Reduced growth rate of Montastrea annularis following the 1987?1988 coral-bleaching event

Goreau, Thomas J.; Macfarlane, A. H.

doi:10.1007/bf00265013

Cited by 161 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The largest reductions in Symbiodinium densities in our study (13-45%) are characteristic of thermal bleaching (Fitt et al, 2001), yet other Symbiodinium parameters were largely unaffected, and calcification was maintained or slightly enhanced. Unlike the results of our study, naturally occurring thermal bleaching typically involves depressed photophysiology and chlorophyll content, and impaired holobiont growth (Porter et al, 1989;Fitt et al, 2001;Goreau and Macfarlane, 1990). While it is possible that such effects were not expressed in our experiment due to its duration (13 days), it is surprising that F v /F m was unaffected by exposure to 30°C, as this metric is usually sensitive to thermal stress within only a few hours (Jones et al, 1998).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 67%

The physiological response of reef corals to diel fluctuations in seawater temperature

Putnam

Edmunds

2011

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An opportunity to explore the effects of fluctuating temperatures on tropical scleractinian corals arose when diurnal warming (as large as 4.7°C) was detected over the rich coral communities found within the back reef of Moorea, French Polynesia. In April and May 2007, experiments were completed to determine the effects of fluctuating temperature on Pocillopora meandrina and Porites rus, and consecutive trials were used to expose them for 13 days to 26°C, 28°C (ambient conditions), 30°C, or a fluctuating treatment ranging from 26 to 30°C over 24 h. The multivariate response was assessed using maximum dark-adapted quantum yield of PSII (F V /F M ), Symbiodinium density, chlorophyll-a content, and calcification. In trial 1, multivariate physiology of both species was significantly affected by treatments, with the fluctuating temperature resulting in a 17-45% decline in Symbiodinium density (relative to the ambient) matching that occurring at a constant 30°C; F V /F M , chlorophyll-a content, and calcification, did not differ between the fluctuating and the steady treatments. In contrast, in trial 2 that utilized corals collected two weeks after those used in trial 1, the corals were unaffected by the treatments, likely due to an environment × trial interaction caused by seasonal declines in Symbiodinium density. Together, these results demonstrate that short transgressions to ecologically relevant high and low temperatures can elicit a potentially detrimental response equivalent to that occurring upon exposure to a constant high temperature. The dissimilar responses among dependent variables and consecutive trials underscore the importance of temporal replication and multivariate approaches in coral ecophysiology. It is likely that recent history has a stronger effect on the response of corals to treatments than is currently recognized.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 67%

The physiological response of reef corals to diel fluctuations in seawater temperature

Putnam

Edmunds

2011

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Certainly, the extreme temperature profiles of the HV pool are not unique to Ofu; corals are found in a variety of extreme environments and are exposed to temperatures that would cause bleaching in their conspecifics from other areas (Coles and Riegl, 2013;Kline et al, 2015;Richards et al, 2015;Camp et al, 2017). Wide variation in thermal tolerance and genetic divergence has been reported across latitudes and at large-spatial scales (Middlebrook et al, 2008;Howells et al, 2013;Dixon et al, 2015;Thomas et al, 2017), and it is becoming increasingly clear that locally adapted thermally tolerant pockets of corals exist at fine-spatial scales within a variety of coral reef systems (Goreau and Macfarlane, 1990;Barshis et al, 2010;Castillo et al, 2012;Kenkel et al, 2013bKenkel et al, , 2015Schoepf et al, 2015). For example, Porites astreiodes colonies from the thermally variable inshore patch reef environment of south Florida have greater thermal tolerance than offshore populations less than 10 km away (Kenkel et al, 2013a).…”

Section: Synthesis Local Adaptation Amidst High Gene Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of Thermal Tolerance in Reef-Building Corals across a Fine-Grained Environmental Mosaic: Lessons from Ofu, American Samoa

