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Evans KM, Buser TJ, Larouche O, Kolmann MA. Untangling the relationship between developmental and evolutionary integration. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2022; 145:22-27. [PMID: 35659472 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Patterns of integration and modularity among organismal traits are prevalent across the tree of life, and at multiple scales of biological organization. Over the past several decades, researchers have studied these patterns at the developmental, and evolutionary levels. While their work has identified the potential drivers of these patterns at different scales, there appears to be a lack of consensus on the relationship between developmental and evolutionary integration. Here, we review and summarize key studies and build a framework to describe the conceptual relationship between these patterns across organismal scales and illustrate how, and why some of these studies may have yielded seemingly conflicting outcomes. We find that among studies that analyze patterns of integration and modularity using morphological data, the lack of consensus may stem in part from the difficulty of fully disentangling the developmental and functional causes of integration. Nonetheless, in some empirical systems, patterns of evolutionary modularity have been found to coincide with expectations based on developmental processes, suggesting that in some circumstances, developmental modularity may translate to evolutionary modularity. We also advance an extension to Hallgrímsson et al.'s palimpsest model to describe how patterns of trait modularity may shift across different evolutionary scales. Finally, we also propose some directions for future research which will hopefully be useful for investigators interested in these issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kory M Evans
- Rice University, Biosciences Department, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
| | - Thaddaeus J Buser
- Rice University, Biosciences Department, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Olivier Larouche
- Rice University, Biosciences Department, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Matthew A Kolmann
- Rice University, Biosciences Department, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX 77005, USA
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Simancas-Giraldo SM, Xiang N, Kennedy MM, Nafeh R, Zelli E, Wild C. Photosynthesis and respiration of the soft coral Xenia umbellata respond to warming but not to organic carbon eutrophication. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11663. [PMID: 34395065 PMCID: PMC8323596 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Eutrophication with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) as a far under-investigated stressor, and ocean warming, can strongly affect coral reefs and hard corals as major reefs ecosystem engineers. However, no previous studies have investigated the metabolic responses of soft corals to DOC eutrophication, or its interaction with ocean warming. Thus, we investigated respiration and photosynthesis response of Xenia umbellata, a common mixotrophic soft coral from the Indo-pacific, to (1) three levels of DOC eutrophication simulated by glucose addition over the first 21 days of experiment and (2) ocean warming scenarios where the temperature was gradually increased from 26 °C (control condition) to 32 °C over another 24 days in an aquarium experiment. We found no significant difference in response to DOC treatments and all corals survived regardless of the DOC concentrations, whilst subsequent exposure to simulated ocean warming significantly decreased gross photosynthesis by approximately 50% at 30 °C, and 65% at 32 °C, net photosynthesis by 75% at 30 °C and 79% at 32 °C, and respiration by a maximum of 75% at 30 °C; with a slight increase at 32 °C of 25%. The ratio between gross photosynthesis and respiration decreased by the end of the warming period but remained similar between controls and colonies previously exposed to DOC. Our findings suggest that soft corals may be more resistant than hard corals to DOC eutrophication and in consequence, may potentially experiment in less magnitude the negative effects of increased temperature or subsequently both stressors. The results of this study may contribute to explain the successful role of soft corals in phase shifts as reported from many coral reefs. Where predicted declines in reef ecosystems health due to increased eutrophication levels can be exacerbated by future warming.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nan Xiang
- Marine Ecology Department, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | | | - Rassil Nafeh
- Marine Ecology Department, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Edoardo Zelli
- Marine Ecology Department, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche ed Ambientali (BiGeA) & Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali (CIRSA), University of Bologna, Italy
| | - Christian Wild
- Marine Ecology Department, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
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Guerrini G, Shefy D, Shashar N, Shafir S, Rinkevich B. Morphometric and allometric rules of polyp's landscape in regular and chimeric coral colonies of the branching species Stylophora pistillata. Dev Dyn 2020; 250:652-668. [PMID: 33368848 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most studies on architectural rules in corals have focused on the branch and the colony level, unveiling a variety of allometric rules. Working on the branching coral Stylophora pistillata, here we further extend the astogenic directives of this species at the polyp level, to reveal allometric and morphometric rules dictating polyps' arrangement. RESULTS We identified a basic morphometric landscape as a six-polyp circlet developed around a founder polyp, with established distances between polyps (six equilateral triangles), reflecting a strong genetic-based background vs high plasticity on the population level. Testing these rules in regular and chimeric S. pistillata colonies, we revealed similar morphometric/allometric rules developed via a single astogenic pathway. In regular colonies, this pathway was driven by the presence/absence of intra-circlet budding polyps, while in chimeras, by the distances between the two founder polyps. In addition, we identified the intra-circlet budding as the origin of first branching, if BPC distances are kept <1.09 ± 0.25 mm. CONCLUSIONS The emerged allometric/morphometric rules indicate the existence of a positional information paradigm for polyps' landscape distribution, where each polyp creates its own positional field of morphogen gradients through six inductive sites, thus forming six positional fields for the development of the archetypal "six-polyp crown".
