The importance of zooplankton to the daily metabolic carbon requirements of healthy and bleached corals at two depths

Palardy, James E.; Rodrigues, Lisa J.; Grottoli, Andréa G.

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2008.09.015

Cited by 166 publications

(190 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Coral bleaching also decreased with increasing coral height above the bottom and was correlated with current speed and sedimentation rate near our study site (Lenihan et al 2008). But greater availability of zooplankton prey may also mitigate bleaching Palardy et al 2008) suggesting that taller corals may have bleached less because they captured more zooplankton higher in the water column.…”

Section: Ecological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 59%

Near-surface enrichment of zooplankton over a shallow back reef: implications for coral reef food webs

Alldredge

King

2009

Coral Reefs

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Zooplankton were 3-8 times more abundant during the day near the surface than elsewhere in the water column over a 1-2.4 m deep back reef in Moorea, French Polynesia. Zooplankton were also significantly more abundant near the surface at night although gradients were most pronounced under moonlight. Zooplankton in a unidirectional current became concentrated near the surface within 2 m of departing a well-mixed trough immediately behind the reef crest, indicating that upward swimming behavior, rather than near-bottom depletion by reef planktivores, was the proximal cause of these gradients. Zooplankton were highly enriched near the surface before and after a full lunar eclipse but distributed evenly throughout the water column during the eclipse itself supporting light as a proximal cue for the upward swimming behavior of many taxa. This is the first investigation of the vertical distribution of zooplankton over a shallow back reef typical of island barrier reef systems common around the world. Previous studies on deeper fringing reefs found zooplankton depletion near the bottom but no enrichment aloft. In Moorea, where seawater is continuously recirculated out the lagoon and back across the reef crest onto the back reef, selection for upward swimming behavior may be especially strong, because the surface serves both as a refuge from predation and an optimum location for retention within the reef system. Planktivorous fish and corals that can forage or grow even marginally higher in the water column might have a substantial competitive advantage over those nearer the bottom on shallow reefs. Zooplankton abundance varied more over a few tens of centimeters vertical distance than it did between seasons or even between day and night indicating that great care must be taken to accurately assess the availability of zooplankton as food on shallow reefs.

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Section: Ecological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 59%

Near-surface enrichment of zooplankton over a shallow back reef: implications for coral reef food webs

Alldredge

King

2009

Coral Reefs

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“…The maintenance of Chl a and the apparent high baseline heterotrophic capacity of this coral could explain why this genus experiences little to no mortality following bleaching events (McClanahan, 2004;Sutthacheep et al, 2013). In Hawaii, the mounding coral Porites lobata can also bleach severely, but recovers quickly due to a high baseline contribution of heterotrophic carbon to the diet (Palardy et al, 2008;Levas et al, 2013). Thus, the high baseline heterotrophic capacity of the mounding coral F. favus may facilitate the rapid recovery and low mortality of this species following bleaching stress, and allow it to persist into the future, despite its initial dramatic energy reserve and biomass losses when bleached.…”

Section: Favia Favusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Corals with elevated levels of energy reserves (i.e., lipids, protein, carbohydrates) either take longer to bleach, bleach less severely, and/or recover more quickly from bleaching than corals with lower energy reserves because they have an energy source to buffer them against losses in photosynthetically derived fixed carbon (e.g., Rodrigues and Grottoli, 2007;Anthony et al, 2009;Grottoli et al, 2014;Schoepf et al, 2015). Corals that increase their intake of heterotrophic carbon (i.e., zooplankton, dissolved and particulate organic carbon) or increase the proportionate contribution of heterotrophic vs. photoautotrophic carbon in their tissues when bleached, are able to partially or fully supplement the deficit in their carbon budgets due to declines in photosynthesis when bleached, and are able to recover more quickly from bleaching Rodrigues and Grottoli, 2006;Palardy et al, 2008;Levas et al, 2013Levas et al, , 2016. Corals that are able to shuffle or switch their dominant endosymbiont type for a thermally tolerant one are less sensitive to repeat exposures to thermal stress (e.g., Rowan et al, 1997;Baker et al, 2004;Berkelmans and van Oppen, 2006;Grottoli et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological and Biogeochemical Responses of Super-Corals to Thermal Stress from the Northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

