolstra CR, Poulain J, Belser C, Paz-García DA, Cruaud C, Labadie K, Da Silva C, Moulin C, Boissin E, Bourdin G, Iwankow G, Romac S, Agostini S, Banaigs B, Boss E, Bowler C, de Vargas C, Douville E, Flores M, Forcioli D, Furla P, Galand PE, Gilson E, Lombard F, Pesant S, Reynaud S, Sullivan MB, Sunagawa S, Thomas OP, Troublé R, Thurber RV, Zoccola D, Planes S, Allemand D, Wincker P. Host transcriptomic plasticity and photosymbiotic fidelity underpin Pocillopora acclimatization across thermal regimes in the Pacific Ocean. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3056. [PMID: 37264036 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38610-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Heat waves are causing declines in coral reefs globally. Coral thermal responses depend on multiple, interacting drivers, such as past thermal exposure, endosymbiont community composition, and host genotype. This makes the understanding of their relative roles in adaptive and/or plastic responses crucial for anticipating impacts of future warming. Here, we extracted DNA and RNA from 102 Pocillopora colonies collected from 32 sites on 11 islands across the Pacific Ocean to characterize host-photosymbiont fidelity and to investigate patterns of gene expression across a historical thermal gradient. We report high host-photosymbiont fidelity and show that coral and microalgal gene expression respond to different drivers. Differences in photosymbiotic association had only weak impacts on host gene expression, which was more strongly correlated with the historical thermal environment, whereas, photosymbiont gene expression was largely determined by microalgal lineage. Overall, our results reveal a three-tiered strategy of thermal acclimatization in Pocillopora underpinned by host-photosymbiont specificity, host transcriptomic plasticity, and differential photosymbiotic association under extreme warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric J Armstrong
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France.
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France.
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, UAR 3278 CRIOBE, Université de Perpignan, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan Cedex, France.
| | - Julie Lê-Hoang
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Quentin Carradec
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France.
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France.
| | - Jean-Marc Aury
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Benjamin Noel
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Benjamin C C Hume
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
| | | | - Julie Poulain
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Caroline Belser
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
| | - David A Paz-García
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), Av. IPN 195, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23096, México
| | - Corinne Cruaud
- Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, Evry, France
| | - Karine Labadie
- Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, Evry, France
| | - Corinne Da Silva
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Clémentine Moulin
- Fondation Tara Océan, Base Tara, 8 rue de Prague, 75 012, Paris, France
| | - Emilie Boissin
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, UAR 3278 CRIOBE, Université de Perpignan, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan Cedex, France
| | - Guillaume Bourdin
- School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, 04469, ME, USA
| | - Guillaume Iwankow
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, UAR 3278 CRIOBE, Université de Perpignan, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan Cedex, France
| | - Sarah Romac
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Station Biologique de Roscoff, AD2M, UMR 7144, ECOMAP, 29680, Roscoff, France
| | - Sylvain Agostini
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 5-10-1, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Bernard Banaigs
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, UAR 3278 CRIOBE, Université de Perpignan, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan Cedex, France
| | - Emmanuel Boss
- School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, 04469, ME, USA
| | - Chris Bowler
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
- Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), CNRS UMR 8197, INSERM U1024, 46 rue d'Ulm, F-75005, Paris, France
| | - Colomban de Vargas
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Station Biologique de Roscoff, AD2M, UMR 7144, ECOMAP, 29680, Roscoff, France
| | - Eric Douville
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Michel Flores
- Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 76100, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Didier Forcioli
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, IRCAN, Medical School, Nice, France
- LIA ROPSE, Laboratoire International Associé Université Côte d'Azur - Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
| | - Paola Furla
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, IRCAN, Medical School, Nice, France
- LIA ROPSE, Laboratoire International Associé Université Côte d'Azur - Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
| | - Pierre E Galand
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques (LECOB), Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls, 66650, Banyuls sur mer, France
| | - Eric Gilson
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, IRCAN, Medical School, Nice, France
- LIA ROPSE, Laboratoire International Associé Université Côte d'Azur - Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
- Department of Medical Genetics, CHU, Nice, France
| | - Fabien Lombard
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, Institut de la Mer de Villefranche sur mer, Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche, F-06230, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
| | - Stéphane Pesant
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Stéphanie Reynaud
- LIA ROPSE, Laboratoire International Associé Université Côte d'Azur - Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine Ier, MC-98000, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
| | - Matthew B Sullivan
- Departments of Microbiology and Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Shinichi Sunagawa
- Institute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Olivier P Thomas
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Ryan institute, University of Galway, University Road H91TK33, Galway, Ireland
| | - Romain Troublé
- Fondation Tara Océan, Base Tara, 8 rue de Prague, 75 012, Paris, France
| | - Rebecca Vega Thurber
- Oregon State University, Department of Microbiology, 220 Nash Hall, 97331, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Didier Zoccola
- LIA ROPSE, Laboratoire International Associé Université Côte d'Azur - Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine Ier, MC-98000, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
| | - Serge Planes
- PSL Research University: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, Université de Perpignan, 66860, Perpignan Cedex, France
| | - Denis Allemand
- LIA ROPSE, Laboratoire International Associé Université Côte d'Azur - Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine Ier, MC-98000, Principality of Monaco, Monaco
| | - Patrick Wincker
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057, Evry, France
- Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/ Tara Oceans-GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016, Paris, France
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12
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Tanvet C, Camp EF, Sutton J, Houlbrèque F, Thouzeau G, Rodolfo‐Metalpa R. Corals adapted to extreme and fluctuating seawater pH increase calcification rates and have unique symbiont communities. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10099. [PMID: 37261315 PMCID: PMC10227177 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Ocean acidification (OA) is a severe threat to coral reefs mainly by reducing their calcification rate. Identifying the resilience factors of corals to decreasing seawater pH is of paramount importance to predict the survivability of coral reefs in the future. This study compared corals adapted to variable pHT (i.e., 7.23-8.06) from the semi-enclosed lagoon of Bouraké, New Caledonia, to corals adapted to more stable seawater pHT (i.e., 7.90-8.18). In a 100-day aquarium experiment, we examined the physiological response and genetic diversity of Symbiodiniaceae from three coral species (Acropora tenuis, Montipora digitata, and Porites sp.) from both sites under three stable pHNBS conditions (8.11, 7.76, 7.54) and one fluctuating pHNBS regime (between 7.56 and 8.07). Bouraké corals consistently exhibited higher growth rates than corals from the stable pH environment. Interestingly, A. tenuis from Bouraké showed the highest growth rate under the 7.76 pHNBS condition, whereas for M. digitata, and Porites sp. from Bouraké, growth was highest under the fluctuating regime and the 8.11 pHNBS conditions, respectively. While OA generally decreased coral calcification by ca. 16%, Bouraké corals showed higher growth rates than corals from the stable pH environment (21% increase for A. tenuis to 93% for M. digitata, with all pH conditions pooled). This superior performance coincided with divergent symbiont communities that were more homogenous for Bouraké corals. Corals adapted to variable pH conditions appear to have a better capacity to calcify under reduced pH compared to corals native to more stable pH condition. This response was not gained by corals from the more stable environment exposed to variable pH during the 100-day experiment, suggesting that long-term exposure to pH fluctuations and/or differences in symbiont communities benefit calcification under OA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clément Tanvet
- Centre IRD NouméaUMR ENTROPIE (IRD, Université de la Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle‐Calédonie, Ifremer)NouméaNew Caledonia
- Univ Brest, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, LEMARPlouzanéFrance
- Labex ICONA, International CO2 Natural Analogues NetworkShimodaJapan
| | - Emma F. Camp
- Climate Change ClusterUniversity of Technology SydneyUltimoNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Jill Sutton
- Univ Brest, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, LEMARPlouzanéFrance
| | - Fanny Houlbrèque
- Centre IRD NouméaUMR ENTROPIE (IRD, Université de la Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle‐Calédonie, Ifremer)NouméaNew Caledonia
- Labex ICONA, International CO2 Natural Analogues NetworkShimodaJapan
| | | | - Riccardo Rodolfo‐Metalpa
- Centre IRD NouméaUMR ENTROPIE (IRD, Université de la Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle‐Calédonie, Ifremer)NouméaNew Caledonia