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Guerrini
- Israel Oceanography and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Haifa, Israel.,Marine Biology and Biotechnology Program, Department of Life Sciences, Ben- Gurion University of the Negev Eilat Campus, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Dor Shefy
- Israel Oceanography and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Haifa, Israel.,Marine Biology and Biotechnology Program, Department of Life Sciences, Ben- Gurion University of the Negev Eilat Campus, Beer-Sheva, Israel.,The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Science, Eilat, Israel
| | - Nadav Shashar
- Marine Biology and Biotechnology Program, Department of Life Sciences, Ben- Gurion University of the Negev Eilat Campus, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Shai Shafir
- Israel Oceanography and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Haifa, Israel.,Oranim Academic College of Education, 36006 Kiryat Tivon, Israel
| | - Baruch Rinkevich
- Israel Oceanography and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Haifa, Israel
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Lasker HR, Bramanti L, Tsounis G, Edmunds PJ. The rise of octocoral forests on Caribbean reefs. ADVANCES IN MARINE BIOLOGY 2020; 87:361-410. [PMID: 33293017 DOI: 10.1016/bs.amb.2020.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Coral reefs throughout the tropics have experienced large declines in the abundance of scleractinian corals over the last few decades, and some reefs are becoming functionally dominated by animal taxa other than scleractinians. This phenomenon is striking on many shallow reefs in the tropical western Atlantic, where arborescent octocorals now are numerically and functionally dominant. Octocorals are one of several taxa that have been overlooked for decades in analyses of coral reef community dynamics, and our understanding of why octocorals are favoured (whereas scleractinians are not) on some modern reefs, and how they will affect the function of future reef communities, is not commensurate with the task of scientifically responding to the coral reef crisis. We summarize the biological and ecological features predisposing octocorals for success under contemporary conditions, and focus on those features that could have generated resistance and resilience of octocoral populations to environmental change on modern reefs. There is a rich set of opportunities for rapid advancement in understanding the factors driving the success of octocorals on modern reefs, but we underscore three lines of inquiry: (1) the functional implications of strongly mixotrophic, polytrophic, and plastic nutrition, (2) the capacity to recruit at high densities and maintain rapid initial rates of vertical growth, and (3) the emergent properties associated with dense animal forests at high colony densities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Howard R Lasker
- Department of Environment and Sustainability and Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States.
| | - Lorenzo Bramanti
- CNRS-Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire d'Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques, LECOB, Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls sur Mer, Banyuls sur Mer, France
| | - Georgios Tsounis
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, United States
| | - Peter J Edmunds
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, United States
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Calixto-Botía I, Sánchez JA. A case of modular phenotypic plasticity in the depth gradient for the gorgonian coral Antillogorgia bipinnata (Cnidaria: Octocorallia). BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:55. [PMID: 28212607 PMCID: PMC5316182 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0900-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Phenotypic plasticity, as a phenotypic response induced by the environment, has been proposed as a key factor in the evolutionary history of corals. A significant number of octocoral species show high phenotypic variation, exhibiting a strong overlap in intra- and inter-specific morphologic variation. This is the case of the gorgonian octocoral Antillogorgia bipinnata (Verrill 1864), which shows three polyphyletic morphotypes along a bathymetric gradient. This research tested the phenotypic plasticity of modular traits in A. bipinnata with a reciprocal transplant experiment involving 256 explants from two morphotypes in two locations and at two depths. Vertical and horizontal length and number of new branches were compared 13 weeks following transplant. The data were analysed with a linear mixed-effects model and a graphic approach by reaction norms. RESULTS At the end of the experiment, 91.8% of explants survived. Lower vertical and horizontal growth rates and lower branch promotion were found for deep environments compared to shallow environments. The overall variation behaved similarly to the performance of native transplants. In particular, promotion of new branches showed variance mainly due to a phenotypic plastic effect. CONCLUSIONS Globally, environmental and genotypic effects explain the variation of the assessed traits. Survival rates besides plastic responses suggest an intermediate scenario between adaptive plasticity and local adaptation that may drive a potential process of adaptive divergence along depth cline in A. bipinnata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iván Calixto-Botía
- Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig Universität, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32 IFZ D-35392, Giessen, Germany.
