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Jandang S, Viyakarn V, Yoshioka Y, Shinzato C, Chavanich S. The seasonal investigation of Symbiodiniaceae in broadcast spawning, Acropora humilis and brooding, Pocillopora cf. damicornis corals. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13114. [PMID: 35722256 PMCID: PMC9205303 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13114] [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: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The density and diversity of Symbiodiniaceae associated with corals can be influenced by seasonal changes . This study provided the first annual investigation of Symbiodiniaceae density and diversity associated with Acropora humilis and Pocillopora cf. damicornis corals in the Gulf of Thailand using both zooxanthellae cell count and next-generation sequencing (ITS-1, ITS-2 regions) techniques, respectively. The results from this study indicated that zooxanthellae cell densities in both coral species differ significantly. The number of zooxanthellae was negatively correlated with the physical environment variable (light intensity). The diversity within A. humilis consisted of two genera, Cladocopium (Cspc_C3: 56.39%, C3w: 33.62%, C93type1: 4.42% and Cspf: 3.59%) and a small amount of Durusdinium (D1: 1.03%) whereas P. cf. damicornis was found to be 100% associated with Durusdinium (D1: 95.58%, D6: 1.01% and D10: 2.7%) suggesting that each coral species may select their appropriate genus/species of Symbiodiniaceae in response to local environmental stressors. The results of this study provided some information on the coral-Symbiodiniaceae relationship between seasons, which may be applied to predict the potential adaptation of corals in localized reef environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suppakarn Jandang
- Reef Biology Research Group, Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Voranop Viyakarn
- Reef Biology Research Group, Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand,Aquatic Resources Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Yuki Yoshioka
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
| | - Chuya Shinzato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan
| | - Suchana Chavanich
- Reef Biology Research Group, Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand,Aquatic Resources Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand,Center of Excellence for Marine Biotechnology, Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
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2
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Endosymbiotic Symbiodinium clades occurrence and influence on coral growth and resilience during stress. Symbiosis 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-022-00846-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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3
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Bairos-Novak KR, Hoogenboom MO, van Oppen MJH, Connolly SR. Coral adaptation to climate change: Meta-analysis reveals high heritability across multiple traits. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:5694-5710. [PMID: 34482591 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic climate change is a rapidly intensifying selection pressure on biodiversity across the globe and, particularly, on the world's coral reefs. The rate of adaptation to climate change is proportional to the amount of phenotypic variation that can be inherited by subsequent generations (i.e., narrow-sense heritability, h2 ). Thus, traits that have higher heritability (e.g., h2 > 0.5) are likely to adapt to future conditions faster than traits with lower heritability (e.g., h2 < 0.1). Here, we synthesize 95 heritability estimates across 19 species of reef-building corals. Our meta-analysis reveals low heritability (h2 < 0.25) of gene expression metrics, intermediate heritability (h2 = 0.25-0.50) of photochemistry, growth, and bleaching, and high heritability (h2 > 0.50) for metrics related to survival and immune responses. Some of these values are higher than typically observed in other taxa, such as survival and growth, while others were more comparable, such as gene expression and photochemistry. There was no detectable effect of temperature on heritability, but narrow-sense heritability estimates were generally lower than broad-sense estimates, indicative of significant non-additive genetic variation across traits. Trait heritability also varied depending on coral life stage, with bleaching and growth in juveniles generally having lower heritability compared to bleaching and growth in larvae and adults. These differences may be the result of previous stabilizing selection on juveniles or may be due to constrained evolution resulting from genetic trade-offs or genetic correlations between growth and thermotolerance. While we find no evidence that heritability decreases under temperature stress, explicit tests of the heritability of thermal tolerance itself-such as coral thermal reaction norm shape-are lacking. Nevertheless, our findings overall reveal high trait heritability for the majority of coral traits, suggesting corals may have a greater potential to adapt to climate change than has been assumed in recent evolutionary models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R Bairos-Novak
- College of Science and Engineering and ARCCOE for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mia O Hoogenboom
- College of Science and Engineering and ARCCOE for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Madeleine J H van Oppen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sean R Connolly
- College of Science and Engineering and ARCCOE for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
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4
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Muller EM, Dungan AM, Million WC, Eaton KR, Petrik C, Bartels E, Hall ER, Kenkel CD. Heritable variation and lack of tradeoffs suggest adaptive capacity in Acropora cervicornis despite negative synergism under climate change scenarios. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210923. [PMID: 34641725 PMCID: PMC8511747 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of multi-stressor interactions and the potential for tradeoffs among tolerance traits is essential for developing intervention strategies for the conservation and restoration of reef ecosystems in a changing climate. Thermal extremes and acidification are two major co-occurring stresses predicted to limit the recovery of vital Caribbean reef-building corals. Here, we conducted an aquarium-based experiment to quantify the effects of increased water temperatures and pCO2 individually and in concert on 12 genotypes of the endangered branching coral Acropora cervicornis, currently being reared and outplanted for large-scale coral restoration. Quantification of 12 host, symbiont and holobiont traits throughout the two-month-long experiment showed several synergistic negative effects, where the combined stress treatment often caused a greater reduction in physiological function than the individual stressors alone. However, we found significant genetic variation for most traits and positive trait correlations among treatments indicating an apparent lack of tradeoffs, suggesting that adaptive evolution will not be constrained. Our results suggest that it may be possible to incorporate climate-resistant coral genotypes into restoration and selective breeding programmes, potentially accelerating adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ashley M. Dungan
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Wyatt C. Million
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Chelsea Petrik
- Mote Marine Laboratory, International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration, Summerland Key, FL, USA
| | - Erich Bartels
- Mote Marine Laboratory, International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration, Summerland Key, FL, USA
| | | | - Carly D. Kenkel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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5
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Putnam HM. Avenues of reef-building coral acclimatization in response to rapid environmental change. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:224/Suppl_1/jeb239319. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.239319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The swiftly changing climate presents a challenge to organismal fitness by creating a mismatch between the current environment and phenotypes adapted to historic conditions. Acclimatory mechanisms may be especially crucial for sessile benthic marine taxa, such as reef-building corals, where climate change factors including ocean acidification and increasing temperature elicit strong negative physiological responses such as bleaching, disease and mortality. Here, within the context of multiple stressors threatening marine organisms, I describe the wealth of metaorganism response mechanisms to rapid ocean change and the ontogenetic shifts in organism interactions with the environment that can generate plasticity. I then highlight the need to consider the interactions of rapid and evolutionary responses in an adaptive (epi)genetic continuum. Building on the definitions of these mechanisms and continuum, I also present how the interplay of the microbiome, epigenetics and parental effects creates additional avenues for rapid acclimatization. To consider under what conditions epigenetic inheritance has a more substantial role, I propose investigation into the offset of timing of gametogenesis leading to different environmental integration times between eggs and sperm and the consequences of this for gamete epigenetic compatibility. Collectively, non-genetic, yet heritable phenotypic plasticity will have significant ecological and evolutionary implications for sessile marine organism persistence under rapid climate change. As such, reef-building corals present ideal and time-sensitive models for further development of our understanding of adaptive feedback loops in a multi-player (epi)genetic continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hollie M. Putnam
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
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6
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Vega Thurber R, Mydlarz LD, Brandt M, Harvell D, Weil E, Raymundo L, Willis BL, Langevin S, Tracy AM, Littman R, Kemp KM, Dawkins P, Prager KC, Garren M, Lamb J. Deciphering Coral Disease Dynamics: Integrating Host, Microbiome, and the Changing Environment. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.575927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Diseases of tropical reef organisms is an intensive area of study, but despite significant advances in methodology and the global knowledge base, identifying the proximate causes of disease outbreaks remains difficult. The dynamics of infectious wildlife diseases are known to be influenced by shifting interactions among the host, pathogen, and other members of the microbiome, and a collective body of work clearly demonstrates that this is also the case for the main foundation species on reefs, corals. Yet, among wildlife, outbreaks of coral diseases stand out as being driven largely by a changing environment. These outbreaks contributed not only to significant losses of coral species but also to whole ecosystem regime shifts. Here we suggest that to better decipher the disease dynamics of corals, we must integrate more holistic and modern paradigms that consider multiple and variable interactions among the three major players in epizootics: the host, its associated microbiome, and the environment. In this perspective, we discuss how expanding the pathogen component of the classic host-pathogen-environment disease triad to incorporate shifts in the microbiome leading to dysbiosis provides a better model for understanding coral disease dynamics. We outline and discuss issues arising when evaluating each component of this trio and make suggestions for bridging gaps between them. We further suggest that to best tackle these challenges, researchers must adjust standard paradigms, like the classic one pathogen-one disease model, that, to date, have been ineffectual at uncovering many of the emergent properties of coral reef disease dynamics. Lastly, we make recommendations for ways forward in the fields of marine disease ecology and the future of coral reef conservation and restoration given these observations.
