Endolithic community composition of Orbicella faveolata (Scleractinia) underneath the interface between coral tissue and turf algae

Gutiérrez-Isaza, Nataly; Espinoza-Ávalos, Julio; León‐Tejera, Hilda; González-Solís, David

doi:10.1007/s00338-015-1276-0

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The functional genes of other eukaryote algae increased in abundance during bleaching, indicating that the photosystems of other eukaryotes (such as Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta) used a different mechanism and had higher levels of thermal tolerance compared to Dinophyceae algae. It was also thought that other endosymbiotic algae benefit the host coral during periods of stress (Gutiérrez-Isaza et al, 2015;del Campo et al, 2016). This may be because during bleaching, the shading effect of Symbiodiniaceae was lost, allowing increased light to penetrate the coral skeleton, possibly resulting in increased photosynthetic activity of these algae.…”

Section: Importance Of Other Eukaryotes (Fungi and Algae) In Bleachinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combination Analysis of Metatranscriptome and Metagenome Reveal the Composition and Functional Response of Coral Symbionts to Bleaching During an El Niño Event

et al. 2020

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With the abnormal rise in ocean temperatures globally in recent years, coral bleaching is becoming common and serious. However, the response mechanisms and processes of coral symbionts to bleaching are not well understood. In this study, metagenomics and metatranscriptomics were used to explore the composition of coral symbionts and their functions in response to coral bleaching. All four bleaching coral species displayed a significant reduction of the abundance and function of Dinophyceae-like eukaryotes at the DNA and RNA levels. However, different species of bleaching coral have their own characteristic symbiotic components. Bleaching Acropora tenuis and Goniastrea minuta corals exhibited a very high abundance of prokaryotes and associated gene functions, especially for opportunistic bacteria. In contrast, algae and fungi were identified as the main microbial associate components and had relatively high RNA abundance in bleaching Pocillopora verrucosa and Pocillopora meandrina. Different coral species, whether unbleached or bleaching, have the same symbiotic taxa that perform the same biological functions in vivo. Different stages of bleaching, or transitional states, were identified by different genome content and functional gene abundance among bleaching corals. These stages should be considered in future coral bleaching studies to accurately determine symbiont structure and function. An implicit hypothesis is that there is a causal relationship between the stability of eukaryotic communities and coral bleaching.

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Section: Importance Of Other Eukaryotes (Fungi and Algae) In Bleachinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combination Analysis of Metatranscriptome and Metagenome Reveal the Composition and Functional Response of Coral Symbionts to Bleaching During an El Niño Event

et al. 2020

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“…Furthermore, the benthic organism adjacent to corals is likely to be an important factor; phototrophic endolithic communities can be both more abundant and diverse when living beneath turf algae compared with beneath Orbicella sp. corals (Gutiérrez-Isaza et al 2015). Together, this suggests that a coral's position within the benthos is a factor in determining the extent of endolithic algal blooms.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Microalgal blooms in the skeletons of bleached corals during the 2020 bleaching event on Heron Island, Australia

Fordyce

Ainsworth

Page

et al. 2021

Mar. Freshwater Res.

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Climate change is increasing the frequency of marine heatwaves around the world, causing widespread degradation of coral reefs. Endolithic microalgae inhabiting the coral skeleton have been highlighted as potentially important mediators of the consequences of heatwaves on coral reefs. These microalgae often bloom during heat stress due to greater light availability, theoretically delaying coral starvation by providing photoassimilates. However, these microalgae also dissolve coral skeletons at an accelerated rate during marine heatwaves, affecting the structural complexity of the reef. Despite their ecological role, no studies have examined endolithic algal blooms during a natural bleaching event. We quantified blooms of endolithic microalgae in the skeletons of lagoon corals bleaching on Heron Island in the austral summer of 2020. At the peak of heat stress, 20-30% of bleached corals across 9 genera at 3 sites had blooms. They were predominantly seen in branching Acropora spp. (37.8, 65.7 and 66.7% at three sites), which are primary reef builders at Heron Island. At the end of the bleaching event, the overall prevalence varied between 5 and 42%, and nearly all blooms were observed in acroporids. The relative high frequency of these blooms highlights the ongoing need to understand the role of these microbes during coral bleaching events.

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“…This may be due to the surfaces on the coral heads being newly opened for turf algal colonization, a preferred foraging substrate for all parrotfish species, which commonly inhabit these reefs [51]. Alternatively, the newly available coral tissue could be providing nutritional benefits or a greater concentration of autotrophic organisms that attracted parrotfish foragers [64]. Herbivores on artificial structures were not significantly different from on natural structures, perhaps because after 2 weeks, we observed that the artificial structures had accumulated enough biofilm to be a suitable foraging substrate (Figure 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reef Fish Associations with Natural and Artificial Structures in the Florida Keys

Noonan

Fair

Matthee

et al. 2021

Oceans

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Throughout the Caribbean, coral reefs are transitioning from rugose, coral-dominated communities to flat, soft coral-dominated habitats, triggering declines in biodiversity. To help mitigate these losses, artificial structures have been used to re-create substrate complexity and support reef inhabitants. This study used natural and artificial structures to investigate the factors influencing the use of habitat by reef fish. During 2018 and 2019, divers added artificial structures and monitored the fish assemblages associating with both the artificial structures and naturally occurring corals. Overall, there were more fish on natural structures than on artificial structures. While structure shape did not influence fish use, there was a non-significant trend for increased use of larger structures. Fish observations did not differ across a gradient of shallow, complex reefs to deeper, flatter reefs; however, analyses of feeding guilds revealed clearer patterns: herbivores and omnivores were positively associated with low rugosity reefs where macroalgal abundance was higher, whereas invertivores preferred more rugose reefs. These results suggest that as reefs lose structural complexity, fish communities may become dominated by herbivores and omnivores. It also appears that the addition of artificial structures of the type used here may not mitigate the effects of structure loss on reef fish assemblages.

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Endolithic community composition of Orbicella faveolata (Scleractinia) underneath the interface between coral tissue and turf algae

Cited by 9 publications

References 28 publications

Combination Analysis of Metatranscriptome and Metagenome Reveal the Composition and Functional Response of Coral Symbionts to Bleaching During an El Niño Event

Combination Analysis of Metatranscriptome and Metagenome Reveal the Composition and Functional Response of Coral Symbionts to Bleaching During an El Niño Event

Microalgal blooms in the skeletons of bleached corals during the 2020 bleaching event on Heron Island, Australia

Reef Fish Associations with Natural and Artificial Structures in the Florida Keys

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