- Labex ICONA, International CO2 Natural Analogues NetworkShimodaJapan
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13
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Reich HG, Camp EF, Roger LM, Putnam HM. The trace metal economy of the coral holobiont: supplies, demands and exchanges. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:623-642. [PMID: 36897260 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The juxtaposition of highly productive coral reef ecosystems in oligotrophic waters has spurred substantial interest and progress in our understanding of macronutrient uptake, exchange, and recycling among coral holobiont partners (host coral, dinoflagellate endosymbiont, endolithic algae, fungi, viruses, bacterial communities). By contrast, the contribution of trace metals to the physiological performance of the coral holobiont and, in turn, the functional ecology of reef-building corals remains unclear. The coral holobiont's trace metal economy is a network of supply, demand, and exchanges upheld by cross-kingdom symbiotic partnerships. Each partner has unique trace metal requirements that are central to their biochemical functions and the metabolic stability of the holobiont. Organismal homeostasis and the exchanges among partners determine the ability of the coral holobiont to adjust to fluctuating trace metal supplies in heterogeneous reef environments. This review details the requirements for trace metals in core biological processes and describes how metal exchanges among holobiont partners are key to sustaining complex nutritional symbioses in oligotrophic environments. Specifically, we discuss how trace metals contribute to partner compatibility, ability to cope with stress, and thereby to organismal fitness and distribution. Beyond holobiont trace metal cycling, we outline how the dynamic nature of the availability of environmental trace metal supplies can be influenced by a variability of abiotic factors (e.g. temperature, light, pH, etc.). Climate change will have profound consequences on the availability of trace metals and further intensify the myriad stressors that influence coral survival. Lastly, we suggest future research directions necessary for understanding the impacts of trace metals on the coral holobiont symbioses spanning subcellular to organismal levels, which will inform nutrient cycling in coral ecosystems more broadly. Collectively, this cross-scale elucidation of the role of trace metals for the coral holobiont will allow us to improve forecasts of future coral reef function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah G Reich
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, 120 Flagg Road, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA
| | - Emma F Camp
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Liza M Roger
- Chemical & Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, 601 W. Main Street, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA
| | - Hollie M Putnam
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, 120 Flagg Road, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA
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14
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Hazraty-Kari S, Morita M, Tavakoli-Kolour P, Nakamura T, Harii S. Reactions of juvenile coral to three years of consecutive thermal stress. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 863:161227. [PMID: 36586691 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
As global temperatures continue to rise, corals are being exposed to increasing heat stress throughout their early life stages; however, the impact of this phenomenon is poorly understood. We exposed the reef-building coral Acropora tenuis juveniles to ∼26-28 °C (control) and ∼ 31 °C (heat stress) for one week per year over three consecutive years. In the first year of heat stress, >96 % of juveniles survived despite symbiotic algal densities in juvenile corals declining. In comparison, survival rates in the third year of heat stress declined to 50 %. Survival rates under natural conditions after stress also gradually decreased in the stressed groups. The rate in the reduction of survivorship was prominent in the consecutive thermally stressed groups (juveniles stressed twice in two years). Symbiotic algal density and photosynthetic activity (Fv/Fm) also declined in stressed juvenile groups. However, heat stress did not significantly affect the growth of juveniles. In the third year of heat stress, temperature negatively affected the physiology of juveniles in terms of survivorship, brightness (an indicator of bleaching), symbiotic algal density, and photosynthetic efficiency. Stress across consecutive years appeared to cause the survivorship of juvenile corals to decline, with three years of stress contributing to the severe decline of a reef. In conclusion, A. tenuis juveniles are not able to acclimatize to heat stress, with successive heat waves of <7 days in the summer potentially negatively affecting resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanaz Hazraty-Kari
- Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
| | - Masaya Morita
- Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
| | | | - Takashi Nakamura
- Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan; Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Saki Harii
- Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
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15
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Travesso M, Missionário M, Cruz S, Calado R, Madeira D. Combined effect of marine heatwaves and light intensity on the cellular stress response and photophysiology of the leather coral Sarcophyton cf. glaucum. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 861:160460. [PMID: 36435249 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160460] [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: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Marine heatwaves (MHW) are threatening tropical coral reef ecosystems, leading to mass bleaching events worldwide. The combination of heat stress with high irradiance is known to shape the health and redox status of corals, but research is biased toward scleractinian corals, while much less is known on tropical symbiotic soft corals. Here, we evaluated the cellular stress response and the photophysiological performance of the soft coral Sarcophyton cf. glaucum, popularly termed as leather coral, under different global change scenarios. Corals were exposed to different light intensities (high light, low light, ∼662 and 253 μmol photons m-2 s-1) for 30 days (time-point 1) and a subsequent MHW simulation was carried out for 10 days (control 26 vs 32 °C) (time-point 2). Subsequently, corals were returned to control temperature and allowed to recover for 30 days (time-point 3). Photophysiological performance (maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), a measure of photosynthetic activity; dark-level fluorescence (F0), as a proxy of chlorophyll a content (Chl a); and zooxanthellae density) and stress biomarkers (total protein, antioxidants, lipid peroxidation, ubiquitin, and heat shock protein 70) were assessed in corals at these three time-points. Corals were especially sensitive to the combination of heat and high light stress, experiencing a decrease in their photosynthetic efficiency under these conditions. Heat stress resulted in bleaching via zooxanthellae loss while high light stress led to pigment (Chl a) loss. This species' antioxidant defenses, and protein degradation were particularly enhanced under heat stress. A recovery was clear for molecular parameters after 30 days of recovery, whereby photophysiological performance required more time to return to basal levels. We conclude that soft corals distributed along intertidal areas, where the light intensity is high, could be especially vulnerable to marine heatwave events, highlighting the need to direct conservation efforts toward these organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarida Travesso
- ECOMARE-Laboratory for Innovation and Sustainability of Marine Biological Resources, CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Estrada do Porto de Pesca Costeira, 3830-565 Gafanha da Nazaré, Portugal
| | - Madalena Missionário
- ECOMARE-Laboratory for Innovation and Sustainability of Marine Biological Resources, CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Estrada do Porto de Pesca Costeira, 3830-565 Gafanha da Nazaré, Portugal
| | - Sónia Cruz
- ECOMARE-Laboratory for Innovation and Sustainability of Marine Biological Resources, CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Estrada do Porto de Pesca Costeira, 3830-565 Gafanha da Nazaré, Portugal
| | - Ricardo Calado
- ECOMARE-Laboratory for Innovation and Sustainability of Marine Biological Resources, CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Estrada do Porto de Pesca Costeira, 3830-565 Gafanha da Nazaré, Portugal
| | - Diana Madeira
- ECOMARE-Laboratory for Innovation and Sustainability of Marine Biological Resources, CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Estrada do Porto de Pesca Costeira, 3830-565 Gafanha da Nazaré, Portugal.
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16
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Similarities in biomass and energy reserves among coral colonies from contrasting reef environments. Sci Rep 2023; 13:1355. [PMID: 36693980 PMCID: PMC9873650 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-28289-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs are declining worldwide, yet some coral populations are better adapted to withstand reductions in pH and the rising frequency of marine heatwaves. The nearshore reef habitats of Palau, Micronesia are a proxy for a future of warmer, more acidic oceans. Coral populations in these habitats can resist, and recover from, episodes of thermal stress better than offshore conspecifics. To explore the physiological basis of this tolerance, we compared tissue biomass (ash-free dry weight cm-2), energy reserves (i.e., protein, total lipid, carbohydrate content), and several important lipid classes in six coral species living in both offshore and nearshore environments. In contrast to expectations, a trend emerged of many nearshore colonies exhibiting lower biomass and energy reserves than colonies from offshore sites, which may be explained by the increased metabolic demand of living in a warmer, acidic, environment. Despite hosting different dinoflagellate symbiont species and having access to contrasting prey abundances, total lipid and lipid class compositions were similar in colonies from each habitat. Ultimately, while the regulation of colony biomass and energy reserves may be influenced by factors, including the identity of the resident symbiont, kind of food consumed, and host genetic attributes, these independent processes converged to a similar homeostatic set point under different environmental conditions.