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7
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Ye S, Bhattacharjee M, Siemann E. Stress tolerance alteration in the freshwater cnidarian green hydra (Hydra viridissima) via symbiotic algae mutagenesis. Symbiosis 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-020-00712-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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8
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Leptoria phrygia in Southern Taiwan shuffles and switches symbionts to resist thermal-induced bleaching. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7808. [PMID: 32385394 PMCID: PMC7210888 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64749-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Symbiodiniaceae communities in some corals often shuffle or switch after severe bleaching events, one of the major threats to coral survival in a world with climate change. In this study we reciprocally transplanted five Leptoria phrygia colonies between two sites with significantly different temperature regimes and monitored them for 12 months. Our ITS2 amplicon deep sequencing demonstrated that L. phrygia acclimatized to maintain a strong and stable association with Durusdinium D17, D. trenchii, and D. glynnii, but also remained flexible and formed a short-term association with different Cladocopium. Most interestingly, two colonies shuffled between Durusdinium and Cladocopium without the occurrence of bleaching; one colony even switched its dominant Cladocopium after generic shuffling. Both dominant Cladocopium were originally rare with relative abundances as low as 0.024%. This is the first record of adult corals switching dominant symbiont without bleaching.
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9
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Morgans CA, Hung JY, Bourne DG, Quigley KM. Symbiodiniaceae probiotics for use in bleaching recovery. Restor Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carys A. Morgans
- College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook University Townsville Queensland 4814 Australia
| | - Julia Y. Hung
- College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook University Townsville Queensland 4814 Australia
| | - David G. Bourne
- College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook University Townsville Queensland 4814 Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland 4816 Australia
| | - Kate M. Quigley
- College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook University Townsville Queensland 4814 Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland 4816 Australia
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10
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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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11
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Drury C. Resilience in reef-building corals: The ecological and evolutionary importance of the host response to thermal stress. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:448-465. [PMID: 31845413 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Coral reefs are under extreme threat due to a number of stressors, but temperature increases due to changing climate are the most severe. Rising ocean temperatures coupled with local extremes lead to extensive bleaching, where the coral-algal symbiosis breaks down and corals may die, compromising the structure and function of reefs. Although the symbiotic nature of the coral colony has historically been a focus of research on coral resilience, the host itself is a foundational component in the response to thermal stress. Fixed effects in the coral host set trait baselines through evolutionary processes, acting on many loci of small effect to create mosaics of thermal tolerance across latitudes and individual coral reefs. These genomic differences can be strongly heritable, producing wide variation among clones of different genotypes or families of a specific larval cross. Phenotypic plasticity is overlaid on these baselines and a growing body of knowledge demonstrates the potential for acclimatization of reef-building corals through a variety of mechanisms that promote resilience and stress tolerance. The long-term persistence of coral reefs will require many of these mechanisms to adjust to warmer temperatures within a generation, bridging the gap to reproductive events that allow recombination of standing diversity and adaptive change. Business-as-usual climate scenarios will probably lead to the loss of some coral populations or species in the future, so the interaction between intragenerational effects and evolutionary pressure is critical for the survival of reefs.
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12
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Abstract
Endosymbiosis is found in all types of ecosystems and it can be sensitive to environmental changes due to the intimate interaction between the endosymbiont and the host. Indeed, global climate change disturbs the local ambient environment and threatens endosymbiotic species, and in some cases leads to local ecosystem collapse. Recent studies have revealed that the endosymbiont can affect holobiont (endosymbiont and host together) stress tolerance as much as the host does, and manipulation of the microbial partners in holobionts may mitigate the impacts of the environmental stress. Here, we first show how the endosymbiont presence affects holobiont stress tolerance by discussing three well-studied endosymbiotic systems, which include plant-fungi, aquatic organism-algae, and insect-bacteria systems. We then review how holobionts are able to alter their stress tolerance via associated endosymbionts by changing their endosymbiont composition, by adaptation of their endosymbionts, or by acclimation of their endosymbionts. Finally, we discuss how different transmission modes (vertical or horizontal transmission) might affect the adaptability of holobionts. We propose that the endosymbiont is a good target for modifying holobiont stress tolerance, which makes it critical to more fully investigate the role of endosymbionts in the adaptive responses of holobionts to stress.
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13
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Jury CP, Delano MN, Toonen RJ. High heritability of coral calcification rates and evolutionary potential under ocean acidification. Sci Rep 2019; 9:20419. [PMID: 31892705 PMCID: PMC6938506 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56313-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimates of heritability inform evolutionary potential and the likely outcome of many management actions, but such estimates remain scarce for marine organisms. Here, we report high heritability of calcification rate among the eight most dominant Hawaiian coral species under reduced pH simulating future ocean conditions. Coral colonies were sampled from up to six locations across a natural mosaic in seawater chemistry throughout Hawai'i and fragmented into clonal replicates maintained under both ambient and high pCO2 conditions. Broad sense heritability of calcification rates was high among all eight species, ranging from a low of 0.32 in Porites evermanni to a high of 0.61 in Porites compressa. The overall results were inconsistent with short-term acclimatization to the local environment or adaptation to the mean or ideal conditions. Similarly, in 'local vs. foreign' and 'home vs. away' tests there was no clear signature of local adaptation. Instead, the data are most consistent with a protected polymorphism as the mechanism which maintains differential pH tolerance within the populations. Substantial individual variation, coupled with high heritability and large population sizes, imply considerable scope for natural selection and adaptive capacity, which has major implications for evolutionary potential and management of corals in response to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher P Jury
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, School of Ocean & Earth Sciences & Technology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, P.O. Box 1346, Kāne'ohe, HI, 96744, USA.
| | - Mia N Delano
- Global Environmental Science, School of Ocean & Earth Sciences & Technology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Robert J Toonen
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, School of Ocean & Earth Sciences & Technology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, P.O. Box 1346, Kāne'ohe, HI, 96744, USA.
