skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Natural Variability in Caribbean Coral Physiology and Implications for Coral Bleaching Resilience
Coral reefs are among the most diverse and complex ecosystems in the world that provide important ecological and economical services. Increases in sea surface temperature linked to global climate change threatens these ecosystems by inducing coral bleaching. However, it is not fully known if natural intra- or inter-annual physiological variability is linked to bleaching resilience or recovery capacity of corals. Here, we monitored the coral physiology of three common Caribbean species ( Porites divaricata, Porites astreoides, Orbicella faveolata ) at six time points over 2 years by measuring the following traits: calcification, biomass, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, chlorophyll a , algal endosymbiont density, stable carbon isotopes of the host and endosymbiotic algae, and the stable carbon and oxygen isotopes of the skeleton. The overall physiological profile of all three species varied over time and that of P. divaricata was consistently different from the two other coral species. Porites divaricata had higher energy reserves coupled with higher contributions of heterotrophically derived carbon to host tissues than both P. astreoides and O. faveolata . Consistently higher overall energy reserves and heterotrophic contributions to tissues appear to buffer against environmental stress, including bleaching events. Thus, natural physiological variability among coral species appears to be a stronger predictor of coral bleaching resilience than intra- or inter-annual physiological variability within a coral species.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1459536 0825490
PAR ID:
10391144
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Frontiers in Marine Science
Volume:
8
ISSN:
2296-7745
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)
    null (Ed.)
    Mass bleaching events are predicted to occur annually later this century. Nevertheless, it remains unknown whether corals will be able to recover between annual bleaching events. Using a combined tank and field experiment, we simulated annual bleaching by exposing three Caribbean coral species ( Porites divaricata , Porites astreoides and Orbicella faveolata ) to elevated temperatures for 2.5 weeks in 2 consecutive years. The impact of annual bleaching stress on chlorophyll a , energy reserves, calcification, and tissue C and N isotopes was assessed immediately after the second bleaching and after both short- and long-term recovery on the reef (1.5 and 11 months, respectively). While P. divaricata and O. faveolata were able to recover from repeat bleaching within 1 year, P. astreoides experienced cumulative damage that prevented full recovery within this time frame, suggesting that repeat bleaching had diminished its recovery capacity. Specifically, P. astreoides was not able to recover protein and carbohydrate concentrations. As energy reserves promote bleaching resistance, failure to recover from annual bleaching within 1 year will likely result in the future demise of heat-sensitive coral species. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, mSystems)
    van_der_Hooft, Justin_J J (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT Coral reefs are experiencing unprecedented loss in coral cover due to increased incidence of disease and bleaching events. Thus, understanding mechanisms of disease susceptibility and resilience, which vary by species, is important. In this regard, untargeted metabolomics serves as an important hypothesis-building tool enabling the delineation of molecular factors underlying disease susceptibility or resilience. In this study, we characterize metabolomes of four species of visually healthy stony corals, includingMeandrina meandrites,Orbicella faveolata,Colpophyllia natans, andMontastraea cavernosa, collected at least a year before stony coral tissue loss disease reached the Dry Tortugas, Florida, and demonstrate that both symbiont and host-derived biochemical pathways vary by species. Metabolomes ofMeandrina meandritesdisplayed minimal intraspecies variability and the highest biological activity against coral pathogens when compared to other species in this study. The application of advanced metabolite annotation methods enabled the delineation of several pathways underlying interspecies variability. Specifically, endosymbiont-derived vitamin E family compounds, betaine lipids, and host-derived acylcarnitines were among the top predictors of interspecies variability. Since several metabolite features that contributed to inter- and intraspecies variation are synthesized by the endosymbiotic Symbiodiniaceae, which could be a major source of these compounds in corals, our data will guide further investigations into these Symbiodiniaceae-derived pathways. IMPORTANCEPrevious research profiling gene expression, proteins, and metabolites produced during thermal stress have reported the importance of endosymbiont-derived pathways in coral bleaching resistance. However, our understanding of interspecies variation in these pathways among healthy corals and their role in diseases is limited. We surveyed the metabolomes of four species of healthy corals with differing susceptibilities to the devastating stony coral tissue loss disease and applied advanced annotation approaches in untargeted metabolomics to determine the interspecies variation in host and endosymbiont-derived pathways. Using this approach, we propose the survey of immune markers such as vitamin E family compounds, acylcarnitines, and other metabolites to infer their role in resilience to coral diseases. As time-resolved multi-omics datasets are generated for disease-impacted corals, our approach and findings will be valuable in providing insight into the mechanisms of disease resistance. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Global Change Biology)