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17
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Davies SW, Gamache MH, Howe-Kerr LI, Kriefall NG, Baker AC, Banaszak AT, Bay LK, Bellantuono AJ, Bhattacharya D, Chan CX, Claar DC, Coffroth MA, Cunning R, Davy SK, del Campo J, Díaz-Almeyda EM, Frommlet JC, Fuess LE, González-Pech RA, Goulet TL, Hoadley KD, Howells EJ, Hume BCC, Kemp DW, Kenkel CD, Kitchen SA, LaJeunesse TC, Lin S, McIlroy SE, McMinds R, Nitschke MR, Oakley CA, Peixoto RS, Prada C, Putnam HM, Quigley K, Reich HG, Reimer JD, Rodriguez-Lanetty M, Rosales SM, Saad OS, Sampayo EM, Santos SR, Shoguchi E, Smith EG, Stat M, Stephens TG, Strader ME, Suggett DJ, Swain TD, Tran C, Traylor-Knowles N, Voolstra CR, Warner ME, Weis VM, Wright RM, Xiang T, Yamashita H, Ziegler M, Correa AMS, Parkinson JE. Building consensus around the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15023. [PMID: 37151292 PMCID: PMC10162043 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Within microeukaryotes, genetic variation and functional variation sometimes accumulate more quickly than morphological differences. To understand the evolutionary history and ecology of such lineages, it is key to examine diversity at multiple levels of organization. In the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae, which can form endosymbioses with cnidarians (e.g., corals, octocorals, sea anemones, jellyfish), other marine invertebrates (e.g., sponges, molluscs, flatworms), and protists (e.g., foraminifera), molecular data have been used extensively over the past three decades to describe phenotypes and to make evolutionary and ecological inferences. Despite advances in Symbiodiniaceae genomics, a lack of consensus among researchers with respect to interpreting genetic data has slowed progress in the field and acted as a barrier to reconciling observations. Here, we identify key challenges regarding the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae genetic diversity across three levels: species, populations, and communities. We summarize areas of agreement and highlight techniques and approaches that are broadly accepted. In areas where debate remains, we identify unresolved issues and discuss technologies and approaches that can help to fill knowledge gaps related to genetic and phenotypic diversity. We also discuss ways to stimulate progress, in particular by fostering a more inclusive and collaborative research community. We hope that this perspective will inspire and accelerate coral reef science by serving as a resource to those designing experiments, publishing research, and applying for funding related to Symbiodiniaceae and their symbiotic partnerships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah W. Davies
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Matthew H. Gamache
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
| | | | | | - Andrew C. Baker
- Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Anastazia T. Banaszak
- Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto Morelos, Mexico
| | - Line Kolind Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia
| | - Anthony J. Bellantuono
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Debashish Bhattacharya
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Cheong Xin Chan
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Danielle C. Claar
- Nearshore Habitat Program, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA, USA
| | | | - Ross Cunning
- Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Simon K. Davy
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Javier del Campo
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC - Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | | | - Jörg C. Frommlet
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Lauren E. Fuess
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, United States
| | - Raúl A. González-Pech
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States
| | - Tamar L. Goulet
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS, United States
| | - Kenneth D. Hoadley
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama—Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
| | - Emily J. Howells
- National Marine Science Centre, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Dustin W. Kemp
- Department of Biology, University of Alabama—Birmingham, Birmingham, Al, United States
| | - Carly D. Kenkel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sheila A. Kitchen
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Todd C. LaJeunesse
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Senjie Lin
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Mansfield, CT, United States
| | - Shelby E. McIlroy
- Swire Institute of Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Ryan McMinds
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Disease Research, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
| | | | - Clinton A. Oakley
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Raquel S. Peixoto
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Carlos Prada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States
| | - Hollie M. Putnam
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States
| | | | - Hannah G. Reich
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States
| | - James Davis Reimer
- Department of Biology, Chemistry and Marine Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan
| | | | - Stephanie M. Rosales
- The Cooperative Institute For Marine and Atmospheric Studies, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Osama S. Saad
- Department of Biological Oceanography, Red Sea University, Port-Sudan, Sudan
| | - Eugenia M. Sampayo
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Scott R. Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Eiichi Shoguchi
- Marine Genomics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Edward G. Smith
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Michael Stat
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Timothy G. Stephens
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Marie E. Strader
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - David J. Suggett
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Timothy D. Swain
- Department of Marine and Environmental Science, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL, United States
| | - Cawa Tran
- Department of Biology, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Nikki Traylor-Knowles
- Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | | | - Mark E. Warner
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, United States
| | - Virginia M. Weis
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
| | - Rachel M. Wright
- Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Tingting Xiang
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Hiroshi Yamashita
- Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Maren Ziegler
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen (Germany), Giessen, Germany
| | | | - John Everett Parkinson
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
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18
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Bove CB, Ingersoll MV, Davies SW. Help Me, Symbionts, You're My Only Hope: Approaches to Accelerate our Understanding of Coral Holobiont Interactions. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:1756-1769. [PMID: 36099871 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Tropical corals construct the three-dimensional framework for one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, providing habitat to a plethora of species across taxa. However, these ecosystem engineers are facing unprecedented challenges, such as increasing disease prevalence and marine heatwaves associated with anthropogenic global change. As a result, major declines in coral cover and health are being observed across the world's oceans, often due to the breakdown of coral-associated symbioses. Here, we review the interactions between the major symbiotic partners of the coral holobiont-the cnidarian host, algae in the family Symbiodiniaceae, and the microbiome-that influence trait variation, including the molecular mechanisms that underlie symbiosis and the resulting physiological benefits of different microbial partnerships. In doing so, we highlight the current framework for the formation and maintenance of cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis, and the role that immunity pathways play in this relationship. We emphasize that understanding these complex interactions is challenging when you consider the vast genetic variation of the cnidarian host and algal symbiont, as well as their highly diverse microbiome, which is also an important player in coral holobiont health. Given the complex interactions between and among symbiotic partners, we propose several research directions and approaches focused on symbiosis model systems and emerging technologies that will broaden our understanding of how these partner interactions may facilitate the prediction of coral holobiont phenotype, especially under rapid environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colleen B Bove
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | | | - Sarah W Davies
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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19
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Fungal Host Affects Photosynthesis in a Lichen Holobiont. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8121267. [PMID: 36547600 PMCID: PMC9784818 DOI: 10.3390/jof8121267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Corals and lichens are iconic examples of photosynthetic holobionts, i.e., ecological and evolutionary units resulting from the tightly integrated association of algae and prokaryotic microbiota with animal or fungal hosts, respectively. While the role of the coral host in modulating photosynthesis has been clarified to a large extent in coral holobionts, the role of the fungal host in this regard is far less understood. Here, we address this question by taking advantage of the recent discovery of highly specific fungal-algal pairings corresponding to climatically adapted ecotypes of the lichen-forming genus Umbilicaria. Specifically, we compared chlorophyll a fluorescence kinetics among lichen thalli consisting of different fungal-algal combinations. We show that photosynthetic performance in these lichens is not only driven by algal genotype, but also by fungal host species identity and intra-host genotype. These findings shed new light on the closely intertwined physiological processes of fungal and algal partners in the lichen symbiosis. Indeed, the specific combinations of fungal and algal genotypes within a lichen individual-and the resulting combined functional phenotype-can be regarded as a response to the environment. Our findings suggest that characterizing the genetic composition of both eukaryotic partners is an important complimentary step to understand and predict the lichen holobiont's responses to environmental change.
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20
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LaJeunesse TC, Casado-Amezúa P, Hume BCC, Butler CC, Mordret S, Piredda R, De Luca P, Pannone R, Sarno D, Wiedenmann J, D’Ambra I. Mutualistic dinoflagellates with big disparities in ribosomal DNA variation may confound estimates of symbiont diversity and ecology in the jellyfish Cotylorhiza tuberculata. Symbiosis 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-022-00880-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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21
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Symbiont genotype influences holobiont response to increased temperature. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18394. [PMID: 36319835 PMCID: PMC9626619 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23244-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
As coral reefs face warming oceans and increased coral bleaching, a whitening of the coral due to loss of microalgal endosymbionts, the possibility of evolutionary rescue offers some hope for reef persistence. In tightly linked mutualisms, evolutionary rescue may occur through evolution of the host and/or endosymbionts. Many obligate mutualisms are composed of relatively small, fast-growing symbionts with greater potential to evolve on ecologically relevant time scales than their relatively large, slower growing hosts. Numerous jellyfish species harbor closely related endosymbiont taxa to other cnidarian species such as coral, and are commonly used as a model system for investigating cnidarian mutualisms. We examined the potential for adaptation of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana to increased temperature via evolution of its microalgal endosymbiont, Symbiodinium microadriaticum. We quantified trait variation among five algal genotypes in response to three temperatures (26 °C, 30 °C, and 32 °C) and fitness of hosts infected with each genotype. All genotypes showed positive growth rates at each temperature, but rates of respiration and photosynthesis decreased with increased temperature. Responses varied among genotypes but were unrelated to genetic similarity. The effect of temperature on asexual reproduction and the timing of development in the host also depended on the genotype of the symbiont. Natural selection could favor different algal genotypes at different temperatures, affecting host fitness. This eco-evolutionary interaction may be a critical component of understanding species resilience in increasingly stressful environments.