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14
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Wright RM, Mera H, Kenkel CD, Nayfa M, Bay LK, Matz MV. Positive genetic associations among fitness traits support evolvability of a reef-building coral under multiple stressors. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:3294-3304. [PMID: 31301206 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Climate change threatens organisms in a variety of interactive ways that requires simultaneous adaptation of multiple traits. Predicting evolutionary responses requires an understanding of the potential for interactions among stressors and the genetic variance and covariance among fitness-related traits that may reinforce or constrain an adaptive response. Here we investigate the capacity of Acropora millepora, a reef-building coral, to adapt to multiple environmental stressors: rising sea surface temperature, ocean acidification, and increased prevalence of infectious diseases. We measured growth rates (weight gain), coral color (a proxy for Symbiodiniaceae density), and survival, in addition to nine physiological indicators of coral and algal health in 40 coral genets exposed to each of these three stressors singly and combined. Individual stressors resulted in predicted responses (e.g., corals developed lesions after bacterial challenge and bleached under thermal stress). However, corals did not suffer substantially more when all three stressors were combined. Nor were trade-offs observed between tolerances to different stressors; instead, individuals performing well under one stressor also tended to perform well under every other stressor. An analysis of genetic correlations between traits revealed positive covariances, suggesting that selection to multiple stressors will reinforce rather than constrain the simultaneous evolution of traits related to holobiont health (e.g., weight gain and algal density). These findings support the potential for rapid coral adaptation under climate change and emphasize the importance of accounting for corals' adaptive capacity when predicting the future of coral reefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel M Wright
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Hanaka Mera
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Qld, Australia
| | - Carly D Kenkel
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Qld, Australia
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Maria Nayfa
- Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, Australia
| | - Line K Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Qld, Australia
| | - Mikhail V Matz
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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15
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Dziedzic KE, Elder H, Tavalire H, Meyer E. Heritable variation in bleaching responses and its functional genomic basis in reef‐building corals (
Orbicella faveolata
). Mol Ecol 2019; 28:2238-2253. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Revised: 03/02/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Holland Elder
- Department of Integrative Biology Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon
| | - Hannah Tavalire
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Oregon Eugene Oregon
- Prevention Science Institute University of Oregon Eugene Oregon
| | - Eli Meyer
- Department of Integrative Biology Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon
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16
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Modelling ecosystem adaptation and dangerous rates of global warming. Emerg Top Life Sci 2019; 3:221-231. [DOI: 10.1042/etls20180113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
We are in a period of relatively rapid climate change. This poses challenges for individual species and threatens the ecosystem services that humanity relies upon. Temperature is a key stressor. In a warming climate, individual organisms may be able to shift their thermal optima through phenotypic plasticity. However, such plasticity is unlikely to be sufficient over the coming centuries. Resilience to warming will also depend on how fast the distribution of traits that define a species can adapt through other methods, in particular through redistribution of the abundance of variants within the population and through genetic evolution. In this paper, we use a simple theoretical ‘trait diffusion’ model to explore how the resilience of a given species to climate change depends on the initial trait diversity (biodiversity), the trait diffusion rate (mutation rate), and the lifetime of the organism. We estimate theoretical dangerous rates of continuous global warming that would exceed the ability of a species to adapt through trait diffusion, and therefore lead to a collapse in the overall productivity of the species. As the rate of adaptation through intraspecies competition and genetic evolution decreases with species lifetime, we find critical rates of change that also depend fundamentally on lifetime. Dangerous rates of warming vary from 1°C per lifetime (at low trait diffusion rate) to 8°C per lifetime (at high trait diffusion rate). We conclude that rapid climate change is liable to favour short-lived organisms (e.g. microbes) rather than longer-lived organisms (e.g. trees).
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17
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Mabin CJT, Johnson CR, Wright JT. Family-level variation in early life-cycle traits of kelp. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2019; 55:380-392. [PMID: 30506918 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Temperate kelp forests (Laminarians) are threatened by temperature stress due to ocean warming and photoinhibition due to increased light associated with canopy loss. However, the potential for evolutionary adaptation in kelp to rapid climate change is not well known. This study examined family-level variation in physiological and photosynthetic traits in the early life-cycle stages of the ecologically important Australasian kelp Ecklonia radiata and the response of E. radiata families to different temperature and light environments using a family × environment design. There was strong family-level variation in traits relating to morphology (surface area measures, branch length, branch count) and photosynthetic performance (Fv /Fm ) in both haploid (gametophyte) and diploid (sporophyte) stages of the life-cycle. Additionally, the presence of family × environment interactions showed that offspring from different families respond differently to temperature and light in the branch length of male gametophytes and oogonia surface area of female gametophytes. Negative responses to high temperatures were stronger for females vs. males. Our findings suggest E. radiata may be able to respond adaptively to climate change but studies partitioning the narrow vs. broad sense components of heritable variation are needed to establish the evolutionary potential of E. radiata to adapt under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J T Mabin
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, 7250, Australia
| | - Craig R Johnson
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia
| | - Jeffrey T Wright
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia
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18
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Water quality mediates resilience on the Great Barrier Reef. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:620-627. [PMID: 30858590 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0832-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Threats from climate change and other human pressures have led to widespread concern for the future of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Resilience of GBR reefs will be determined by their ability to resist disturbances and to recover from coral loss, generating intense interest in management actions that can moderate these processes. Here we quantify the effect of environmental and human drivers on the resilience of southern and central GBR reefs over the past two decades. Using a composite water quality index, we find that while reefs exposed to poor water quality are more resistant to coral bleaching, they recover from disturbance more slowly and are more susceptible to outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish and coral disease-with a net negative impact on recovery and long-term hard coral cover. Given these conditions, we find that 6-17% improvement in water quality will be necessary to bring recovery rates in line with projected increases in coral bleaching among contemporary inshore and mid-shelf reefs. However, such reductions are unlikely to buffer projected bleaching effects among outer-shelf GBR reefs dominated by fast-growing, thermally sensitive corals, demonstrating practical limits to local management of the GBR against the effects of global warming.
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19
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Kubicek A, Breckling B, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Reuter H. Climate change drives trait-shifts in coral reef communities. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3721. [PMID: 30842480 PMCID: PMC6403357 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38962-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Climate change is expected to have profound, partly unforeseeable effects on the composition of functional traits of complex ecosystems, such as coral reefs, and some ecosystem properties are at risk of disappearing. This study applies a novel spatially explicit, individual-based model to explore three critical life history traits of corals: heat tolerance, competitiveness and growth performance under various environmental settings. Building upon these findings, we test the adaptation potential required by a coral community in order to not only survive but also retain its diversity by the end of this century under different IPCC climate scenarios. Even under the most favourable IPCC scenario (Representative Concentration Pathway, RCP 2.6), model results indicate that shifts in the trait space are likely and coral communities will mainly consist of small numbers of temperature-tolerant and fast-growing species. Species composition of coral communities is likely to be determined by heat tolerance, with competitiveness most likely playing a subordinate role. To sustain ~15% of current coral cover under a 2 °C temperature increase by the end of the century (RCP 4.5), coral systems would have to accommodate temperature increases of 0.1-0.15 °C per decade, assuming that periodic extreme thermal events occurred every 8 years. These required adaptation rates are unprecedented and unlikely, given corals' life-history characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Kubicek
