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  1. Symbiotic mutualisms are essential to ecosystems and numerous species across the tree of life. For reef-building corals, the benefits of their association with endosymbiotic dinoflagellates differ within and across taxa, and nutrient exchange between these partners is influenced by environmental conditions. Furthermore, it is widely assumed that corals associated with symbionts in the genusDurusdiniumtolerate high thermal stress at the expense of lower nutrient exchange to support coral growth. We traced both inorganic carbon (H13CO3) and nitrate (15NO3) uptake by divergent symbiont species and quantified nutrient transfer to the host coral under normal temperatures as well as in colonies exposed to high thermal stress. Colonies representative of diverse coral taxa associated withDurusdinium trenchiiorCladocopiumspp. exhibited similar nutrient exchange under ambient conditions. By contrast, heat-exposed colonies withD. trenchiiexperienced less physiological stress than conspecifics withCladocopiumspp. while high carbon assimilation and nutrient transfer to the host was maintained. This discovery differs from the prevailing notion that these mutualisms inevitably suffer trade-offs in physiological performance. These findings emphasize that many host–symbiont combinations adapted to high-temperature equatorial environments are high-functioning mutualisms; and why their increased prevalence is likely to be important to the future productivity and stability of coral reef ecosystems.

     
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available September 27, 2024
  2. Abstract

    Coral reefs are declining worldwide, yet some coral populations are better adapted to withstand reductions in pH and the rising frequency of marine heatwaves. The nearshore reef habitats of Palau, Micronesia are a proxy for a future of warmer, more acidic oceans. Coral populations in these habitats can resist, and recover from, episodes of thermal stress better than offshore conspecifics. To explore the physiological basis of this tolerance, we compared tissue biomass (ash-free dry weight cm−2), energy reserves (i.e., protein, total lipid, carbohydrate content), and several important lipid classes in six coral species living in both offshore and nearshore environments. In contrast to expectations, a trend emerged of many nearshore colonies exhibiting lower biomass and energy reserves than colonies from offshore sites, which may be explained by the increased metabolic demand of living in a warmer, acidic, environment. Despite hosting different dinoflagellate symbiont species and having access to contrasting prey abundances, total lipid and lipid class compositions were similar in colonies from each habitat. Ultimately, while the regulation of colony biomass and energy reserves may be influenced by factors, including the identity of the resident symbiont, kind of food consumed, and host genetic attributes, these independent processes converged to a similar homeostatic set point under different environmental conditions.

     
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  3. 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. 
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  4. Anil, Arga Chandrashekar (Ed.)
    There is little information on the impacts of climate change on resource partitioning for mixotrophic phytoplankton. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that light interacts with temperature and CO 2 to affect changes in growth and cellular carbon and nitrogen content of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate, Karlodinium veneficum , with increasing cellular carbon and nitrogen content under low light conditions and increased growth under high light conditions. Using a multifactorial design, the interactive effects of light, temperature and CO 2 were investigated on K . veneficum at ambient temperature and CO 2 levels (25°C, 375 ppm), high temperature (30°C, 375 ppm CO 2 ), high CO 2 (30°C, 750 ppm CO 2 ), or a combination of both high temperature and CO 2 (30°C, 750 ppm CO 2 ) at low light intensities (LL: 70 μmol photons m -2 s -2 ) and light-saturated conditions (HL: 140 μmol photons m -2 s -2 ). Results revealed significant interactions between light and temperature for all parameters. Growth rates were not significantly different among LL treatments, but increased significantly with temperature or a combination of elevated temperature and CO 2 under HL compared to ambient conditions. Particulate carbon and nitrogen content increased in response to temperature or a combination of elevated temperature and CO 2 under LL conditions, but significantly decreased in HL cultures exposed to elevated temperature and/or CO 2 compared to ambient conditions at HL. Significant increases in C:N ratios were observed only in the combined treatment under LL, suggesting a synergistic effect of temperature and CO 2 on carbon assimilation, while increases in C:N under HL were driven only by an increase in CO 2 . Results indicate light-driven variations in growth and nutrient acquisition strategies for K . veneficum that may benefit this species under anticipated climate change conditions (elevated light, temperature and p CO 2 ) while also affecting trophic transfer efficiency during blooms of this species. 
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  5. Abstract