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22
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Pratomo A, Bengen DG, Zamani NP, Lane C, Humphries AT, Borbee E, Subhan B, Madduppa H. Diversity and distribution of Symbiodiniaceae detected on coral reefs of Lombok, Indonesia using environmental DNA metabarcoding. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14006. [PMID: 36312748 PMCID: PMC9610659 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Dinoflagellates of family Symbiodiniaceae are important to coral reef ecosystems because of their contribution to coral health and growth; however, only a few studies have investigated the function and distribution of Symbiodiniaceae in Indonesia. Understanding the distribution of different kinds of Symbiodiniaceae can improve forecasting of future responses of various coral reef systems to climate change. This study aimed to determine the diversity of Symbiodiniaceae around Lombok using environmental DNA (eDNA). Methods Seawater and sediment samples were collected from 18 locations and filtered to obtain fractions of 0.4-12 and >12 µm. After extraction, molecular barcoding polymerase chain reaction was conducted to amplify the primary V9-SSU 18S rRNA gene, followed by sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). BLAST, Naïve-fit-Bayes, and maximum likelihood routines were used for classification and phylogenetic reconstruction. We compared results across sampling sites, sample types (seawater/sediment), and filter pore sizes (fraction). Results Phylogenetic analyses resolved the amplicon sequence variants into 16 subclades comprising six Symbiodiniaceae genera (or genera-equivalent clades) as follows: Symbiodinium, Breviolum, Cladocopium, Durusdinium, Foraminifera Clade G, and Halluxium. Comparative analyses showed that the three distinct lineages within Cladocopium, Durusdinium, and Foraminifera Clade G were the most common. Most of the recovered sequences appeared to be distinctive of different sampling locations, supporting the possibility that eDNA may resolve regional and local differences among Symbiodiniaceae genera and species. Conclusions eDNA surveys offer a rapid proxy for evaluating Symbiodiniaceae species on coral reefs and are a potentially useful approach to revealing diversity and relative ecological dominance of certain Symbiodiniaceae organisms. Moreover, Symbiodiniaceae eDNA analysis shows potential in monitoring the local and regional stability of coral-algal mutualisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arief Pratomo
- Raja Ali Haji Maritime University, Tanjungpinang, Indonesia,Department of Marine Science and Technology, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Dietriech G. Bengen
- Department of Marine Science and Technology, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Neviaty P. Zamani
- Department of Marine Science and Technology, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Christopher Lane
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Austin T. Humphries
- Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Erin Borbee
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - Beginer Subhan
- Department of Marine Science and Technology, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Hawis Madduppa
- Department of Marine Science and Technology, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor, Indonesia,Oceanogen Research Center, Bogor, Indonesia
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23
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Global change differentially modulates Caribbean coral physiology. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273897. [PMID: 36054126 PMCID: PMC9439252 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Global change driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions is altering ecosystems at unprecedented rates, especially coral reefs, whose symbiosis with algal symbionts is particularly vulnerable to increasing ocean temperatures and altered carbonate chemistry. Here, we assess the physiological responses of three Caribbean coral (animal host + algal symbiont) species from an inshore and offshore reef environment after exposure to simulated ocean warming (28, 31°C), acidification (300–3290 μatm), and the combination of stressors for 93 days. We used multidimensional analyses to assess how a variety of coral physiological parameters respond to ocean acidification and warming. Our results demonstrate reductions in coral health in Siderastrea siderea and Porites astreoides in response to projected ocean acidification, while future warming elicited severe declines in Pseudodiploria strigosa. Offshore S. siderea fragments exhibited higher physiological plasticity than inshore counterparts, suggesting that this offshore population was more susceptible to changing conditions. There were no plasticity differences in P. strigosa and P. astreoides between natal reef environments, however, temperature evoked stronger responses in both species. Interestingly, while each species exhibited unique physiological responses to ocean acidification and warming, when data from all three species are modelled together, convergent stress responses to these conditions are observed, highlighting the overall sensitivities of tropical corals to these stressors. Our results demonstrate that while ocean warming is a severe acute stressor that will have dire consequences for coral reefs globally, chronic exposure to acidification may also impact coral physiology to a greater extent in some species than previously assumed. Further, our study identifies S. siderea and P. astreoides as potential ‘winners’ on future Caribbean coral reefs due to their resilience under projected global change stressors, while P. strigosa will likely be a ‘loser’ due to their sensitivity to thermal stress events. Together, these species-specific responses to global change we observe will likely manifest in altered Caribbean reef assemblages in the future.
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24
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Al-Hammady MA, Silva TF, Hussein HN, Saxena G, Modolo LV, Belasy MB, Westphal H, Farag MA. How do algae endosymbionts mediate for their coral host fitness under heat stress? A comprehensive mechanistic overview. ALGAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2022.102850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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25
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Humanes A, Lachs L, Beauchamp EA, Bythell JC, Edwards AJ, Golbuu Y, Martinez HM, Palmowski P, Treumann A, van der Steeg E, van Hooidonk R, Guest JR. Within-population variability in coral heat tolerance indicates climate adaptation potential. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220872. [PMID: 36043280 PMCID: PMC9428547 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs are facing unprecedented mass bleaching and mortality events due to marine heatwaves and climate change. To avoid extirpation, corals must adapt. Individual variation in heat tolerance and its heritability underpin the potential for coral adaptation. However, the magnitude of heat tolerance variability within coral populations is largely unresolved. We address this knowledge gap by exposing corals from a single reef to an experimental marine heatwave. We found that double the heat stress dosage was required to induce bleaching in the most-tolerant 10%, compared to the least-tolerant 10% of the population. By the end of the heat stress exposure, all of the least-tolerant corals were dead, whereas the most-tolerant remained alive. To contextualize the scale of this result over the coming century, we show that under an ambitious future emissions scenario, such differences in coral heat tolerance thresholds equate to up to 17 years delay until the onset of annual bleaching and mortality conditions. However, this delay is limited to only 10 years under a high emissions scenario. Our results show substantial variability in coral heat tolerance which suggests scope for natural or assisted evolution to limit the impacts of climate change in the short-term. For coral reefs to persist through the coming century, coral adaptation must keep pace with ocean warming, and ambitious emissions reductions must be realized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Humanes
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Liam Lachs
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Elizabeth A Beauchamp
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - John C Bythell
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Alasdair J Edwards
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | | | - Helios M Martinez
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Paweł Palmowski
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Achim Treumann
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Eveline van der Steeg
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Ruben van Hooidonk
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA.,Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL 33149, USA
| | - James R Guest
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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26
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Martínez-Castillo V, Rodríguez-Troncoso AP, Bautista-Guerrero E, Cupul-Magaña AL. Symbiont-coral relationship in the main reef building scleractinians of the Central Mexican Pacific. Symbiosis 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-022-00848-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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27
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Quigley KM, van Oppen MJH. Predictive models for the selection of thermally tolerant corals based on offspring survival. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1543. [PMID: 35351901 PMCID: PMC8964693 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28956-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Finding coral reefs resilient to climate warming is challenging given the large spatial scale of reef ecosystems. Methods are needed to predict the location of corals with heritable tolerance to high temperatures. Here, we combine Great Barrier Reef-scale remote sensing with breeding experiments that estimate larval and juvenile coral survival under exposure to high temperatures. Using reproductive corals collected from the northern and central Great Barrier Reef, we develop forecasting models to locate reefs harbouring corals capable of producing offspring with increased heat tolerance of an additional 3.4° heating weeks (~3 °C). Our findings predict hundreds of reefs (~7.5%) may be home to corals that have high and heritable heat-tolerance in habitats with high daily and annual temperature ranges and historically variable heat stress. The locations identified represent targets for protection and consideration as a source of corals for use in restoration of degraded reefs given their potential to resist climate change impacts and repopulate reefs with tolerant offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- K M Quigley
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
| | - M J H van Oppen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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28
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Dougan KE, González-Pech RA, Stephens TG, Shah S, Chen Y, Ragan MA, Bhattacharya D, Chan CX. Genome-powered classification of microbial eukaryotes: focus on coral algal symbionts. Trends Microbiol 2022; 30:831-840. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2022.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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29
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Robert Kent Trench (1940–2021): a life devoted to symbiotic mutualisms and seeking nature’s truth. Symbiosis 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-021-00817-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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30
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Haydon TD, Seymour JR, Raina JB, Edmondson J, Siboni N, Matthews JL, Camp EF, Suggett DJ. Rapid Shifts in Bacterial Communities and Homogeneity of Symbiodiniaceae in Colonies of Pocillopora acuta Transplanted Between Reef and Mangrove Environments. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:756091. [PMID: 34759906 PMCID: PMC8575411 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.756091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been proposed that an effective approach for predicting whether and how reef-forming corals persist under future climate change is to examine populations thriving in present day extreme environments, such as mangrove lagoons, where water temperatures can exceed those of reef environments by more than 3°C, pH levels are more acidic (pH < 7.9, often below 7.6) and O2 concentrations are regularly considered hypoxic (<2 mg/L). Defining the physiological features of these “extreme” corals, as well as their relationships with the, often symbiotic, organisms within their microbiome, could increase our understanding of how corals will persist into the future. To better understand coral-microbe relationships that potentially underpin coral persistence within extreme mangrove environments, we therefore conducted a 9-month reciprocal transplant experiment, whereby specimens of the coral Pocillopora acuta were transplanted between adjacent mangrove and reef sites on the northern Great Barrier Reef. Bacterial communities associated with P. acuta specimens native to the reef environment were dominated by Endozoicomonas, while Symbiodiniaceae communities were dominated by members of the Cladocopium genus. In contrast, P. acuta colonies native to the mangrove site exhibited highly diverse bacterial communities with no dominating members, and Symbiodiniaceae communities dominated by Durusdinium. All corals survived for 9 months after being transplanted from reef-to-mangrove, mangrove-to-reef environments (as well as control within environment transplants), and during this time there were significant changes in the bacterial communities, but not in the Symbiodiniaceae communities or their photo-physiological functioning. In reef-to-mangrove transplanted corals, there were varied, but sometimes rapid shifts in the associated bacterial communities, including a loss of “core” bacterial members after 9 months where coral bacterial communities began to resemble those of the native mangrove corals. Bacterial communities associated with mangrove-to-reef P. acuta colonies also changed from their original composition, but remained different to the native reef corals. Our data demonstrates that P. acuta associated bacterial communities are strongly influenced by changes in environmental conditions, whereas Symbiodiniaceae associated communities remain highly stable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trent D Haydon
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Justin R Seymour
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | | | | | - Nachshon Siboni
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Emma F Camp
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - David J Suggett
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
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31
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Turnham KE, Wham DC, Sampayo E, LaJeunesse TC. Mutualistic microalgae co-diversify with reef corals that acquire symbionts during egg development. THE ISME JOURNAL 2021; 15:3271-3285. [PMID: 34012104 PMCID: PMC8528872 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-01007-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The application of molecular genetics has reinvigorated and improved how species are defined and investigated scientifically, especially for morphologically cryptic micro-organisms. Here we show how species recognition improves understanding of the ecology and evolution of mutualisms between reef-building corals and their mutualistic dinoflagellates (i.e. Symbiodiniaceae). A combination of genetic, ecological, and morphological evidence defines two sibling species of Cladocopium (formerly Symbiodinium Clade C), specific only to host corals in the common genus Pocillopora, which transmit their obligate symbionts during oogenesis. Cladocopium latusorum sp. nov. is symbiotic with P. grandis/meandrina while the smaller-celled C. pacificum sp. nov. associates with P. verrucosa. Both symbiont species form mutualisms with Pocillopora that brood their young. Populations of each species, like their hosts, are genetically well connected across the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean, indicating a capacity for long-range dispersal. A molecular clock approximates their speciation during the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene as Earth underwent cycles of precipitous cooling and warming; and corresponds to when their hosts were also diversifying. The long temporal and spatial maintenance of high host fidelity, as well as genetic connectivity across thousands of kilometers, indicates that distinct ecological attributes and close evolutionary histories will restrain the adaptive responses of corals and their specialized symbionts to rapid climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Drew C Wham
- Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | - Todd C LaJeunesse
- Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA.
- Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, University Park, PA, USA.
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Scucchia F, Malik A, Putnam HM, Mass T. Genetic and physiological traits conferring tolerance to ocean acidification in mesophotic corals. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:5276-5294. [PMID: 34310005 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The integrity of coral reefs worldwide is jeopardized by ocean acidification (OA). Most studies conducted so far have focused on the vulnerability to OA of corals inhabiting shallow reefs while nothing is currently known about the response of mesophotic scleractinian corals. In this study, we assessed the susceptibility to OA of corals, together with their algal partners, inhabiting a wide depth range. We exposed fragments of the depth generalist coral Stylophora pistillata collected from either 5 or 45 m to simulated future OA conditions, and assessed key molecular, physiological and photosynthetic processes influenced by the lowered pH. Our comparative analysis reveals that mesophotic and shallow S. pistillata corals are genetically distinct and possess different symbiont types. Under the exposure to acidification conditions, we observed a 50% drop of metabolic rate in shallow corals, whereas mesophotic corals were able to maintain unaltered metabolic rates. Overall, our gene expression and physiological analyses show that mesophotic corals possess a greater capacity to cope with the effects of OA compared to their shallow counterparts. Such capability stems from physiological characteristics (i.e., biomass and lipids energetics), a greater capacity to regulate cellular acid-base parameters, and a higher baseline expression of cell adhesion and extracellular matrix genes. Moreover, our gene expression analysis suggests that the enhanced symbiont photochemical efficiency under high pCO2 levels could prevent acidosis of the host cells and it could support a greater translocation of photosynthates, increasing the energy pool available to the host. With this work, we provide new insights on the response to OA of corals living at mesophotic depths. Our investigation discloses key genetic and physiological traits underlying the potential for corals to cope with future OA conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Scucchia
- Department of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney school of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Interuniversity Institute of Marine Sciences, Eilat, Israel
| | - Assaf Malik
- Department of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney school of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Hollie M Putnam
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Tali Mass
- Department of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney school of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Sdot Yam, Israel
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Hoadley KD, Pettay DT, Lewis A, Wham D, Grasso C, Smith R, Kemp DW, LaJeunesse T, Warner ME. Different functional traits among closely related algal symbionts dictate stress endurance for vital Indo-Pacific reef-building corals. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:5295-5309. [PMID: 34255912 PMCID: PMC9291761 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Reef-building corals in the genus Porites are one of the most important constituents of Indo-Pacific reefs. Many species within this genus tolerate abnormally warm water and exhibit high specificity for particular kinds of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates that cope with thermal stress better than those living in other corals. Still, during extreme ocean heating, some Porites exhibit differences in their stress tolerance. While corals have different physiological qualities, it remains unknown whether the stability and performance of these mutualisms is influenced by the physiology and genetic relatedness of their symbionts. We investigated two ubiquitous Pacific reef corals, Porites rus and Porites cylindrica, from warmer inshore and cooler offshore reef systems in Palau. While these corals harbored a similar kind of symbiont in the genus Cladocopium (within the ITS2 C15 subclade), rapidly evolving genetic markers revealed evolutionarily diverged lineages corresponding to each Porites species living in each reef habitat. Furthermore, these closely related Cladocopium lineages were differentiated by their densities in host tissues, cell volume, chlorophyll concentration, gross photosynthesis, and photoprotective pathways. When assessed using several physiological proxies, these previously undifferentiated symbionts contrasted in their tolerance to thermal stress. Symbionts within P. cylindrica were relatively unaffected by exposure to 32℃ for 14 days, whereas P. rus colonies lost substantial numbers of photochemically compromised symbionts. Heating reduced the ability of the offshore symbiont associated with P. rus to translocate carbon to the coral. By contrast, high temperatures enhanced symbiont carbon assimilation and delivery to the coral skeleton of inshore P. cylindrica. This study indicates that large physiological differences exist even among closely related symbionts, with significant implications for thermal susceptibility among reef-building Porites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth D. Hoadley
- School of Marine Science and PolicyUniversity of DelawareLewesUK
- Biological SciencesUniversity of AlabamaTuscaloosaAlabamaUSA
- Dauphin Island Sea LabDauphin IslandAlabamaUSA
| | - Daniel. T. Pettay
- School of Marine Science and PolicyUniversity of DelawareLewesUK
- Present address:
University of South CarolinaBeaufortSouth CarolinaUSA
| | - Allison Lewis
- Department of BiologyPennsylvania State Institutes of Energy and the EnvironmentUniversity ParkPennsylvaniaUSA
- Present address:
National Science FoundationSilver SpringsMarylandUSA
| | - Drew Wham
- Department of BiologyPennsylvania State Institutes of Energy and the EnvironmentUniversity ParkPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Chris Grasso
- School of Marine Science and PolicyUniversity of DelawareLewesUK
| | - Robin Smith
- Science Under SailWellington ParkQLDAustralia
- Present address:
The Nature ConservancySt. CroixUS Virgin IslandsUSA
| | - Dustin W. Kemp
- Department of BiologyUniversity of AlabamaBirminghamAlabamaUSA
| | - Todd LaJeunesse
- Department of BiologyPennsylvania State Institutes of Energy and the EnvironmentUniversity ParkPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Mark E. Warner
- School of Marine Science and PolicyUniversity of DelawareLewesUK
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Abstract
Recent human activity has profoundly transformed Earth biomes on a scale and at rates that are unprecedented. Given the central role of symbioses in ecosystem processes, functions, and services throughout the Earth biosphere, the impacts of human-driven change on symbioses are critical to understand. Symbioses are not merely collections of organisms, but co-evolved partners that arise from the synergistic combination and action of different genetic programs. They function with varying degrees of permanence and selection as emergent units with substantial potential for combinatorial and evolutionary innovation in both structure and function. Following an articulation of operational definitions of symbiosis and related concepts and characteristics of the Anthropocene, we outline a basic typology of anthropogenic change (AC) and a conceptual framework for how AC might mechanistically impact symbioses with select case examples to highlight our perspective. We discuss surprising connections between symbiosis and the Anthropocene, suggesting ways in which new symbioses could arise due to AC, how symbioses could be agents of ecosystem change, and how symbioses, broadly defined, of humans and “farmed” organisms may have launched the Anthropocene. We conclude with reflections on the robustness of symbioses to AC and our perspective on the importance of symbioses as ecosystem keystones and the need to tackle anthropogenic challenges as wise and humble stewards embedded within the system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik F Y Hom
- Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Research, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
| | - Alexandra S Penn
- Department of Sociology and Centre for Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH UK
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Pang HE, Poquita-Du RC, Jain SS, Huang D, Todd PA. Among-genotype responses of the coral Pocillopora acuta to emersion: implications for the ecological engineering of artificial coastal defences. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 168:105312. [PMID: 33848694 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105312] [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: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Stony corals are promising transplant candidates for the ecological engineering of artificial coastal defences such as seawalls as they attract and host numerous other organisms. However, seawalls are exposed to a wide range of environmental stressors associated with periods of emersion during low tide such as desiccation and changes in salinity, temperature, and solar irradiance. All of these variables have known deleterious effects on coral physiology, growth, and fitness. In this study, we performed parallel experiments (in situ and ex situ) to examine among-genotype responses of Pocillopora acuta to emersion by quantifying growth, photophysiological metrics (Fv/Fm, non-photochemical quenching [NPQ], endosymbiont density, and chlorophyll [chl] a concentration) and survival, following different emersion periods. Results showed that coral fragments emersed for longer durations (>2 h) exhibited reduced growth and survival. Endosymbiont density and NPQ, but not Fv/Fm and chl a concentration, varied significantly among genotypes across different durations of emersion. Overall, the ability of P. acuta to tolerate emersion for up to 2 h suggests its potential to serve as a 'starter species' for transplantation efforts on seawalls. Further, careful characterisation and selection of genotypes with a high capacity to withstand emersion can help maximise the efficacy of ecological engineering using coral transplants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui En Pang
- Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, 117558, Singapore
| | - Rosa Celia Poquita-Du
- Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, 117558, Singapore.