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental heterogeneity gives rise to phenotypic variation through a combination of phenotypic plasticity and fixed genetic effects. For reef-building corals, understanding the relative roles of acclimatization and adaptation in generating thermal tolerance is fundamental to predicting the response of coral populations to future climate change. The temperature mosaic in the lagoon of Ofu, American Samoa, represents an ideal natural laboratory for studying thermal tolerance in corals. Two adjacent back-reef pools approximately 500 m apart have different temperature profiles: the highly variable (HV) pool experiences temperatures that range from 24.5 to 35 • C, whereas the moderately variable (MV) pool ranges from 25 to 32 • C. Standardized heat stress tests have shown that corals native to the HV pool have consistently higher levels of bleaching resistance than those in the MV pool. In this review, we summarize research into the mechanisms underlying this variation in bleaching resistance, focusing on the important reef-building genus Acropora. Both acclimatization and adaptation occur strongly and define thermal tolerance differences between pools. Most individual corals shift physiology to become more heat resistant when moved into the warmer pool. Lab based tests show that these shifts begin in as little as a week and are equally sparked by exposure to periodic high temperatures as constant high temperatures. Transcriptome-wide data on gene expression show that a wide variety of genes are co-regulated in expression modules that change expression after experimental heat stress, after acclimatization, and even after short term environmental fluctuations. Population genetic scans show associations between a corals' thermal environment and its alleles at 100s to 1000s of nuclear genes and no single gene confers strong environmental effects within or between species. Symbionts also tend to differ between pools and species, and the thermal tolerance of a coral is a reflection of individual host genotype and specific symbiont types. We conclude the review by placing this work in the context of parallel research going on in other species, reefs, and ecosystems around the world and into the broader framework of reef coral resilience in the face of climate change.

show abstract

“…The significantly reduced post-bleaching calcification of the corals studied here is consistent with reports of slow growth after bleaching in Porites spp. (Allison et al 1996;Suzuki et al 2003), M. annularis (Goreau and Macfarlane 1990), Montipora capitata and Porites compressa . While it is likely that isotopic depletion due to the metabolic effects of zooxanthellae loss would be evident if there was no interruption in growth rate post-bleaching, isotopic enrichments suggest that reduced kinetic fractionation due to slow calcification overwhelmed any metabolic modulation of skeletal d 13 C.…”

Section: Long-term Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotopic records of bleaching and endolithic algae blooms in the skeleton of the boulder forming coral Montastraea faveolata

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Within boulder forming corals, fixation of dissolved inorganic carbon is performed by symbiotic dinoflagellates within the coral tissue and, to a lesser extent, endolithic algae within the coral skeleton. Endolithic algae produce distinctive green bands in the coral skeleton, and their origin may be related to periods of coral bleaching due to complete loss of dinoflagellate symbionts or ''paling'' in which symbiont populations are patchily reduced in coral tissue. Stable carbon isotopes were analyzed in coral skeletons across a known bleaching event and 12 blooms of endolithic algae to determine whether either of these types of changes in photosynthesis had a clear isotopic signature. Stable carbon isotopes tended to be enriched in the coral skeleton during the initiation of endolith blooms, consistent with enhanced photosynthesis by endoliths. In contrast, there were no consistent d 13 C patterns directly associated with bleaching, suggesting that there is no unique isotopic signature of bleaching. On the other hand, isotopic values after bleaching were lighter 92% of the time when compared to the bleaching interval. This marked drop in skeletal d 13 C may reflect increased kinetic fractionation and slow symbiont recolonization for several years after bleaching.

show abstract

Reduced growth rate of Montastrea annularis following the 1987?1988 coral-bleaching event

Cited by 161 publications

References 15 publications

The physiological response of reef corals to diel fluctuations in seawater temperature

The physiological response of reef corals to diel fluctuations in seawater temperature

Mechanisms of Thermal Tolerance in Reef-Building Corals across a Fine-Grained Environmental Mosaic: Lessons from Ofu, American Samoa

Stable isotopic records of bleaching and endolithic algae blooms in the skeleton of the boulder forming coral Montastraea faveolata

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About