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
| | - Broder Breckling
- Department Landscape Ecology, University of Vechta, 49364, Vechta, Germany
- University of Bremen, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Hauke Reuter
- Department Theoretical Ecology and Modelling, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), 28359, Bremen, Germany
- University of Bremen, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, 28359, Bremen, Germany
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20
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Bayliss SLJ, Scott ZR, Coffroth MA, terHorst CP. Genetic variation in Breviolum antillogorgium, a coral reef symbiont, in response to temperature and nutrients. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:2803-2813. [PMID: 30891218 PMCID: PMC6406013 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Revised: 12/30/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Symbionts within the family Symbiodiniaceae are important on coral reefs because they provide significant amounts of carbon to many different reef species. The breakdown of this mutualism that occurs as a result of increasingly warmer ocean temperatures is a major threat to coral reef ecosystems globally. Recombination during sexual reproduction and high rates of somatic mutation can lead to increased genetic variation within symbiont species, which may provide the fuel for natural selection and adaptation. However, few studies have asked whether such variation in functional traits exists within these symbionts. We used several genotypes of two closely related species, Breviolum antillogorgium and B. minutum, to examine variation of traits related to symbiosis in response to increases in temperature or nitrogen availability in laboratory cultures. We found significant genetic variation within and among symbiont species in chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, and growth rate. Two genotypes showed decreases in traits in response to increased temperatures predicted by climate change, but one genotype responded positively. Similarly, some genotypes within a species responded positively to high-nitrogen environments, such as those expected within hosts or eutrophication associated with global change, while other genotypes in the same species responded negatively, suggesting context-dependency in the strength of mutualism. Such variation in traits implies that there is potential for natural selection on symbionts in response to temperature and nutrients, which could confer an adaptive advantage to the holobiont.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon L. J. Bayliss
- Biology DepartmentCalifornia State UniversityNorthridgeCalifornia
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTennessee
| | - Zoë R. Scott
- Biology DepartmentCalifornia State UniversityNorthridgeCalifornia
| | - Mary Alice Coffroth
- Department of Geology and Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and BehaviorUniversity at BuffaloBuffaloNew York
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21
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Kirk NL, Howells EJ, Abrego D, Burt JA, Meyer E. Genomic and transcriptomic signals of thermal tolerance in heat‐tolerant corals (
Platygyra daedalea
) of the Arabian/Persian Gulf. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:5180-5194. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Revised: 10/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nathan L. Kirk
- Department of Integrative BiologyOregon State University Corvallis Oregon
| | - Emily J. Howells
- Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAE
| | - David Abrego
- Department of Natural Science and Public HealthZayed University Abu Dhabi UAE
| | - John A. Burt
- Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAE
| | - Eli Meyer
- Department of Integrative BiologyOregon State University Corvallis Oregon
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22
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23
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Chen JE, Cui G, Wang X, Liew YJ, Aranda M. Recent expansion of heat-activated retrotransposons in the coral symbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum. ISME JOURNAL 2017; 12:639-643. [PMID: 29053149 PMCID: PMC5776459 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2017.179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2017] [Revised: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Rising sea surface temperature is the main cause of global coral reef decline. Abnormally high temperatures trigger the breakdown of the symbiotic association between corals and their photosynthetic symbionts in the genus Symbiodinium. Higher genetic variation resulting from shorter generation times has previously been proposed to provide increased adaptability to Symbiodinium compared to the host. Retrotransposition is a significant source of genetic variation in eukaryotes and some transposable elements are specifically expressed under adverse environmental conditions. We present transcriptomic and phylogenetic evidence for the existence of heat stress-activated Ty1-copia-type LTR retrotransposons in the coral symbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum. Genome-wide analyses of emergence patterns of these elements further indicate recent expansion events in the genome of S. microadriaticum. Our findings suggest that acute temperature increases can activate specific retrotransposons in the Symbiodinium genome with potential impacts on the rate of retrotransposition and the generation of genetic variation under heat stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jit Ern Chen
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Guoxin Cui
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Xin Wang
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yi Jin Liew
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Manuel Aranda
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
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24
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Sekizawa A, Uechi H, Iguchi A, Nakamura T, Kumagai NH, Suzuki A, Sakai K, Nojiri Y. Intraspecific variations in responses to ocean acidification in two branching coral species. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2017; 122:282-287. [PMID: 28655461 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2017] [Revised: 06/17/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Ocean acidification is widely recognised to have a negative impact on marine calcifying organisms by reducing calcifications, but controversy remains over whether such organisms could cope with ocean acidification within a range of phenotypic plasticity and/or adapt to future acidifying ocean. We performed a laboratory rearing experiment using clonal fragments of the common branching corals Montipora digitata and Porites cylindrica under control and acidified seawater (lower pH) conditions (approximately 400 and 900μatm pCO2, respectively) and evaluated the intraspecific variations in their responses to ocean acidification. Intra- and interspecific variations in calcification and photosynthetic efficiency were evident according to both pCO2 conditions and colony, indicating that responses to acidification may be individually variable at the colony level. Our results suggest that some corals may cope with ocean acidification within their present genotypic composition by adaptation through phenotypic plasticity, while others may be placed under selective pressures resulting in population alteration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayami Sekizawa
- Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 3422 Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa 905-0227, Japan
| | - Hikaru Uechi
- Department of Bioresources Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Okinawa College, 905 Henoko, Nago-City, Okinawa 905-2192, Japan
| | - Akira Iguchi
- Department of Bioresources Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Okinawa College, 905 Henoko, Nago-City, Okinawa 905-2192, Japan.
| | - Takashi Nakamura
- Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
| | - Naoki H Kumagai
- Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
| | - Atsushi Suzuki
- Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan
| | - Kazuhiko Sakai
- Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 3422 Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa 905-0227, Japan
| | - Yukihiro Nojiri
- Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
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25
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Crisci C, Ledoux JB, Mokhtar-Jamaï K, Bally M, Bensoussan N, Aurelle D, Cebrian E, Coma R, Féral JP, La Rivière M, Linares C, López-Sendino P, Marschal C, Ribes M, Teixidó N, Zuberer F, Garrabou J. Regional and local environmental conditions do not shape the response to warming of a marine habitat-forming species. Sci Rep 2017; 7:5069. [PMID: 28698582 PMCID: PMC5505982 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05220-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The differential response of marine populations to climate change remains poorly understood. Here, we combine common garden thermotolerance experiments in aquaria and population genetics to disentangle the factors driving the population response to thermal stress in a temperate habitat-forming species: the octocoral Paramuricea clavata. Using eight populations separated from tens of meters to hundreds of kilometers, which were differentially impacted by recent mortality events, we identify 25 °C as a critical thermal threshold. After one week of exposure at this temperature, seven of the eight populations were affected by tissue necrosis and after 30 days of exposure at this temperature, the mean % of affected colonies increased gradually from 3 to 97%. We then demonstrate the weak relation between the observed differential phenotypic responses and the local temperature regimes experienced by each population. A significant correlation was observed between these responses and the extent of genetic drift impacting each population. Local adaptation may thus be hindered by genetic drift, which seems to be the main driver of the differential response. Accordingly, conservation measures should promote connectivity and control density erosion in order to limit the impact of genetic drift on marine populations facing climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Crisci
- Polo de Desarrollo Universitario Modelización y Análisis de Recursos Naturales, Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Universidad de la República, Rocha, 27000, Uruguay.