| | - Sudhanshi Sanjeev Jain
- Reef Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, 117558, Singapore
| | - Danwei Huang
- Reef Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, 117558, Singapore
| | - Peter A Todd
- Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, 117558, Singapore.
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Oladi M, Rouzbehani S, Ahmadzadeh F, Ghazilou A. Dynamics of Dipsastraea pallida-symbiont association following bleaching events across the northern Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Symbiosis 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-021-00773-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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37
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Reich HG, Tu WC, Rodriguez IB, Chou Y, Keister EF, Kemp DW, LaJeunesse TC, Ho TY. Iron Availability Modulates the Response of Endosymbiotic Dinoflagellates to Heat Stress. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2021; 57:3-13. [PMID: 32996595 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Warming and nutrient limitation are stressors known to weaken the health of microalgae. In situations of stress, access to energy reserves can minimize physiological damage. Because of its widespread requirements in biochemical processes, iron is an important trace metal, especially for photosynthetic organisms. Lowered iron availability in oceans experiencing rising temperatures may contribute to the thermal sensitivity of reef-building corals, which rely on mutualisms with dinoflagellates to survive. To test the influence of iron concentration on thermal sensitivity, the physiological responses of cultured symbiotic dinoflagellates (genus Breviolum; family Symbiodiniaceae) were evaluated when exposed to increasing temperatures (26 to 30°C) and iron concentrations ranging from replete (500 pM Fe') to limiting (50 pM Fe') under a diurnal light cycle with saturating radiance. Declines in photosynthetic efficiency at elevated temperatures indicated sensitivity to heat stress. Furthermore, five times the amount of iron was needed to reach exponential growth during heat stress (50 pM Fe' at 26-28°C vs. 250 pM Fe' at 30°C). In treatments where exponential growth was reached, Breviolum psygmophilum grew faster than B.minutum, possibly due to greater cellular contents of iron and other trace metals. The metal composition of B.psygmophilum shifted only at the highest temperature (30°C), whereas changes in B.minutum were observed at lower temperatures (28°C). The influence of iron availability in modulating each alga's response to thermal stress suggests the importance of trace metals to the health of coral-algal mutualisms. Ultimately, a greater ability to acquire scarce metals may improve the tolerance of corals to physiological stressors and contribute to the differences in performance associated with hosting one symbiont species over another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah G Reich
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Wan-Chen Tu
- Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Irene B Rodriguez
- Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yalan Chou
- Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Elise F Keister
- Department of Biology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - Dustin W Kemp
- Department of Biology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - Todd C LaJeunesse
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Tung-Yuan Ho
- Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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38
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Davies SW, Moreland KN, Wham DC, Kanke MR, Matz MV. Cladocopium community divergence in two Acropora coral hosts across multiple spatial scales. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:4559-4572. [PMID: 33002237 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Many broadly-dispersing corals acquire their algal symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) "horizontally" from their environment upon recruitment. Horizontal transmission could promote coral fitness across diverse environments provided that corals can associate with divergent algae across their range and that these symbionts exhibit reduced dispersal potential. Here we quantified community divergence of Cladocopium algal symbionts in two coral host species (Acropora hyacinthus, Acropora digitifera) across two spatial scales (reefs on the same island, and between islands) across the Micronesian archipelago using microsatellites. We find that both hosts associated with a variety of multilocus genotypes (MLG) within two genetically distinct Cladocopium lineages (C40, C21), confirming that Acropora coral hosts associate with a range of Cladocopium symbionts across this region. Both C40 and C21 included multiple asexual lineages bearing identical MLGs, many of which spanned host species, reef sites within islands, and even different islands. Both C40 and C21 exhibited moderate host specialization and divergence across islands. In addition, within every island, algal symbiont communities were significantly clustered by both host species and reef site, highlighting that coral-associated Cladocopium communities are structured across small spatial scales and within hosts on the same reef. This is in stark contrast to their coral hosts, which never exhibited significant genetic divergence between reefs on the same island. These results support the view that horizontal transmission could improve local fitness for broadly dispersing Acropora coral species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah W Davies
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Kelsey N Moreland
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Drew C Wham
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Matt R Kanke
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Mikhail V Matz
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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39
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In vivo assessment of mitochondrial respiratory alternative oxidase activity and cyclic electron flow around photosystem I on small coral fragments. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17514. [PMID: 33060749 PMCID: PMC7562913 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74557-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The mutualistic relationship existing between scleractinian corals and their photosynthetic endosymbionts involves a complex integration of the metabolic pathways within the holobiont. Respiration and photosynthesis are the most important of these processes and although they have been extensively studied, our understanding of their interactions and regulatory mechanisms is still limited. In this work we performed chlorophyll-a fluorescence, oxygen exchange and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy measurements on small and thin fragments (0.3 cm2) of the coral Stylophora pistillata. We showed that the capacity of mitochondrial alternative oxidase accounted for ca. 25% of total coral respiration, and that the high-light dependent oxygen uptake, commonly present in isolated Symbiodiniaceae, was negligible. The ratio between photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII) active centers as well as their respective electron transport rates, indicated that PSI cyclic electron flow occurred in high light in S. pistillata and in some branching and lamellar coral species freshly collected in the field. Altogether, these results show the potential of applying advanced biophysical and spectroscopic methods on small coral fragments to understand the complex mechanisms of coral photosynthesis and respiration and their responses to environmental changes.
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40
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Herrera M, Klein SG, Schmidt‐Roach S, Campana S, Cziesielski MJ, Chen JE, Duarte CM, Aranda M. Unfamiliar partnerships limit cnidarian holobiont acclimation to warming. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:5539-5553. [PMID: 32627905 PMCID: PMC7539969 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Enhancing the resilience of corals to rising temperatures is now a matter of urgency, leading to growing efforts to explore the use of heat tolerant symbiont species to improve their thermal resilience. The notion that adaptive traits can be retained by transferring the symbionts alone, however, challenges the holobiont concept, a fundamental paradigm in coral research. Holobiont traits are products of a specific community (holobiont) and all its co-evolutionary and local adaptations, which might limit the retention or transference of holobiont traits by exchanging only one partner. Here we evaluate how interchanging partners affect the short- and long-term performance of holobionts under heat stress using clonal lineages of the cnidarian model system Aiptasia (host and Symbiodiniaceae strains) originating from distinct thermal environments. Our results show that holobionts from more thermally variable environments have higher plasticity to heat stress, but this resilience could not be transferred to other host genotypes through the exchange of symbionts. Importantly, our findings highlight the role of the host in determining holobiont productivity in response to thermal stress and indicate that local adaptations of holobionts will likely limit the efficacy of interchanging unfamiliar compartments to enhance thermal tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Herrera
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
| | - Shannon G. Klein
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
| | - Sebastian Schmidt‐Roach
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
| | - Sara Campana
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
- Present address:
Faculty of ScienceInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem DynamicsUniversity of Amsterdam1090 GEAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Maha J. Cziesielski
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
| | - Jit Ern Chen
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
- Present address:
School of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Biological SciencesSunway UniversitySubang JayaSelangorMalaysia
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
| | - Manuel Aranda
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division (BESE)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
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41
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Temperature transcends partner specificity in the symbiosis establishment of a cnidarian. ISME JOURNAL 2020; 15:141-153. [PMID: 32934356 PMCID: PMC7852570 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-00768-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Coral reef research has predominantly focused on the effect of temperature on the breakdown of coral-dinoflagellate symbioses. However, less is known about how increasing temperature affects the establishment of new coral-dinoflagellate associations. Inter-partner specificity and environment-dependent colonization are two constraints proposed to limit the acquisition of more heat tolerant symbionts. Here, we investigated the symbiotic dynamics of various photosymbionts in different host genotypes under “optimal” and elevated temperature conditions. To do this, we inoculated symbiont-free polyps of the sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida originating from Hawaii (H2), North Carolina (CC7), and the Red Sea (RS) with the same mixture of native symbiont strains (Breviolum minutum, Symbiodinium linucheae, S. microadriaticum, and a Breviolum type from the Red Sea) at 25 and 32 °C, and assessed their ITS2 composition, colonization rates, and PSII photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm). Symbiont communities across thermal conditions differed significantly for all hosts, suggesting that temperature rather than partner specificity had a stronger effect on symbiosis establishment. Overall, we detected higher abundances of more heat resistant Symbiodiniaceae types in the 32 °C treatments. Our data further showed that PSII photophysiology under elevated temperature improved with thermal pre-exposure (i.e., higher Fv/Fm), yet, this effect depended on host genotype and was influenced by active feeding as photochemical efficiency dropped in response to food deprivation. These findings highlight the role of temperature and partner fidelity in the establishment and performance of symbiosis and demonstrate the importance of heterotrophy for symbiotic cnidarians to endure and recover from stress.
