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Abstract Corals (Cnidaria; Anthozoa) play critical roles as habitat-forming species with a wide range, from warm shallow-water tropical coral reefs to cold-water ecosystems. They also represent a complex ecosystem as intricate holobionts made up of microbes from all domains of the Tree of Life that can play significant roles in host health and fitness. The corallicolids are a clade of apicomplexans that infect a wide variety of anthozoans worldwide and can influence the thermal tolerance of habitat-forming corals. Despite their potentially important impacts on reef ecosystems, much of the basic biology and ecology of corallicolids remains unclear. Apicomplexans often have a closed life cycle, with minimal environmental exposure and sometimes multiple hosts. Corallicolids have only been documented in anthozoan hosts, with no known secondary/reservoir hosts or vectors. Here, we show that abundant corallicolid sequences are recovered from bearded fireworms (Hermodice carunculata) in tropical reef habitats off Curaçao and that they are distinct from corallicolids infecting the corals on which the fireworms were feeding at the time of their collection. These data are consistent with a fireworm-specific corallicolid infection, not merely a byproduct of the worms feeding on infected corals. Furthermore, we suggest that H. carunculata is potentially a vector moving corallicolids among coral hosts through its feces. These findings not only expand our understanding of the ecological interactions within coral reef ecosystems but also highlight the potential role of host-associated parasites in shaping the resilience of reef habitats.
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Novel coexisting mangrove-coral habitats: Extensive coral communities located deep within mangrove canopies of Panama, a global classification system and predicted distributions
Marine ecosystems are structured by coexisting species occurring in adjacent or nested assemblages. Mangroves and corals are typically observed in adjacent assemblages (i.e., mangrove forests and coral reefs) but are increasingly reported in nested mangrove-coral assemblages with corals living within mangrove habitats. Here we define these nested assemblages as “coexisting mangrove-coral” (CMC) habitats and review the scientific literature to date to formalize a baseline understanding of these ecosystems and create a foundation for future studies. We identify 130 species of corals living within mangrove habitats across 12 locations spanning the Caribbean Sea, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and South Pacific. We then provide the first description, to our knowledge, of a canopy CMC habitat type located in Bocas del Toro, Panama. This canopy CMC habitat is one of the most coral rich CMC habitats reported in the world, with 34 species of corals growing on and/or among submerged red mangrove aerial roots. Based on our literature review and field data, we identify biotic and abiotic characteristics common to CMC systems to create a classification framework of CMC habitat categories: (1) Lagoon, (2) Inlet, (3) Edge, and (4) Canopy. We then use the compiled data to create a GIS model to suggest where additional CMC habitats may occur globally. In a time where many ecosystems are at risk of disappearing, discovery and description of alternative habitats for species of critical concern are of utmost importance for their conservation and management.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1946412
- PAR ID:
- 10413702
- Editor(s):
- Camp, Emma F.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- PLOS ONE
- Volume:
- 17
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1932-6203
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- e0269181
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269181