| | - J-B Ledoux
- CIIMAR/CIMAR, Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Porto, 4050-123, Portugal
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, 08003, Spain
| | - K Mokhtar-Jamaï
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Avignon Université, IMBE UMR 7263, Station Marine d'Endoume, Marseille, 13007, France
| | - M Bally
- Aix-Marseille Université, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (M I O), Université de Toulon, CNRS/IRD, Marseille, France
| | - N Bensoussan
- IPSO FACTO, SCOPArl, Pole Océanologie, Marseille, 13001, France
| | - D Aurelle
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Avignon Université, IMBE UMR 7263, Station Marine d'Endoume, Marseille, 13007, France
| | - E Cebrian
- Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, 17300, Spain
- Departament de Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, Girona, 17071, Spain
| | - R Coma
- Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, 17300, Spain
| | - J-P Féral
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Avignon Université, IMBE UMR 7263, Station Marine d'Endoume, Marseille, 13007, France
| | - M La Rivière
- Aix-Marseille Université, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (M I O), Université de Toulon, CNRS/IRD, Marseille, France
| | - C Linares
- Departament d'Ecologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, 08028, Spain
| | - P López-Sendino
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, 08003, Spain
| | - C Marschal
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Avignon Université, IMBE UMR 7263, Station Marine d'Endoume, Marseille, 13007, France
| | - M Ribes
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, 08003, Spain
| | - N Teixidó
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Dohrn-Benthic Ecology Center, Punta San Pietro, Ischia, Naples, 80077, Italy
| | - F Zuberer
- Institut Pytheas, UMS 3470, CNRS, Marseille, 13013, France
| | - J Garrabou
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- Aix-Marseille Université, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (M I O), Université de Toulon, CNRS/IRD, Marseille, France
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26
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Maor-Landaw K, Waldman Ben-Asher H, Karako-Lampert S, Salmon-Divon M, Prada F, Caroselli E, Goffredo S, Falini G, Dubinsky Z, Levy O. Mediterranean versus Red sea corals facing climate change, a transcriptome analysis. Sci Rep 2017; 7:42405. [PMID: 28181588 PMCID: PMC5299404 DOI: 10.1038/srep42405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The anthropogenic increase in atmospheric CO2 that drives global warming and ocean acidification raises serious concerns regarding the future of corals, the main carbonate biomineralizers. Here we used transcriptome analysis to study the effect of long-term gradual temperature increase (annual rate), combined with lowered pH values, on a sub-tropical Red Sea coral, Stylophora pistillata, and on a temperate Mediterranean symbiotic coral Balanophyllia europaea. The gene expression profiles revealed a strong effect of both temperature increase and pH decrease implying for synergism response. The temperate coral, exposed to a twice as high range of seasonal temperature fluctuations than the Red Sea species, faced stress more effectively. The compensatory strategy for coping apparently involves deviating cellular resources into a massive up-regulation of genes in general, and specifically of genes involved in the generation of metabolic energy. Our results imply that sub-lethal, prolonged exposure to stress can stimulate evolutionary increase in stress resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Maor-Landaw
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Hiba Waldman Ben-Asher
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Sarit Karako-Lampert
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | | | - Fiorella Prada
- Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Erik Caroselli
- Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefano Goffredo
- Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section of Biology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Falini
- Dipartimento di Chimica 'G. Ciamician', Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Zvy Dubinsky
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Oren Levy
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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27
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Louis YD, Bhagooli R, Kenkel CD, Baker AC, Dyall SD. Gene expression biomarkers of heat stress in scleractinian corals: Promises and limitations. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol 2017; 191:63-77. [PMID: 27585119 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2016.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2016] [Revised: 08/02/2016] [Accepted: 08/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Gene expression biomarkers (GEBs) are emerging as powerful diagnostic tools for identifying and characterizing coral stress. Their capacity to detect sublethal stress prior to the onset of signs at the organismal level that might already indicate significant damage makes them more precise and proactive compared to traditional monitoring techniques. A high number of candidate GEBs, including certain heat shock protein genes, metabolic genes, oxidative stress genes, immune response genes, ion transport genes, and structural genes have been investigated, and some genes, including hsp16, Cacna1, MnSOD, SLC26, and Nf-kB, are already showing excellent potential as reliable indicators of thermal stress in corals. In this mini-review, we synthesize the current state of knowledge of scleractinian coral GEBs and highlight gaps in our understanding that identify directions for future work. We also address the underlying sources of variation that have sometimes led to contrasting results between studies, such as differences in experimental set-up and approach, intrinsic variation in the expression profiles of different experimental organisms (such as between different colonies or their algal symbionts), diel cycles, varying thermal history, and different expression thresholds. Despite advances in our understanding there is still no universally accepted biomarker of thermal stress, the molecular response of corals to heat stress is still unclear, and biomarker research in Symbiodinium still lags behind that of the host. These gaps should be addressed in future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yohan D Louis
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Réduit 80837, Mauritius
| | - Ranjeet Bhagooli
- Department of Marine & Ocean Science, Fisheries & Mariculture, Faculty of Ocean Studies, University of Mauritius, Réduit 80837, Mauritius.
| | - Carly D Kenkel
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville MC, QLD 4810, Australia
| | - Andrew C Baker
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL, USA
| | - Sabrina D Dyall
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Réduit 80837, Mauritius
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28
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Quigley KM, Willis BL, Bay LK. Maternal effects and Symbiodinium community composition drive differential patterns in juvenile survival in the coral Acropora tenuis. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160471. [PMID: 27853562 PMCID: PMC5098987 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Coral endosymbionts in the dinoflagellate genus Symbiodinium are known to impact host physiology and have led to the evolution of reef-building, but less is known about how symbiotic communities in early life-history stages and their interactions with host parental identity shape the structure of coral communities on reefs. Differentiating the roles of environmental and biological factors driving variation in population demographic processes, particularly larval settlement, early juvenile survival and the onset of symbiosis is key to understanding how coral communities are structured and to predicting how they are likely to respond to climate change. We show that maternal effects (that here include genetic and/or effects related to the maternal environment) can explain nearly 24% of variation in larval settlement success and 5-17% of variation in juvenile survival in an experimental study of the reef-building scleractinian coral, Acropora tenuis. After 25 days on the reef, Symbiodinium communities associated with juvenile corals differed significantly between high mortality and low mortality families based on estimates of taxonomic richness, composition and relative abundance of taxa. Our results highlight that maternal and familial effects significantly explain variation in juvenile survival and symbiont communities in a broadcast-spawning coral, with Symbiodinium type A3 possibly a critical symbiotic partner during this early life stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate M. Quigley
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
- AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Bette L. Willis
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
- AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Line K. Bay
- AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
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29
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Quigley KM, Willis BL, Bay LK. Maternal effects and Symbiodinium community composition drive differential patterns in juvenile survival in the coral Acropora tenuis. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016. [PMID: 27853562 DOI: 10.5061/dryad.8b5g6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Coral endosymbionts in the dinoflagellate genus Symbiodinium are known to impact host physiology and have led to the evolution of reef-building, but less is known about how symbiotic communities in early life-history stages and their interactions with host parental identity shape the structure of coral communities on reefs. Differentiating the roles of environmental and biological factors driving variation in population demographic processes, particularly larval settlement, early juvenile survival and the onset of symbiosis is key to understanding how coral communities are structured and to predicting how they are likely to respond to climate change. We show that maternal effects (that here include genetic and/or effects related to the maternal environment) can explain nearly 24% of variation in larval settlement success and 5-17% of variation in juvenile survival in an experimental study of the reef-building scleractinian coral, Acropora tenuis. After 25 days on the reef, Symbiodinium communities associated with juvenile corals differed significantly between high mortality and low mortality families based on estimates of taxonomic richness, composition and relative abundance of taxa. Our results highlight that maternal and familial effects significantly explain variation in juvenile survival and symbiont communities in a broadcast-spawning coral, with Symbiodinium type A3 possibly a critical symbiotic partner during this early life stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate M Quigley
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia; AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Bette L Willis
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia; AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Line K Bay
- AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia; Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
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Foo SA, Byrne M. Acclimatization and Adaptive Capacity of Marine Species in a Changing Ocean. ADVANCES IN MARINE BIOLOGY 2016; 74:69-116. [PMID: 27573050 DOI: 10.1016/bs.amb.2016.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
To persist in an ocean changing in temperature, pH and other stressors related to climate change, many marine species will likely need to acclimatize or adapt to avoid extinction. If marine populations possess adequate genetic variation in tolerance to climate change stressors, species might be able to adapt to environmental change. Marine climate change research is moving away from single life stage studies where individuals are directly placed into projected scenarios ('future shock' approach), to focus on the adaptive potential of populations in an ocean that will gradually change over coming decades. This review summarizes studies that consider the adaptive potential of marine invertebrates to climate change stressors and the methods that have been applied to this research, including quantitative genetics, laboratory selection studies and trans- and multigenerational experiments. Phenotypic plasticity is likely to contribute to population persistence providing time for genetic adaptation to occur. Transgenerational and epigenetic effects indicate that the environmental and physiological history of the parents can affect offspring performance. There is a need for long-term, multigenerational experiments to determine the influence of phenotypic plasticity, genetic variation and transgenerational effects on species' capacity to persist in a changing ocean. However, multigenerational studies are only practicable for short generation species. Consideration of multiple morphological and physiological traits, including changes in molecular processes (eg, DNA methylation) and long-term studies that facilitate acclimatization will be essential in making informed predictions of how the seascape and marine communities will be altered by climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Foo
- School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - M Byrne
- Schools of Medical and Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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31
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Recent Advances in Understanding the Effects of Climate Change on Coral Reefs. DIVERSITY-BASEL 2016. [DOI: 10.3390/d8020012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Intraspecific diversity among partners drives functional variation in coral symbioses. Sci Rep 2015; 5:15667. [PMID: 26497873 PMCID: PMC4620489 DOI: 10.1038/srep15667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The capacity of coral-dinoflagellate mutualisms to adapt to a changing climate relies in part on standing variation in host and symbiont populations, but rarely have the interactions between symbiotic partners been considered at the level of individuals. Here, we tested the importance of inter-individual variation with respect to the physiology of coral holobionts. We identified six genetically distinct Acropora palmata coral colonies that all shared the same isoclonal Symbiodinium ‘fitti’ dinoflagellate strain. No other Symbiodinium could be detected in host tissues. We exposed fragments of each colony to extreme cold and found that the stress-induced change in symbiont photochemical efficiency varied up to 3.6-fold depending on host genetic background. The S. ‘fitti’ strain was least stressed when associating with hosts that significantly altered the expression of 184 genes under cold shock; it was most stressed in hosts that only adjusted 14 genes. Key expression differences among hosts were related to redox signaling and iron availability pathways. Fine-scale interactions among unique host colonies and symbiont strains provide an underappreciated source of raw material for natural selection in coral symbioses.