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42
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Nitschke MR, Craveiro SC, Brandão C, Fidalgo C, Serôdio J, Calado AJ, Frommlet JC. Description of Freudenthalidium gen. nov. and Halluxium gen. nov. to Formally Recognize Clades Fr3 and H as Genera in the Family Symbiodiniaceae (Dinophyceae). JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2020; 56:923-940. [PMID: 32267533 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The Symbiodiniaceae are a family of marine dinoflagellates known mostly for their endosymbiotic interactions with invertebrates and protists, but facultatively and exclusively free-living life histories in this family are also evident. A recent systematic revision of the Symbiodiniaceae replaced the clade-based nomenclature of seven divergent lineages of "Symbiodinium" sensu lato with one based on formally described genera. The revised taxonomy was not extended to the whole group because type species to describe a new genus for each of the remaining clades and subclades were lacking. In an effort to characterize benthic habitats of symbiodiniaceans in sediments at Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef, Australia), we isolated >100 monoclonal Symbiodiniaceae cultures. Four of these belonged to Symbiodiniaceae 'subclade' Fr3, and three to Clade H, based on nucleotide sequence similarity (ITS2, LSU, cp23S, and mtCOB), representing the first cultures of these taxa. Based on these isolates, we propose two new genera: Freudenthalidium gen. nov. and Halluxium gen. nov., circumscribing Clades Fr3 and H, respectively. Three new species are described: Freudenthalidium heronense, F. endolithicum, and Halluxium pauxillum. Kofoidian tabulations of motile cells confirm previous observations that amphiesmal vesicle arrangements are generally conserved across the family. These descriptions are an important step toward completing the systematic revision of the Symbiodiniaceae. That this contribution was enabled by isolates from an endopsammic habitat highlights the potential of discovering new symbiodiniacean species in the environment, the study of which will lead to a deeper understanding of free-living versus symbiotic life histories in this ecologically important family of dinoflagellates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Nitschke
- Department of Biology and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand
| | - Sandra C Craveiro
- Department of Biology and GeoBioTec Research Unit, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Cláudio Brandão
- Department of Biology and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Cátia Fidalgo
- Department of Biology and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - João Serôdio
- Department of Biology and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - António J Calado
- Department of Biology and GeoBioTec Research Unit, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Jörg C Frommlet
- Department of Biology and Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
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43
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Kitchen SA, Von Kuster G, Kuntz KLV, Reich HG, Miller W, Griffin S, Fogarty ND, Baums IB. STAGdb: a 30K SNP genotyping array and Science Gateway for Acropora corals and their dinoflagellate symbionts. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12488. [PMID: 32719467 PMCID: PMC7385180 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69101-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Standardized identification of genotypes is necessary in animals that reproduce asexually and form large clonal populations such as coral. We developed a high-resolution hybridization-based genotype array coupled with an analysis workflow and database for the most speciose genus of coral, Acropora, and their symbionts. We designed the array to co-analyze host and symbionts based on bi-allelic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers identified from genomic data of the two Caribbean Acropora species as well as their dominant dinoflagellate symbiont, Symbiodinium ‘fitti’. SNPs were selected to resolve multi-locus genotypes of host (called genets) and symbionts (called strains), distinguish host populations and determine ancestry of coral hybrids between Caribbean acroporids. Pacific acroporids can also be genotyped using a subset of the SNP loci and additional markers enable the detection of symbionts belonging to the genera Breviolum, Cladocopium, and Durusdinium. Analytic tools to produce multi-locus genotypes of hosts based on these SNP markers were combined in a workflow called the Standard Tools for Acroporid Genotyping (STAG). The STAG workflow and database are contained within a customized Galaxy environment (https://coralsnp.science.psu.edu/galaxy/), which allows for consistent identification of host genet and symbiont strains and serves as a template for the development of arrays for additional coral genera. STAG data can be used to track temporal and spatial changes of sampled genets necessary for restoration planning and can be applied to downstream genomic analyses. Using STAG, we uncover bi-directional hybridization between and population structure within Caribbean acroporids and detect a cryptic Acroporid species in the Pacific.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Kitchen
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - G Von Kuster
- The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - K L Vasquez Kuntz
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - H G Reich
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - W Miller
- Centre for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - S Griffin
- NOAA Restoration Center, 260 Guard Rd., Aguadilla, PR, 00603, USA
| | - Nicole D Fogarty
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, 28403, USA
| | - I B Baums
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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Swain TD, Lax S, Backman V, Marcelino LA. Uncovering the role of Symbiodiniaceae assemblage composition and abundance in coral bleaching response by minimizing sampling and evolutionary biases. BMC Microbiol 2020; 20:124. [PMID: 32429833 PMCID: PMC7236918 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-01765-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Biodiversity and productivity of coral-reef ecosystems depend upon reef-building corals and their associations with endosymbiotic Symbiodiniaceae, which offer diverse functional capabilities to their hosts. The number of unique symbiotic partners (richness) and relative abundances (evenness) have been hypothesized to affect host response to climate change induced thermal stress. Symbiodiniaceae assemblages with many unique phylotypes may provide greater physiological flexibility or form less stable symbioses; assemblages with low abundance phylotypes may allow corals to retain thermotolerant symbionts or represent associations with less-suitable symbionts. RESULTS Here we demonstrate that true richness of Symbiodiniaceae phylotype assemblages is generally not discoverable from direct enumeration of unique phylotypes in association records and that cross host-species comparisons are biased by sampling and evolutionary patterns among species. These biases can be minimized through rarefaction of richness (rarefied-richness) and evenness (Probability of Interspecific Encounter, PIE), and analyses that account for phylogenetic patterns. These standardized metrics were calculated for individual Symbiodiniaceae assemblages composed of 377 unique ITS2 phylotypes associated with 123 coral species. Rarefied-richness minimized correlations with sampling effort, while maintaining important underlying characteristics across host bathymetry and geography. Phylogenetic comparative methods reveal significant increases in coral bleaching and mortality associated with increasing Symbiodiniaceae assemblage richness and evenness at the level of host species. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that the potential flexibility afforded by assemblages characterized by many phylotypes present at similar relative abundances does not result in decreased bleaching risk and point to the need to characterize the overall functional and genetic diversity of Symbiodiniaceae assemblages to quantify their effect on host fitness under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy D Swain
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
- Department of Marine and Environmental Science, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL, 33004, USA
| | - Simon Lax
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
- Physics of Living Systems, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Vadim Backman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Luisa A Marcelino
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
- Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA.