- Laboratory of Biología Molecular Marina-Biommar, Department of Biological Sciences-Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1E No 18A - 10, P.O. Box 4976, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Juan A Sánchez
- Laboratory of Biología Molecular Marina-Biommar, Department of Biological Sciences-Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1E No 18A - 10, P.O. Box 4976, Bogotá, Colombia
- Marine Sciences, International Giessen Graduate Centre for the Life Sciences (GGL), Justus Liebig Universität, Giessen, Germany
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Esteve-Altava B. In search of morphological modules: a systematic review. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:1332-1347. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2016] [Revised: 05/06/2016] [Accepted: 05/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Borja Esteve-Altava
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Royal Veterinary College; Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms Hatfield Hertfordshire AL9 7TA UK
- Department of Anatomy; College of Medicine, Howard University; 520 W Street, NW, Numa Adams Building Washington DC 20059 USA
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Rowley SJ, Pochon X, Watling L. Environmental influences on the Indo-Pacific octocoral Isis hippuris Linnaeus 1758 (Alcyonacea: Isididae): genetic fixation or phenotypic plasticity? PeerJ 2015; 3:e1128. [PMID: 26312170 PMCID: PMC4548502 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2015] [Accepted: 07/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
As conspicuous modular components of benthic marine habitats, gorgonian (sea fan) octocorals have perplexed taxonomists for centuries through their shear diversity, particularly throughout the Indo–Pacific. Phenotypic incongruence within and between seemingly unitary lineages across contrasting environments can provide the raw material to investigate processes of disruptive selection. Two distinct phenotypes of the Isidid Isis hippurisLinnaeus, 1758 partition between differing reef environments: long-branched bushy colonies on degraded reefs, and short-branched multi/planar colonies on healthy reefs within the Wakatobi Marine National Park (WMNP), Indonesia. Multivariate analyses reveal phenotypic traits between morphotypes were likely integrated primarily at the colony level with increased polyp density and consistently smaller sclerite dimensions at the degraded site. Sediment load and turbidity, hence light availability, primarily influenced phenotypic differences between the two sites. This distinct morphological dissimilarity between the two sites is a reliable indicator of reef health; selection primarily acting on colony morphology, porosity through branching structure, as well as sclerite diversity and size. ITS2 sequence and predicted RNA secondary structure further revealed intraspecific variation between I. hippuris morphotypes relative to such environments (ΦST = 0.7683, P < 0.001). This evidence suggests—but does not confirm—that I. hippuris morphotypes within the WMNP are two separate species; however, to what extent and taxonomic assignment requires further investigation across its full geographic distribution. Incongruence between colonies present in the WMNP with tenuously described Isis alternatives (Isis reticulataNutting, 1910, Isis minorbrachyblastaZou, Huang & Wang, 1991), questions the validity of such assignments. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses confirm early taxonomic suggestion that the characteristic jointed axis of the Isididae is in fact a convergent trait. Thus the polyphyletic nature of the Isididae lies in its type species I. hippuris, being unrelated to the rest of its family members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia J Rowley
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa , Honolulu, HI , USA ; Department of Natural Sciences, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum , HI , USA
| | - Xavier Pochon
- Coastal and Freshwater Group, Cawthron Institute , Nelson , New Zealand ; Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland , Auckland , New Zealand
| | - Les Watling
- Department of Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa , Honolulu, HI , USA ; Darling Marine Center, University of Maine , Walpole, ME , USA
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Sentoku A, Ishibashi M, Masumoto S, Ohno R, Tomiyama T, Machiyama H, Tadai O, Ezaki Y. Regular budding modes in a zooxanthellate dendrophylliidTurbinaria peltata(Scleractinia) revealed by X-ray CT imaging and three-dimensional reconstruction. J Morphol 2015; 276:1100-8. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2015] [Revised: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Asuka Sentoku
- Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, JSPS, 459 Shirahama; Nishimuro Wakayama 649-2211 Japan
| | - Masatsugu Ishibashi
- Department of Geosciences; Faculty of Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto Sumiyoshi-ku; Osaka-shi 558-8585 Japan
| | - Shinji Masumoto
- Department of Geosciences; Faculty of Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto Sumiyoshi-ku; Osaka-shi 558-8585 Japan
| | - Rie Ohno
- Department of Geosciences; Faculty of Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto Sumiyoshi-ku; Osaka-shi 558-8585 Japan
| | - Takayuki Tomiyama