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First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0139175. [PMID: 26466126 PMCID: PMC4605525 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mucus, i.e., particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM, DOM) released by corals, acts as an important energy carrier in tropical ecosystems, but little is known on its ecological role in temperate environments. This study assessed POM and DOM production by the temperate coral Cladocora caespitosa under different environmental conditions. The subsequent enzymatic degradation, growth of prokaryotes and virus-like particles (VLPs) as well as changes in the structure of the prokaryotic communities were also monitored. C. caespitosa produced an important quantity of mucus, which varied according to the environmental conditions (from 37.8 to 67.75 nmol carbon h-1 cm-2), but remained higher or comparable to productions observed in tropical corals. It has an important nutritional value, as highlighted by the high content in dissolved nitrogen (50% to 90% of the organic matter released). Organic matter was rapidly degraded by prokaryotes' enzymatic activities, and due to its nitrogen content, aminopeptidase activity was 500 fold higher than the α-glucosidase activity. Prokaryotes, as well as VLPs, presented a rapid growth in the mucus, with prokaryote production rates as high as 0.31 μg h-1 L-1. Changes in bacterial and archaeal communities were observed in the ageing mucus and between mucus and the water column, suggesting a clear impact of mucus on microorganism diversity. Overall, our results show that the organic matter released by temperate corals, such as C. caespitosa, which can form reef structures in the Mediterranean Sea, stimulates microbial activity and thereby functions as a significant carbon and nitrogen supplier to the microbial loop.
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Abstract
Increasingly, researchers are interested in estimating the heritability of traits for nonmodel organisms. However, estimating the heritability of these traits presents both experimental and statistical challenges, which typically arise from logistical difficulties associated with rearing large numbers of families independently in the field, a lack of known pedigree, the need to account for group or batch effects, etc. Here we develop both an empirical and computational methodology for estimating the narrow-sense heritability of traits for highly fecund species. Our experimental approach controls for undesirable culturing effects while minimizing culture numbers, increasing feasibility in the field. Our statistical approach accounts for known issues with model-selection by using a permutation test to calculate significance values and includes both fitting and power calculation methods. We further demonstrate that even with moderately high sample-sizes, the p-values derived from asymptotic properties of the likelihood ratio test are overly conservative, thus reducing statistical power. We illustrate our methodology by estimating the narrow-sense heritability for larval settlement, a key life-history trait, in the reef-building coral Orbicella faveolata. The experimental, statistical, and computational methods, along with all of the data from this study, are available in the R package multiDimBio.
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35
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Hangartner S, Hoffmann AA. Evolutionary potential of multiple measures of upper thermal tolerance in
D
rosophila melanogaster. Funct Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Hangartner
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne 30 Flemington Road Parkville Vic.3010 Australia
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University, Clayton Campus Building 18Vic.3800 Australia
| | - Ary A. Hoffmann
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne 30 Flemington Road Parkville Vic.3010 Australia
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Heritable differences in fitness-related traits among populations of the mustard hill coral, Porites astreoides. Heredity (Edinb) 2015; 115:509-16. [PMID: 26081798 DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2015.52] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2014] [Revised: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 04/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
A population's potential for rapid evolutionary adaptation can be estimated from the amount of genetic variation in fitness-related traits. Inshore populations of the mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) have been shown to be more tolerant to thermal stress than offshore populations, but it is unclear whether this difference is due to long-term physiological acclimatization or genetic adaptation. Here, we evaluated variation in growth rate and survival among 38 families of juvenile recruits of P. astreoides spawned by colonies originating from inshore and offshore locations. Recruits were reared in a common garden for 5 weeks and then subjected to two thermal treatments (28 and 31 °C) for 2.5 weeks. The most significant effects were detected during the first 5 weeks, before thermal stress was applied: 27-30% of variance in growth and 94% of variance in recruit survival was attributable to parental effects. Genotyping of eight microsatellite loci indicated that the high early mortality of some of the recruit families was not due to higher inbreeding. Post treatment, parental effects diminished such that only 10-15% of variance in growth rate was explained, which most likely reflects the dissipation of maternal effects. However, offshore-origin recruits still grew significantly less under elevated temperature compared with inshore-origin recruits. These differences observed in naive juvenile corals suggest that population-level variation in fitness in response to different thermal environments has a genetic basis and could represent raw material for natural selection in times of climate change.
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Abstract
The genetic enhancement of wild animals and plants for characteristics that benefit human populations has been practiced for thousands of years, resulting in impressive improvements in commercially valuable species. Despite these benefits, genetic manipulations are rarely considered for noncommercial purposes, such as conservation and restoration initiatives. Over the last century, humans have driven global climate change through industrialization and the release of increasing amounts of CO2, resulting in shifts in ocean temperature, ocean chemistry, and sea level, as well as increasing frequency of storms, all of which can profoundly impact marine ecosystems. Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems that have suffered massive declines in health and abundance as a result of these and other direct anthropogenic disturbances. There is great concern that the high rates, magnitudes, and complexity of environmental change are overwhelming the intrinsic capacity of corals to adapt and survive. Although it is important to address the root causes of changing climate, it is also prudent to explore the potential to augment the capacity of reef organisms to tolerate stress and to facilitate recovery after disturbances. Here, we review the risks and benefits of the improvement of natural and commercial stocks in noncoral reef systems and advocate a series of experiments to determine the feasibility of developing coral stocks with enhanced stress tolerance through the acceleration of naturally occurring processes, an approach known as (human)-assisted evolution, while at the same time initiating a public dialogue on the risks and benefits of this approach.