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Newkirk CR, Frazer TK, Martindale MQ, Schnitzler CE. Adaptation to Bleaching: Are Thermotolerant Symbiodiniaceae Strains More Successful Than Other Strains Under Elevated Temperatures in a Model Symbiotic Cnidarian? Front Microbiol 2020; 11:822. [PMID: 32431680 PMCID: PMC7214872 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability of some symbiotic cnidarians to resist and better withstand stress factors that cause bleaching is a trait that is receiving increased attention. The adaptive bleaching hypothesis postulates that cnidarians that can form a stable symbiosis with thermotolerant Symbiodiniaceae strains may cope better with increasing seawater temperatures. We used polyps of the scyphozoan, Cassiopea xamachana, as a model system to test symbiosis success under heat stress. We sought to determine: (1) if aposymbiotic C. xamachana polyps could establish and maintain a symbiosis with both native and non-native strains of Symbiodiniaceae that all exhibit different tolerances to heat, (2) whether polyps with these newly acquired Symbiodiniaceae strains would strobilate (produce ephyra), and (3) if thermally tolerant Symbiodiniaceae strains that established and maintained a symbiosis exhibited greater success in response to heat stress (even if they are not naturally occurring in Cassiopea). Following recolonization of aposymbiotic C. xamachana polyps with different strains, we found that: (1) strains Smic, Stri, Slin, and Spil all established a stable symbiosis that promoted strobilation and (2) strains Bmin1 and Bmin2 did not establish a stable symbiosis and strobilation did not occur. Strains Smic, Stri, Slin, and Spil were used in a subsequent bleaching experiment; each of the strains was introduced to a subset of aposymbiotic polyps and once polyp tissues were saturated with symbionts they were subjected to elevated temperatures - 32°C and 34°C - for 2 weeks. Our findings indicate that, in general, pairings of polyps with Symbiodiniaceae strains that are native to Cassiopea (Stri and Smic) performed better than a non-native strain (Slin) even though this strain has a high thermotolerance. This suggests a degree of partner specificity that may limit the adaptive potential of certain cnidarians to increased ocean warming. We also observed that the free-living, non-native thermotolerant strain Spil was relatively successful in resisting bleaching during experimental trials. This suggests that free-living Symbiodiniaceae may provide a supply of potentially "new" thermotolerant strains to cnidarians following a bleaching event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casandra R. Newkirk
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL, United States
- Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Thomas K. Frazer
- Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Mark Q. Martindale
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL, United States
| | - Christine E. Schnitzler
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL, United States
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Howe-Kerr LI, Bachelot B, Wright RM, Kenkel CD, Bay LK, Correa AMS. Symbiont community diversity is more variable in corals that respond poorly to stress. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:2220-2234. [PMID: 32048447 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Coral reefs are declining globally as climate change and local water quality press environmental conditions beyond the physiological tolerances of holobionts-the collective of the host and its microbial symbionts. To assess the relationship between symbiont composition and holobiont stress tolerance, community diversity metrics were quantified for dinoflagellate endosymbionts (Family: Symbiodiniaceae) from eight Acropora millepora genets that thrived under or responded poorly to various stressors. These eight selected genets represent the upper and lower tails of the response distribution of 40 coral genets that were exposed to four stress treatments (and control conditions) in a 10-day experiment. Specifically, four 'best performer' coral genets were analyzed at the end of the experiment because they survived high temperature, high pCO2 , bacterial exposure, or combined stressors, whereas four 'worst performer' genets were characterized because they experienced substantial mortality under these stressors. At the end of the experiment, seven of eight coral genets mainly hosted Cladocopium symbionts, whereas the eighth genet was dominated by both Cladocopium and Durusdinium symbionts. Symbiodiniaceae alpha and beta diversity were higher in worst performing genets than in best performing genets. Symbiont communities in worst performers also differed more after stress exposure relative to their controls (based on normalized proportional differences in beta diversity), than did best performers. A generalized joint attribute model estimated the influence of host genet and treatment on Symbiodiniaceae community composition and identified strong associations among particular symbionts and host genet performance, as well as weaker associations with treatment. Although dominant symbiont physiology and function contribute to host performance, these findings emphasize the importance of symbiont community diversity and stochasticity as components of host performance. Our findings also suggest that symbiont community diversity metrics may function as indicators of resilience and have potential applications in diverse disciplines from climate change adaptation to agriculture and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Carly D Kenkel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Line K Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Qld, Australia
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van der Zande RM, Achlatis M, Bender-Champ D, Kubicek A, Dove S, Hoegh-Guldberg O. Paradise lost: End-of-century warming and acidification under business-as-usual emissions have severe consequences for symbiotic corals. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:2203-2219. [PMID: 31955493 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2019] [Revised: 12/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Despite recent efforts to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, current global emission trajectories are still following the business-as-usual representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 emission pathway. The resulting ocean warming and acidification have transformative impacts on coral reef ecosystems, detrimentally affecting coral physiology and health, and these impacts are predicted to worsen in the near future. In this study, we kept fragments of the symbiotic corals Acropora intermedia (thermally sensitive) and Porites lobata (thermally tolerant) for 7 weeks under an orthogonal design of predicted end-of-century RCP8.5 conditions for temperature and pCO2 (3.5°C and 570 ppm above present-day, respectively) to unravel how temperature and acidification, individually or interactively, influence metabolic and physiological performance. Our results pinpoint thermal stress as the dominant driver of deteriorating health in both species because of its propensity to destabilize coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis (bleaching). Acidification had no influence on metabolism but had a significant negative effect on skeleton growth, particularly when photosynthesis was absent such as in bleached corals or under dark conditions. Total loss of photosynthesis after bleaching caused an exhaustion of protein and lipid stores and collapse of calcification that ultimately led to A. intermedia mortality. Despite complete loss of symbionts from its tissue, P. lobata maintained small amounts of photosynthesis and experienced a weaker decline in lipid and protein reserves that presumably contributed to higher survival of this species. Our results indicate that ocean warming and acidification under business-as-usual CO2 emission scenarios will likely extirpate thermally sensitive coral species before the end of the century, while slowing the recovery of more thermally tolerant species from increasingly severe mass coral bleaching and mortality. This could ultimately lead to the gradual disappearance of tropical coral reefs globally, and a shift on surviving reefs to only the most resilient coral species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rene M van der Zande
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Michelle Achlatis
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Dorothea Bender-Champ
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Andreas Kubicek
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Sophie Dove
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia
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48
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Quigley KM, Randall CJ, van Oppen MJH, Bay LK. Assessing the role of historical temperature regime and algal symbionts on the heat tolerance of coral juveniles. Biol Open 2020; 9:bio047316. [PMID: 31915210 PMCID: PMC6994947 DOI: 10.1242/bio.047316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The rate of coral reef degradation from climate change is accelerating and, as a consequence, a number of interventions to increase coral resilience and accelerate recovery are under consideration. Acropora spathulata coral colonies that survived mass bleaching in 2016 and 2017 were sourced from a bleaching-impacted and warmer northern reef on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). These individuals were reproductively crossed with colonies collected from a recently bleached but historically cooler central GBR reef to produce pure and crossbred offspring groups (warm-warm, warm-cool and cool-warm). We tested whether corals from the warmer reef produced more thermally tolerant hybrid and purebred offspring compared with crosses produced with colonies sourced from the cooler reef and whether different symbiont taxa affect heat tolerance. Juveniles were infected with Symbiodinium tridacnidorum, Cladocopium goreaui and Durusdinium trenchii and survival, bleaching and growth were assessed at 27.5°C and 31°C. The contribution of host genetic background and symbiont identity varied across fitness traits. Offspring with either both or one parent from the northern population exhibited a 13- to 26-fold increase in survival odds relative to all other treatments where survival probability was significantly influenced by familial cross identity at 31°C but not 27.5°C (Kaplan-Meier P=0.001 versus 0.2). If in symbiosis with D. trenchii, a warm sire and cool dam provided the best odds of juvenile survival. Bleaching was predominantly driven by Symbiodiniaceae treatment, where juveniles hosting D. trenchii bleached significantly less than the other treatments at 31°C. The greatest overall fold-benefits in growth and survival at 31°C occurred in having at least one warm dam and in symbiosis with D. trenchii Juveniles associated with D. trenchii grew the most at 31°C, but at 27.5°C, growth was fastest in juveniles associated with C. goreaui In conclusion, selective breeding with warmer GBR corals in combination with algal symbiont manipulation can assist in increasing thermal tolerance on cooler but warming reefs. Such interventions have the potential to improve coral fitness in warming oceans.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- K M Quigley
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville 4810, Australia
| | - C J Randall
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville 4810, Australia
| | - M J H van Oppen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville 4810, Australia
- Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - L K Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville 4810, Australia
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49
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Suggett DJ, Smith DJ. Coral bleaching patterns are the outcome of complex biological and environmental networking. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:68-79. [PMID: 31618499 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Continued declines in coral reef health over the past three decades have been punctuated by severe mass coral bleaching-induced mortality events that have grown in intensity and frequency under climate change. Intensive global research efforts have therefore persistently focused on bleaching phenomena to understand where corals bleach, when and why-resulting in a large-yet still somewhat patchy-knowledge base. Particularly catastrophic bleaching-induced coral mortality events in the past 5 years have catalyzed calls for a more diverse set of reef management tools, extending far beyond climate mitigation and reef protection, to also include more aggressive interventions. However, the effectiveness of these various tools now rests on rapidly assimilating our knowledge base of coral bleaching into more integrated frameworks. Here, we consider how the past three decades of intensive coral bleaching research has established the basis for complex biological and environmental networks, which together regulate outcomes of bleaching severity. We discuss how we now have enough scaffold for conceptual biological and environmental frameworks underpinning bleaching susceptibility, but that new tools are urgently required to translate this to an operational system informing-and testing-bleaching outcomes. Specifically, adopting network models that can fully describe and predict metabolic functioning of coral holobionts, and how this functioning is regulated by complex doses and interactions among environmental factors. Identifying knowledge gaps limiting operation of such models is the logical step to immediately guide and prioritize future experiments and observations. We are at a time-critical point where we can implement new capacity to resolve how coral bleaching patterns emerge from complex biological-environmental networks, and so more effectively inform rapidly evolving ecological management and social adaptation frameworks aimed at securing the future of coral reefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Suggett
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - David J Smith
- Coral Reef Research Unit, School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
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