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kochi Core Center, 2-15 Natsushima-cho; Yokosuka-city Kanagawa 237-0061 Japan
| | - Hideaki Machiyama
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kochi Core Center, 2-15 Natsushima-cho; Yokosuka-city Kanagawa 237-0061 Japan
| | - Osamu Tadai
- Marin Works Japan Ltd, 3-54-1 Oppamahigashi; Yokosuka 237-0063 Japan
| | - Yoichi Ezaki
- Department of Geosciences; Faculty of Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto Sumiyoshi-ku; Osaka-shi 558-8585 Japan
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Ramsby BD, Shirur KP, Iglesias-Prieto R, Goulet TL. Symbiodinium photosynthesis in Caribbean octocorals. PLoS One 2014; 9:e106419. [PMID: 25192405 PMCID: PMC4156329 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2014] [Accepted: 08/06/2014] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Symbioses with the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium form the foundation of tropical coral reef communities. Symbiodinium photosynthesis fuels the growth of an array of marine invertebrates, including cnidarians such as scleractinian corals and octocorals (e.g., gorgonian and soft corals). Studies examining the symbioses between Caribbean gorgonian corals and Symbiodinium are sparse, even though gorgonian corals blanket the landscape of Caribbean coral reefs. The objective of this study was to compare photosynthetic characteristics of Symbiodinium in four common Caribbean gorgonian species: Pterogorgia anceps, Eunicea tourneforti, Pseudoplexaura porosa, and Pseudoplexaura wagenaari. Symbiodinium associated with these four species exhibited differences in Symbiodinium density, chlorophyll a per cell, light absorption by chlorophyll a, and rates of photosynthetic oxygen production. The two Pseudoplexaura species had higher Symbiodinium densities and chlorophyll a per Symbiodinium cell but lower chlorophyll a specific absorption compared to P. anceps and E. tourneforti. Consequently, P. porosa and P. wagenaari had the highest average photosynthetic rates per cm2 but the lowest average photosynthetic rates per Symbiodinium cell or chlorophyll a. With the exception of Symbiodinium from E. tourneforti, isolated Symbiodinium did not photosynthesize at the same rate as Symbiodinium in hospite. Differences in Symbiodinium photosynthetic performance could not be attributed to Symbiodinium type. All P. anceps (n = 9) and P. wagenaari (n = 6) colonies, in addition to one E. tourneforti and three P. porosa colonies, associated with Symbiodinium type B1. The B1 Symbiodinium from these four gorgonian species did not cluster with lineages of B1 Symbiodinium from scleractinian corals. The remaining eight E. tourneforti colonies harbored Symbiodinium type B1L, while six P. porosa colonies harbored type B1i. Understanding the symbioses between gorgonian corals and Symbiodinium will aid in deciphering why gorgonian corals dominate many Caribbean reefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blake D. Ramsby
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Kartick P. Shirur
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
| | - Roberto Iglesias-Prieto
- Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales (Puerto Morelos), Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cancún, México
| | - Tamar L. Goulet
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
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Lasker HR. Recruitment and resilience of a harvested Caribbean octocoral. PLoS One 2013; 8:e74587. [PMID: 24040291 PMCID: PMC3765405 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Accepted: 08/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Disturbance events are an important component of the ecology of coral reefs and increasingly frequent disturbances coupled with a lack of population resilience may contribute to changes in the structure of coral reef communities. The harvest of the Caribbean octocoral Antillogorgia elisabethae provides an opportunity to explore the relationship between adult abundance and recruitment and the manner in which recruitment contributes to the resilience of local populations. Recruitment of A. elisabethae was monitored in 20, 1-m2 quadrats at 8 sites along the southern edge of the Little Bahama Bank from 2004 through 2007. A. elisabethae has been harvested in The Bahamas for over fifteen years and all of the sites had been harvested three times, including a harvest during the course of the study. Abundances of adult colonies at those sites as well as a location that had not been harvested were also determined. Recruitment was highly variable, differing between sites, transects within sites, and, depending on the site, between years. Recruitment was best correlated with adult abundance averaged across the surrounding site. Regression analyses suggest abundance on smaller scales had only small effects on recruitment. The effects of the harvesting were site specific ranging from a 38 to 67% reduction in the density of mature colonies. The sites with the most abundant A. elisabethae continued to have the highest abundances after harvesting and there was no significant difference in recruitment before and after harvesting. Population size-structure at 6 of 8 sites that have been harvested multiple times exhibited an overall depletion in small colonies suggesting long term suppression of recruitment and declining populations. Severe depression of adult abundances coupled with local recruitment can create a negative feedback and lead to the decline of local populations. Populations that are dependent on self-recruitment are not resilient to large disturbance events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Howard R. Lasker
