Corals from the Persian/Arabian Gulf as models for thermotolerant reef-builders: Prevalence of clade C3 Symbiodinium, host fluorescence and ex situ temperature tolerance

Hume, Benjamin C. C.; D’Angelo, Cecilia; Burt, John A.; Baker, Andrew C.; Riegl, Bernhard; Wiedenmann, Joerg

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.11.032

Cited by 162 publications

(161 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…The use of proactive reef management is highly debated and beyond this synthesis (see van Oppen et al, 2015;Oppen et al, 2017), but what is evident from these extreme environments is the presence of corals that have traits highly favorable for future survival. For many environments we still do not know how these traits may be conserved or lost as corals are moved to new environments, however evidence of heritable heat-tolerance and conserved thermal tolerance (Hume et al, 2013) has been reported.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Coral Reefs Subject to Rapid Climate Change: Lessons from Natural Extreme Environments

et al. 2018

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Global climate change and localized anthropogenic stressors are driving rapid declines in coral reef health. In vitro experiments have been fundamental in providing insight into how reef organisms will potentially respond to future climates. However, such experiments are inevitably limited in their ability to reproduce the complex interactions that govern reef systems. Studies examining coral communities that already persist under naturally-occurring extreme and marginal physicochemical conditions have therefore become increasingly popular to advance ecosystem scale predictions of future reef form and function, although no single site provides a perfect analog to future reefs. Here we review the current state of knowledge that exists on the distribution of corals in marginal and extreme environments, and geographic sites at the latitudinal extremes of reef growth, as well as a variety of shallow reef systems and reef-neighboring environments (including upwelling and CO 2 vent sites). We also conduct a synthesis of the abiotic data that have been collected at these systems, to provide the first collective assessment on the range of extreme conditions under which corals currently persist. We use the review and data synthesis to increase our understanding of the biological and ecological mechanisms that facilitate survival and success under sub-optimal physicochemical conditions. This comprehensive assessment can begin to: (i) highlight the extent of extreme abiotic scenarios under which corals can persist, (ii) explore whether there are commonalities in coral taxa able to persist in such extremes, (iii) provide evidence for key mechanisms required to support survival and/or persistence under sub-optimal environmental conditions, and (iv) evaluate the potential of current sub-optimal coral environments to act as potential refugia under changing environmental conditions. Such a collective approach is critical to better understand the future survival of corals in our changing environment. We finally outline priority areas for future research on extreme and marginal coral environments, and discuss the additional management options they may provide for corals through refuge or by providing genetic stocks of stress tolerant corals to support proactive management strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Coral Reefs Subject to Rapid Climate Change: Lessons from Natural Extreme Environments

et al. 2018

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“…Probably the most obvious such case lies in S. thermophilum in the PAG (Hume et al ., 2015, 2016). Porites harbouring this Symbiodinium species were more resilient to heat stress than their Pacific counterparts harboring C15 (Hume et al ., 2013). However, further investigation into this symbiosis has revealed a concordant adaptation to the high salinity of the PAG, deeming it unlikely that its thermal tolerance can be extended beyond its current range (D'Angelo et al ., 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeography and molecular diversity of coral symbionts in the genus Symbiodinium around the Arabian Peninsula

Ziegler

Arif

Burt

et al. 2017

Journal of Biogeography

142

130

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AimCoral reefs rely on the symbiosis between scleractinian corals and intracellular, photosynthetic dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium making the assessment of symbiont diversity critical to our understanding of ecological resilience of these ecosystems. This study characterizes Symbiodinium diversity around the Arabian Peninsula, which contains some of the most thermally diverse and understudied reefs on Earth.LocationShallow water coral reefs throughout the Red Sea (RS), Sea of Oman (SO), and Persian/Arabian Gulf (PAG).MethodsNext‐generation sequencing of the ITS2 marker gene was used to assess Symbiodinium community composition and diversity comprising 892 samples from 46 hard and soft coral genera.ResultsCorals were associated with a large diversity of Symbiodinium, which usually consisted of one or two prevalent symbiont types and many types at low abundance. Symbiodinium communities were strongly structured according to geographical region and to a lesser extent by coral host identity. Overall symbiont communities were composed primarily of species from clade A and C in the RS, clade A, C, and D in the SO, and clade C and D in the PAG, representing a gradual shift from C‐ to D‐dominated coral hosts. The analysis of symbiont diversity in an Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU)‐based framework allowed the identification of differences in symbiont taxon richness over geographical regions and host genera.Main conclusionsOur study represents a comprehensive overview over biogeography and molecular diversity of Symbiodinium in the Arabian Seas, where coral reefs thrive in one of the most extreme environmental settings on the planet. As such our data will serve as a baseline for further exploration into the effects of environmental change on host–symbiont pairings and the identification and ecological significance of Symbiodinium types from regions already experiencing ‘Future Ocean’ conditions.

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“…The region spanning the 18S, ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2, 28S region of the Symbiodinium spp. ribosomal DNA was amplified by performing a PCR using the primers SYM-VAR-FWD, and SYM-VAR-REV (Hume et al, 2013).…”

Section: Identification Of Algal Symbiontsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-Offs Associated with Photoprotective Green Fluorescent Protein Expression as Potential Drivers of Balancing Selection for Color Polymorphism in Reef Corals

2018

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Corals from the Persian/Arabian Gulf as models for thermotolerant reef-builders: Prevalence of clade C3 Symbiodinium, host fluorescence and ex situ temperature tolerance

Cited by 162 publications

References 62 publications

The Future of Coral Reefs Subject to Rapid Climate Change: Lessons from Natural Extreme Environments

The Future of Coral Reefs Subject to Rapid Climate Change: Lessons from Natural Extreme Environments

Biogeography and molecular diversity of coral symbionts in the genus Symbiodinium around the Arabian Peninsula

Trade-Offs Associated with Photoprotective Green Fluorescent Protein Expression as Potential Drivers of Balancing Selection for Color Polymorphism in Reef Corals

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