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38
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Parkinson JE, Baums IB. The extended phenotypes of marine symbioses: ecological and evolutionary consequences of intraspecific genetic diversity in coral-algal associations. Front Microbiol 2014; 5:445. [PMID: 25202306 PMCID: PMC4142987 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 08/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Reef-building corals owe much of their success to a symbiosis with dinoflagellate microalgae in the genus Symbiodinium. In this association, the performance of each organism is tied to that of its partner, and together the partners form a holobiont that can be subject to selection. Climate change affects coral reefs, which are declining globally as a result. Yet the extent to which coral holobionts will be able to acclimate or evolve to handle climate change and other stressors remains unclear. Selection acts on individuals and evidence from terrestrial systems demonstrates that intraspecific genetic diversity plays a significant role in symbiosis ecology and evolution. However, we have a limited understanding of the effects of such diversity in corals. As molecular methods have advanced, so too has our recognition of the taxonomic and functional diversity of holobiont partners. Resolving the major components of the holobiont to the level of the individual will help us assess the importance of intraspecific diversity and partner interactions in coral-algal symbioses. Here, we hypothesize that unique combinations of coral and algal individuals yield functional diversity that affects not only the ecology and evolution of the coral holobiont, but associated communities as well. Our synthesis is derived from reviewing existing evidence and presenting novel data. By incorporating the effects of holobiont extended phenotypes into predictive models, we may refine our understanding of the evolutionary trajectory of corals and reef communities responding to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Iliana B. Baums
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University ParkPA, USA
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39
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Baums IB, Devlin-Durante MK, LaJeunesse TC. New insights into the dynamics between reef corals and their associated dinoflagellate endosymbionts from population genetic studies. Mol Ecol 2014; 23:4203-15. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.12788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Revised: 04/28/2014] [Accepted: 05/05/2014] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Iliana B. Baums
- Department of Biology; The Pennsylvania State University; 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park PA 16802 USA
| | - Meghann K. Devlin-Durante
- Department of Biology; The Pennsylvania State University; 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park PA 16802 USA
| | - Todd C. LaJeunesse
- Department of Biology; The Pennsylvania State University; 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park PA 16802 USA
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40
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Keshavmurthy S, Meng PJ, Wang JT, Kuo CY, Yang SY, Hsu CM, Gan CH, Dai CF, Chen CA. Can resistant coral-Symbiodinium associations enable coral communities to survive climate change? A study of a site exposed to long-term hot water input. PeerJ 2014; 2:e327. [PMID: 24765567 PMCID: PMC3994648 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2013] [Accepted: 03/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change has led to a decline in the health of corals and coral reefs around the world. Studies have shown that, while some corals can cope with natural and anthropogenic stressors either through resistance mechanisms of coral hosts or through sustainable relationships with Symbiodinium clades or types, many coral species cannot. Here, we show that the corals present in a reef in southern Taiwan, and exposed to long-term elevated seawater temperatures due to the presence of a nuclear power plant outlet (NPP OL), are unique in terms of species and associated Symbiodinium types. At shallow depths (<3 m), eleven coral genera elsewhere in Kenting predominantly found with Symbiodinium types C1 and C3 (stress sensitive) were instead hosting Symbiodinium type D1a (stress tolerant) or a mixture of Symbiodinium type C1/C3/C21a/C15 and Symbiodinium type D1a. Of the 16 coral genera that dominate the local reefs, two that are apparently unable to associate with Symbiodinium type D1a are not present at NPP OL at depths of <3 m. Two other genera present at NPP OL and other locations host a specific type of Symbiodinium type C15. These data imply that coral assemblages may have the capacity to maintain their presence at the generic level against long-term disturbances such as elevated seawater temperatures by acclimatization through successful association with a stress-tolerant Symbiodinium over time. However, at the community level it comes at the cost of some coral genera being lost, suggesting that species unable to associate with a stress-tolerant Symbiodinium are likely to become extinct locally and unfavorable shifts in coral communities are likely to occur under the impact of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pei-Jie Meng
- National Museum of Marine Biology/Aquarium , Checheng, Pingtung , Taiwan ; Institute of Marine Biodiversity and Evolution, National Dong Hwa University , Checheng, Pingtung , Taiwan
| | - Jih-Terng Wang
- Institute of Biotechnology, Tajen University of Science and Technology , Pintung , Taiwan
| | - Chao-Yang Kuo
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica , Nangang, Taipei , Taiwan ; ARC Centre for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University , Townsville , Australia
| | - Sung-Yin Yang
- University of Ryukyus, Graduate School of Engineering and Science , Okinawa , Japan
| | - Chia-Min Hsu
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica , Nangang, Taipei , Taiwan ; Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University , Taipei , Taiwan
| | - Chai-Hsia Gan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica , Nangang, Taipei , Taiwan
| | - Chang-Feng Dai
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University , Taipei , Taiwan
| | - Chaolun Allen Chen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica , Nangang, Taipei , Taiwan ; Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University , Taipei , Taiwan ; Taiwan International Graduate Program (TIGP)-Biodiversity, Academia Sinica , Nankang, Taipei , Taiwan
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41
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Logan CA, Dunne JP, Eakin CM, Donner SD. Incorporating adaptive responses into future projections of coral bleaching. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2014; 20:125-39. [PMID: 24038982 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2013] [Revised: 07/19/2013] [Accepted: 07/30/2013] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Climate warming threatens to increase mass coral bleaching events, and several studies have projected the demise of tropical coral reefs this century. However, recent evidence indicates corals may be able to respond to thermal stress though adaptive processes (e.g., genetic adaptation, acclimatization, and symbiont shuffling). How these mechanisms might influence warming-induced bleaching remains largely unknown. This study compared how different adaptive processes could affect coral bleaching projections. We used the latest bias-corrected global sea surface temperature (SST) output from the NOAA/GFDL Earth System Model 2 (ESM2M) for the preindustrial period through 2100 to project coral bleaching trajectories. Initial results showed that, in the absence of adaptive processes, application of a preindustrial climatology to the NOAA Coral Reef Watch bleaching prediction method overpredicts the present-day bleaching frequency. This suggests that corals may have already responded adaptively to some warming over the industrial period. We then modified the prediction method so that the bleaching threshold either permanently increased in response to thermal history (e.g., simulating directional genetic selection) or temporarily increased for 2-10 years in response to a bleaching event (e.g., simulating symbiont shuffling). A bleaching threshold that changes relative to the preceding 60 years of thermal history reduced the frequency of mass bleaching events by 20-80% compared with the 'no adaptive response' prediction model by 2100, depending on the emissions scenario. When both types of adaptive responses were applied, up to 14% more reef cells avoided high-frequency bleaching by 2100. However, temporary increases in bleaching thresholds alone only delayed the occurrence of high-frequency bleaching by ca. 10 years in all but the lowest emissions scenario. Future research should test the rate and limit of different adaptive responses for coral species across latitudes and ocean basins to determine if and how much corals can respond to increasing thermal stress.