- Department of Geology and Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Sentoku A, Ezaki Y. Intrinsic constraints on sympodial growth morphologies of azooxanthellate scleractinian coral Dendrophyllia. PLoS One 2013; 8:e63790. [PMID: 23667672 PMCID: PMC3646883 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2012] [Accepted: 04/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Asexual increase occurs in virtually all colonial organisms. However, little is known about the intrinsic mechanisms that control asexual reproduction and the resultant morphologies of colonies. Scleractinian corals, both symbiotic (zoaxanthellate) and non-symbiotic (azooxanthellate) corals are known to form elaborate colonies. To better understand the growth mechanisms that control species-specific type of colony in azooxanthellate dendrophyllid scleractinian corals, we have studied details of the budding pattern in the sympodial colonies of Dendrophyllia boschmai and Dendrophyllia cribrosa. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Budding exhibits the following regularities: (1) the two directive septa of offset corallites are oriented almost perpendicular to the growth direction of parent corallites; (2) offsets generally occur in either of the lateral primary septa that occur on one side of a corallite; the individuals thus show a definite polarity with respect to the directive septa, and only when branching dichotomously offsets occur in both primary septa; (3) the lateral corallites grow more-or-less diagonally upwards; and (4) the regularities and polarities are maintained throughout growth. Given these regularities, D. boschmai grows in a zigzag fashion by alternately budding on the right and left sites. In contrast, D. cribrosa grows helically by budding at a particular site. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The strict constraints on budding regularities and shifts in budding sites observed in the sympodial growth forms of corals greatly affect resulting morphologies in azooxanthellate coral colonies. A precise understanding of these intrinsic constraints leads to a fundamental comprehension of colony-forming mechanisms in modular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asuka Sentoku
- Department of Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan.
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Gutiérrez-Rodríguez C, Barbeitos MS, Sánchez JA, Lasker HR. Phylogeography and morphological variation of the branching octocoral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2009; 50:1-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2007] [Revised: 09/23/2008] [Accepted: 09/24/2008] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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13
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Shaish L, Abelson A, Rinkevich B. How plastic can phenotypic plasticity be? The branching coral Stylophora pistillata as a model system. PLoS One 2007; 2:e644. [PMID: 17653271 PMCID: PMC1924915 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2007] [Accepted: 06/19/2007] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity enables multicellular organisms to adjust morphologies and various life history traits to variable environmental challenges. Here, we elucidate fixed and plastic architectural rules for colony astogeny in multiple types of colonial ramets, propagated by cutting from genets of the branching coral Stylophora pistillata from Eilat, the Red Sea. We examined 16 morphometric parameters on 136 one-year old S. pistillata colonies (of seven genotypes), originating from small fragments belonging, each, to one of three single-branch types (single tips, start-up, and advanced bifurcating tips) or to structural preparative manipulations (representing a single or two growth axes). Experiments were guided by the rationale that in colonial forms, complexity of evolving phenotypic plasticity can be associated with a degree of structural modularity, where shapes are approached by erecting iterative growth patterns at different levels of coral-colony organization. Analyses revealed plastic morphometric characters at branch level, and predetermined morphometric traits at colony level (only single trait exhibited plasticity under extreme manipulation state). Therefore, under the experimental manipulations of this study, phenotypic plasticity in S. pistillata appears to be related to branch level of organization, whereas colony traits are controlled by predetermined genetic architectural rules. Each level of organization undergoes its own mode of astogeny. However, depending on the original ramet structure, the spherical 3-D colonial architecture in this species is orchestrated and assembled by both developmental trajectories at the branch level, and traits at the colony level of organization. In nature, branching colonial forms are often subjected to harsh environmental conditions that cause fragmentation of colony into ramets of different sizes and structures. Developmental traits that are plastic, responding to fragment structure and are not predetermine in controlling astogeny, allow formation of species-specific architecture product through integrated but variable developmental routes. This adaptive plasticity or regeneration is an efficient mechanism by which isolated fragments of branching coral species cope with external environmental forces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee Shaish
- Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Haifa, Israel
- Zoology Department, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Baruch Rinkevich
- Zoology Department, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
- * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
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Sánchez JA, Aguilar C, Dorado D, Manrique N. Phenotypic plasticity and morphological integration in a marine modular invertebrate. BMC Evol Biol 2007; 7:122. [PMID: 17650324 PMCID: PMC1959521 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-7-122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2006] [Accepted: 07/24/2007] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Colonial invertebrates such as corals exhibit nested levels of modularity, imposing a challenge to the depiction of their morphological evolution. Comparisons among diverse Caribbean gorgonian corals suggest decoupling of evolution at the polyp vs. branch/internode levels. Thus, evolutionary change in polyp form or size (the colonial module sensu stricto) does not imply a change in colony form (constructed of modular branches and other emergent features). This study examined the patterns of morphological integration at the intraspecific level. Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata (Verrill) (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) is a Caribbean shallow water gorgonian that can colonize most reef habitats (shallow/exposed vs. deep/protected; 1-45 m) and shows great morphological variation. RESULTS To characterize the genotype/environment relationship and phenotypic plasticity in P. bipinnata, two microsatellite loci, mitochondrial (MSH1) and nuclear (ITS) DNA sequences, and (ITS2) DGGE banding patterns were initially compared among the populations present in the coral reefs of Belize (Carrie Bow Cay), Panama (Bocas del Toro), Colombia (Cartagena) and the Bahamas (San Salvador). Despite the large and discrete differentiation of morphotypes, there was no concordant genetic variation (DGGE banding patterns) in the ITS2 genotypes from Belize, Panama and Colombia. ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 phylogenetic analysis afforded evidence for considering the species P. kallos (Bielschowsky) as the shallow-most morphotype of P. bipinnata from exposed environments. The population from Carrie Bow Cay, Belize (1-45 m) was examined to determine the phenotypic integration of modular features such as branch thickness, polyp aperture, inter-polyp distance, internode length and branch length. Third-order partial correlation coefficients suggested significant integration between polypar and colonial traits. Some features did not change at all despite 10-fold differences in other integrated features. More importantly, some colonial features showed dependence on modular features. CONCLUSION Consequently, module integration in gorgonian corals can be shifted, switched or canalized along lineages. Modular marine organisms such as corals are variations on a single theme: their modules can couple or decouple, allowing them to adapt to all marine benthic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan A Sánchez
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina – BIOMMAR, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas-Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, P.O.Box 4976, Bogotá, Colombia, USA
| | - Catalina Aguilar
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina – BIOMMAR, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas-Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, P.O.Box 4976, Bogotá, Colombia, USA
| | - Daniel Dorado
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina – BIOMMAR, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas-Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, P.O.Box 4976, Bogotá, Colombia, USA
| | - Nelson Manrique
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina – BIOMMAR, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas-Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, P.O.Box 4976, Bogotá, Colombia, USA
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Shaish L, Abelson A, Rinkevich B. Branch to colony trajectory in a modular organism: Pattern formation in the Indo-Pacific coralStylophora pistillata. Dev Dyn 2006; 235:2111-21. [PMID: 16788967 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.20861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The architecture of the colony in a branching coral is an iterative process in which new layers of calcium carbonate compile atop existing structures that remain unchanged. Colony growth and development, known as astogeny, is believed to be a continuous process, characterized by replication of lower rank unites, polyps, and branches. This study seeks to explore the genetic blueprint of branch-to-colony developmental trajectory in the branching coral Stylophora pistillata, within an astogeny period of 1 year. One hundred small branches (initially 2-4 cm long) were sampled from 10 colonies. A year later, 63 remaining colonies were analyzed for their architectural rules by using 15 morphometric parameters. Multivariate statistical