2017

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Mass coral bleaching is increasing in frequency and severity, leading to the loss of coral abundance and diversity. However, some corals are less susceptible to bleaching than others and can provide a model for identifying the physiological and biogeochemical traits that underlie coral resilience to thermal stress. Corals from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba in the northern Red Sea do not bleach unless seawater temperatures are sustained at +6 • C or higher above their average summer maximum. This extreme thermal tolerance qualifies these as super-corals, as most corals bleach when exposed to temperatures that are only +1-2 • C above their thermal maximum. Here, we conducted a controlled bleaching experiment (+6 • C) for 37 days (equivalent to 32 • heating weeks) on three species of corals from Eilat: Stylophora pistillata, Pocillopora damicornis, and Favia favus. To assess the response of the holobiont to thermal stress, the following variables were measured on each coral: endosymbiotic algal cell density, Chlorophyll a, endosymbiotic mitotic cell division, total lipids, protein, carbohydrate, and the stable carbon (δ 13 C) and oxygen (δ 18 O) isotopic composition of the skeleton and the δ 13 C of the animal host tissue and endosymbiotic algae. While all three species appeared visibly bleached, their physiological and biogeochemical responses were species-specific. S. pistillata catabolized lipids but still maintained total energy reserves and biomass. Increases in both skeletal δ 13 C and δ 18 O indicates that calcification declined in this species. P. damicornis was the least affected by bleaching. It maintained its total energy reserves and biomass, and isotopic evidence suggests that it maintained calcification and was not dependent on heterotrophy for meeting metabolic demand when bleached. Finally, F. favus catabolized protein and carbohydrates, and suffered losses in total energy reserves and biomass. Nevertheless, isotopic evidence suggest that photosynthesis and calcification were maintained, and that this species has a high baseline heterotrophic capacity. Thus, just like their non-super-coral conspecific counterparts, maintaining energy reserves Grottoli et al.Response of Super-Corals to Thermal Stress and biomass, and heterotrophic capacity appear to be traits that underlie the thermal tolerance of these super-corals from Eilat. Given the high thermal tolerance of these super-corals, these populations could provide viable seed stock for repopulating coral losses on other reefs.

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“…Coral bleaching is the loss of pigmentation due to the breakdown of symbiosis between reef-building corals and their symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae). Elevated temperature is the primary cause of mass coral bleaching events (Glynn 1993), but recent work also suggests that organismal response to temperature variation is complex; it can depend on other biological and physiochemical factors such as the history of thermal exposure, ability to adapt or acclimate to thermal changes, short-term temperature variability, water flow, heterotrophic feeding, and light (Nakamura and van Woesik 2001;Berkelmans 2002;Lesser et al 2004;McClanahan et al 2005;Sammarco et al 2006;Palardy et al 2008;Weller et al 2008). These factors contribute to the high degree of spatial variability in coral bleaching observed at global, regional, and even individual reef scales (Riegl and Piller 2003;McClanahan et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations of the thermal environment on Red Sea platform reefs: a heat budget analysis

et al. 2011

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The importance of zooplankton to the daily metabolic carbon requirements of healthy and bleached corals at two depths

Cited by 166 publications

References 48 publications

Near-surface enrichment of zooplankton over a shallow back reef: implications for coral reef food webs

Near-surface enrichment of zooplankton over a shallow back reef: implications for coral reef food webs

Physiological and Biogeochemical Responses of Super-Corals to Thermal Stress from the Northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

Observations of the thermal environment on Red Sea platform reefs: a heat budget analysis

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