    The existence of widespread species with the capacity to endure diverse, or variable, environments are of importance to ecological and genetic research, and conservation. Such “ecological generalists” are more likely to have key adaptations that allow them to better tolerate the physiological challenges of rapid climate change. Reef‐building corals are dependent on endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Family: Symbiodiniaceae) for their survival and growth. While these symbionts are biologically diverse, certain genetic types appear to have broad geographic distributions and are mutualistic with various host species from multiple genera and families in the order Scleractinia that must acquire their symbionts through horizontal transmission. Despite the considerable ecological importance of putative host‐generalist symbionts, they lack formal species descriptions. In this study, we used molecular, ecological, and morphological evidence to verify the existence of five new host‐generalist species in the symbiodiniacean genusCladocopium. Their geographic distribution and prevalence among host communities corresponds to prevailing environmental conditions at both regional and local scales. The influence that each species has on host physiology may partially explain regional differences in thermal sensitivities among coral communities. The potential increased prevalence of a generalist species that endures environmental instability is a consequential ecological response to warming oceans. Large‐scale shifts in symbiont dominance could ensure reef coral persistence and productivity in the near term. Ultimately, these formal designations should advance scientific communication and generate informed research questions on the physiology and ecology of coral‐dinoflagellate mutualisms.

     
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  6. Abstract

    Ocean warming is increasingly affecting marine ecosystems across the globe. Reef‐building corals are particularly affected by warming, with mass bleaching events increasing in frequency and leading to widespread coral mortality. Yet, some corals can resist or recover from bleaching better than others. Such variability in thermal resilience could be critical to reef persistence; however, the scientific community lacks standardized diagnostic approaches to rapidly and comparatively assess coral thermal vulnerability prior to bleaching events. We present the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS) as a low‐cost, open‐source, field‐portable experimental system for rapid empirical assessment of coral thermal thresholds using standardized temperature stress profiles and diagnostics. The CBASS consists of four or eight flow‐through experimental aquaria with independent water masses, lighting, and individual automated temperature controls capable of delivering custom modulating thermal profiles. The CBASS is used to conduct daily thermal stress exposures that typically include 3‐h temperature ramps to multiple target temperatures, a 3‐h hold period at the target temperatures, and a 1‐h ramp back down to ambient temperature, followed by an overnight recovery period. This mimics shallow water temperature profiles observed in coral reefs and prompts a rapid acute heat stress response that can serve as a diagnostic tool to identify putative thermotolerant corals for in‐depth assessments of adaptation mechanisms, targeted conservation, and possible use in restoration efforts. The CBASS is deployable within hours and can assay up to 40 coral fragments/aquaria/day, enabling high‐throughput, rapid determination of thermal thresholds for individual genotypes, populations, species, and sites using a standardized experimental framework.

     
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  7. null (Ed.)
  8. Within microeukaryotes, genetic variation and functional variation sometimes accumulate more quickly than morphological differences. To understand the evolutionary history and ecology of such lineages, it is key to examine diversity at multiple levels of organization. In the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae, which can form endosymbioses with cnidarians (e.g., corals, octocorals, sea anemones, jellyfish), other marine invertebrates (e.g., sponges, molluscs, flatworms), and protists (e.g., foraminifera), molecular data have been used extensively over the past three decades to describe phenotypes and to make evolutionary and ecological inferences. Despite advances in Symbiodiniaceae genomics, a lack of consensus among researchers with respect to interpreting genetic data has slowed progress in the field and acted as a barrier to reconciling observations. Here, we identify key challenges regarding the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae genetic diversity across three levels: species, populations, and communities. We summarize areas of agreement and highlight techniques and approaches that are broadly accepted. In areas where debate remains, we identify unresolved issues and discuss technologies and approaches that can help to fill knowledge gaps related to genetic and phenotypic diversity. We also discuss ways to stimulate progress, in particular by fostering a more inclusive and collaborative research community. We hope that this perspective will inspire and accelerate coral reef science by serving as a resource to those designing experiments, publishing research, and applying for funding related to Symbiodiniaceae and their symbiotic partnerships. 
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