    Abstract Identifying which factors lead to coral bleaching resistance is a priority given the global decline of coral reefs with ocean warming. During the second year of back‐to‐back bleaching events in the Florida Keys in 2014 and 2015, we characterized key environmental and biological factors associated with bleaching resilience in the threatened reef‐building coralOrbicella faveolata. Ten reefs (five inshore, five offshore, 179 corals total) were sampled during bleaching (September 2015) and recovery (May 2016). Corals were genotyped with 2bRADand profiled for algal symbiont abundance and type.O. faveolataat the inshore sites, despite higher temperatures, demonstrated significantly higher bleaching resistance and better recovery compared to offshore. The thermotolerantDurusdinium trenchii(formerlySymbiondinium trenchii) was the dominant endosymbiont type region‐wide during initial (78.0% of corals sampled) and final (77.2%) sampling; >90% of the nonbleached corals were dominated byD. trenchii. 2bRADhost genotyping found no genetic structure among reefs, but inshore sites showed a high level of clonality. While none of the measured environmental parameters were correlated with bleaching, 71% of variation in bleaching resistance and 73% of variation in the proportion ofD. trenchiiwas attributable to differences between genets, highlighting the leading role of genetics in shaping natural bleaching patterns. Notably,D. trenchiiwas rarely dominant inO. faveolatafrom the Florida Keys in previous studies, even during bleaching. The region‐wide high abundance ofD. trenchiiwas likely driven by repeated bleaching associated with the two warmest years on record for the Florida Keys (2014 and 2015). On inshore reefs in the Upper Florida Keys,O. faveolatawas most abundant, had the highest bleaching resistance, and contained the most corals dominated byD. trenchii, illustrating a causal link between heat tolerance and ecosystem resilience with global change. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Global Change Biology)
    ABSTRACT Tropical reef ecosystems are strongly influenced by the composition of coral species, but the factors influencing coral diversity and distributions are not fully understood. Here we demonstrate that large variations in the relative abundance of three major coral species across adjacent Caribbean reef sites are strongly related to their different low O2tolerances. In laboratory experiments designed to mimic reef conditions, the cumulative effect of repeated nightly low O2drove coral bleaching and mortality, with limited modulation by temperature. After four nights of repeated low O2, species responses also varied widely, from > 50% bleaching inAcropora cervicornisto no discernable sensitivity ofPorites furcata.A simple metric of hypoxic pressure that combines these experimentally derived species sensitivities with high‐resolution field data accurately predicts the observed relative abundance of species across three reefs. Only the well‐oxygenated reef supported the framework‐building hypoxia‐sensitiveAcropora cervicornis, while the hypoxia‐tolerant weedy speciesPorites furcatawas dominant on the most frequently O2‐deplete reef. Physiological exclusion of acroporids from these O2‐deplete reefs underscores the need for hypoxia management to reduce extirpation risk. 
    more » « less
  5. ; (, Scientific Reports)
    Abstract Warming ocean temperatures are severely compromising the health and resilience of coral reefs worldwide. Coral bleaching can affect coral physiology and the energy available for corals to reproduce. Mechanisms associated with reproductive allocation in corals are poorly understood, especially after a bleaching event occurs. Using isotopic labeling techniques, we traced the acquisition and allocation of carbon from adults to gametes by autotrophy and heterotrophy in previously bleached and non-bleachedMontipora capitataandPorites compressacorals. Experiments revealed that both species: (1) relied only on autotrophy to allocate carbon to gametes, while heterotrophy was less relied upon as a carbon source; (2) experienced a trade-off with less carbon available for adult tissues when provisioning gametes, especially when previously bleached; and (3) used different strategies for allocating carbon to gametes. Over time,M. capitataallocated 10% more carbon to gametes despite bleaching by limiting the allocation of carbon to adult tissues, with 50–80% less carbon allocated to bleached compared to non-bleached colonies. Over the same time period,P. compressamaintained carbon allocation to adult tissues, before allocating carbon to gametes. Our study highlights the importance of autotrophy for carbon allocation from adult corals to gametes, and species-specific differences in carbon allocation depending on bleaching susceptibility. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email