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42
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Reusch TBH. Climate change in the oceans: evolutionary versus phenotypically plastic responses of marine animals and plants. Evol Appl 2014; 7:104-22. [PMID: 24454551 PMCID: PMC3894901 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 221] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2013] [Accepted: 08/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
I summarize marine studies on plastic versus adaptive responses to global change. Due to the lack of time series, this review focuses largely on the potential for adaptive evolution in marine animals and plants. The approaches were mainly synchronic comparisons of phenotypically divergent populations, substituting spatial contrasts in temperature or CO2 environments for temporal changes, or in assessments of adaptive genetic diversity within populations for traits important under global change. The available literature is biased towards gastropods, crustaceans, cnidarians and macroalgae. Focal traits were mostly environmental tolerances, which correspond to phenotypic buffering, a plasticity type that maintains a functional phenotype despite external disturbance. Almost all studies address coastal species that are already today exposed to fluctuations in temperature, pH and oxygen levels. Recommendations for future research include (i) initiation and analyses of observational and experimental temporal studies encompassing diverse phenotypic traits (including diapausing cues, dispersal traits, reproductive timing, morphology) (ii) quantification of nongenetic trans-generational effects along with components of additive genetic variance (iii) adaptive changes in microbe-host associations under the holobiont model in response to global change (iv) evolution of plasticity patterns under increasingly fluctuating environments and extreme conditions and (v) joint consideration of demography and evolutionary adaptation in evolutionary rescue approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorsten B H Reusch
- GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Marine Ecology - Evolutionary Ecology of Marine Fishes Kiel, Germany
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43
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Munday PL, Warner RR, Monro K, Pandolfi JM, Marshall DJ. Predicting evolutionary responses to climate change in the sea. Ecol Lett 2013; 16:1488-500. [PMID: 24119205 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 213] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2013] [Accepted: 08/29/2013] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
An increasing number of short-term experimental studies show significant effects of projected ocean warming and ocean acidification on the performance on marine organisms. Yet, it remains unclear if we can reliably predict the impact of climate change on marine populations and ecosystems, because we lack sufficient understanding of the capacity for marine organisms to adapt to rapid climate change. In this review, we emphasise why an evolutionary perspective is crucial to understanding climate change impacts in the sea and examine the approaches that may be useful for addressing this challenge. We first consider what the geological record and present-day analogues of future climate conditions can tell us about the potential for adaptation to climate change. We also examine evidence that phenotypic plasticity may assist marine species to persist in a rapidly changing climate. We then outline the various experimental approaches that can be used to estimate evolutionary potential, focusing on molecular tools, quantitative genetics, and experimental evolution, and we describe the benefits of combining different approaches to gain a deeper understanding of evolutionary potential. Our goal is to provide a platform for future research addressing the evolutionary potential for marine organisms to cope with climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip L Munday
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia
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An Ecosystem-Level Perspective on the Host and Symbiont Traits Needed to Mitigate Climate Change Impacts on Caribbean Coral Reefs. Ecosystems 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-013-9702-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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45
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Pey A, Catanéo J, Forcioli D, Merle PL, Furla P. Thermal threshold and sensitivity of the only symbiotic Mediterranean gorgonian Eunicella singularis by morphometric and genotypic analyses. C R Biol 2013; 336:331-41. [PMID: 23932253 DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2013.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2013] [Revised: 06/11/2013] [Accepted: 06/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The only symbiotic Mediterranean gorgonian, Eunicella singularis, has faced several mortality events connected to abnormal high temperatures. Since thermotolerance data remain scarce, heat-induced necrosis was monitored in aquarium by morphometric analysis. Gorgonian tips were sampled at two sites: Medes (Spain) and Riou (France) Islands, and at two depths: -15 m and-35 m. Although coming from contrasting thermal regimes, seawater above 28 °C led to rapid and complete tissue necrosis for all four populations. However, at 27 °C, the time length leading to 50% tissue necrosis allowed us to classify samples within three classes of thermal sensitivity. Irrespectively of the depth, Medes specimens were either very sensitive or resistant, while Riou fragments presented a medium sensitivity. Microsatellite analysis revealed that host and symbiont were genetically differentiated between sites, but not between depths. Finally, these genetic differentiations were not directly correlated to a specific thermal sensitivity whose molecular bases remain to be discovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Pey
- Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, UMR "Systématique, Adaptation, Évolution", équipe "Symbiose marine", faculté des sciences, Nice, France
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46
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Clark JS, Poore AGB, Ralph PJ, Doblin MA. Potential for adaptation in response to thermal stress in an intertidal macroalga. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2013; 49:630-639. [PMID: 27007196 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2012] [Accepted: 02/24/2013] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Understanding responses of marine algae to changing ocean temperatures requires knowledge of the impacts of elevated temperatures and the likelihood of adaptation to thermal stress. The potential for rapid evolution of thermal tolerance is dependent on the levels of heritable genetic variation in response to thermal stress within a population. Here, we use a quantitative genetic breeding design to establish whether there is a heritable variation in thermal sensitivity in two populations of a habitat-forming intertidal macroalga, Hormosira banksii (Turner) Descaisne. Gametes from multiple parents were mixed and growth and photosynthetic performance were measured in the resulting embryos, which were incubated under control and elevated temperature (20°C and 28°C). Embryo growth was reduced at 28°C, but significant interactions between male genotype and temperature in one population indicated the presence of genetic variation in thermal sensitivity. Selection for more tolerant genotypes thus has the ability to result in the evolution of increased thermal tolerance. Furthermore, genetic correlations between embryos grown in the two temperatures were positive, indicating that those genotypes that performed well in elevated temperature also performed well in control temperature. Chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements showed a marked decrease in maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII) under elevated temperature. There was an increase in the proportion of energy directed to photoinhibition (nonregulated nonphotochemical quenching) and a concomitant decrease in energy used to drive photochemistry and xanthophyll cycling (regulated nonphotochemical quenching). However, PSII performance between genotypes was similar, suggesting that thermal sensitivity is related to processes other than photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer S Clark
- Plant Functional Biology, Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, PO Box 123 Broadway, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
| | - Alistair G B Poore
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia
| | - Peter J Ralph
- Plant Functional Biology, Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, PO Box 123 Broadway, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
| | - Martina A Doblin
- Plant Functional Biology, Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, PO Box 123 Broadway, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
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47
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Howells EJ, Berkelmans R, van Oppen MJH, Willis BL, Bay LK. Historical thermal regimes define limits to coral acclimatization. Ecology 2013; 94:1078-88. [DOI: 10.1890/12-1257.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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48
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Lundgren P, Vera JC, Peplow L, Manel S, van Oppen MJH. Genotype - environment correlations in corals from the Great Barrier Reef. BMC Genet 2013; 14:9. [PMID: 23433436 PMCID: PMC3599201 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2156-14-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2012] [Accepted: 01/03/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Knowledge of genetic markers that are correlated to stress tolerance may improve spatial mapping of reef vulnerability and can inform restoration efforts, including the choice of genotypes for breeding and reseeding. In this manuscript we present two methods for screening transcriptome data for candidate genetic markers in two reef building corals, Acropora millepora and Pocillopora damicornis (types α and β). In A. millepora, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were pre-selected by targeting genes believed to be involved in the coral thermal stress responses. In P. damicornis (type α and β), SNPs showing varying allele frequencies between two populations from distinct environments were pre-selected. Allele frequencies at nine, five and eight of the pre-selected SNP loci were correlated against gradients of water clarity and temperature in a large number of populations along the Great Barrier Reef. Results A significant correlation between environmental category and SNP allele frequency was detected in up to 55% of the tested loci, which is an exceptional success rate for these types of tests. In P. damicornis, SNP allele frequencies of β-hexosaminidase and Elongation factor 1-α were significantly correlated to temperature in type α and to temperature and/or water clarity respectively in type β. Type α also showed a correlation between water clarity and SNP allele frequency in a gene of unknown function. In A. millepora, allele frequencies at five (β-gamma crystallin, Galaxin, Ubiquitin, Ligand of Numb X2 and Thioredoxin) SNP loci showed significant correlations. Conclusions After validation of these candidate loci through laboratory or field assessment of relative stress tolerance of colonies harbouring different alleles, it is anticipated that a proportion of these markers may represent the first coral candidate Quantitative Trait Loci for environmental stress tolerance and provide an important genetic tool that can be incorporated into spatial management decisions and restoration efforts of coral reefs. One pertinent example would be to combine spatial data of tolerant populations with genetic connectivity and thus identify high priority conservation reefs and implement targeted coral husbandry and active restoration efforts that use locally- and stress-adapted genotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Lundgren
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No 3, Townsville MC, QLD, 4810, Australia.
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Polato NR, Altman NS, Baums IB. Variation in the transcriptional response of threatened coral larvae to elevated temperatures. Mol Ecol 2013; 22:1366-82. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.12163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2012] [Revised: 10/30/2012] [Accepted: 11/02/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas R. Polato
- Department of Biology; The Pennsylvania State University; 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park PA 16802 USA
| | - Naomi S. Altman
- Department of Statistics; The Pennsylvania State University; 312 Thomas Building University Park PA 16802 USA
| | - Iliana B. Baums
- Department of Biology; The Pennsylvania State University; 208 Mueller Laboratory University Park PA 16802 USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan W. Kelly
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; University of California Santa Barbara; Santa Barbara; California; 93106-9620; USA
| | - Gretchen E. Hofmann
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; University of California Santa Barbara; Santa Barbara; California; 93106-9620; USA
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