tests were preformed. Cluster and two-dimensional nonmetric Multi-Dimensional Scaling analyses revealed that the 10 genotypes could be divided into two major morphometric groups and two intermediate groups, whereas SIMPER analyses (a similarity percentage test) on within-genet similarities showed high similarity between the ramets developed from each of the 10 genotypes. Although, at first, it seemed that different colonies exhibited variable and different architectural designs (each characterized by specific morphometric parameters), a comprehensive analysis revealed that all 10 coral genotypes exhibited a single common developmental plan that was characterized by a continuum of architectural design with several distinct stages. Each stage is marked by its own characteristic morphometric parameters. Changing of developmental rules during the trajectory from branch to coral colony may help the colony to cope better with environmental constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee Shaish
- Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel Shikmona, Haifa, Israel
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Sánchez JA, Lasker HR, Nepomuceno EG, Sánchez JD, Woldenberg MJ. Branching and self-organization in marine modular colonial organisms: a model. Am Nat 2004; 163:E24-39. [PMID: 15026984 DOI: 10.1086/382139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2002] [Accepted: 07/28/2003] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Despite the universality of branching patterns in marine modular colonial organisms, there is neither a clear explanation about the growth of their branching forms nor an understanding of how these organisms conserve their shape during development. This study develops a model of branching and colony growth using parameters and variables related to actual modular structures (e.g., branches) in Caribbean gorgonian corals (Cnidaria). Gorgonians exhibiting treelike networks branch subapically, creating hierarchical mother-daughter relationships among branches. We modeled both the intrinsic subapical branching along with an ecological-physiological limit to growth or maximum number of mother branches (k). Shape is preserved by maintaining a constant ratio (c) between the total number of branches and the mother branches. The size frequency distribution of mother branches follows a scaling power law suggesting self-organized criticality. Differences in branching among species with the same k values are determined by r (branching rate) and c. Species with r<<c had a sigmoid logistic-like growth with a long asymptotic period before reaching k. Gorgonians exhibit c and r values in the range of the conditions for a stable equilibrium (c>r/2 or c>r>0). Ecological/physiological constraints limit growth without altering colony form or the interaction between r and c. The model described the branching dynamics giving the form to colonies and how colony growth declines over time without altering the branching pattern. This model provides a theoretical basis to study branching as a simple function of the number of branches independently of ordering- and bifurcation-based schemes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Armando Sánchez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA.
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Santos SR, Shearer TL, Hannes AR, Coffroth MA. Fine-scale diversity and specificity in the most prevalent lineage of symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium, Dinophyceae) of the Caribbean. Mol Ecol 2004; 13:459-69. [PMID: 14717900 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2003.02058.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The success of coral reefs is due to obligate mutualistic symbioses involving invertebrates and photosynthetic dinoflagellate symbionts belonging to the genus Symbiodinium. In the Caribbean, the vast majority of octocorals and other invertebrate hosts associate with Symbiodinium clade B, and more selectively, with a single lineage of this clade, Symbiodinium B1/B184. Although B1/B184 represents the most prevalent Symbiodinium in the Caribbean, there is little evidence supporting fine-scale diversity and host-alga specificity within this lineage. We explored simultaneously the questions of diversity and specificity in Symbiodinium B1/B184 by sequencing the flanking regions of two polymorphic microsatellites from a series of Symbiodinium clade B cultures along with Symbiodinium B1/B184 populations of the octocorals Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae, P. bipinnata and Gorgonia ventalina. Seven unique sequence variants were identified based on concatenation of the two loci. Phylogenetic analyses of these variants, which we refer to as phylotypes, recognized five as belonging to B1/B184, thus providing the first evidence of distinct taxa within this Symbiodinium lineage. Furthermore, sympatric P. elisabethae and P. bipinnata at San Salvador in the Bahamas were found to harbour distinct Symbiodinium B1/B184 phylotypes, demonstrating unequivocally the existence of fine-scale specificity between Caribbean octocorals and these algae. Taken together, this study exemplifies the complex nature of Symbiodinium biodiversity and specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- S R Santos
- Department of Biological Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
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