The role of sexual and asexual reproduction in structuring high latitude populations of the reef coral Pocillopora damicornis

Genetic evidence for mixed modes of reproduction in the coral Pocillopora damicornis and its effect on population structure

“…Populations in southwestern Australia, Panama, Hawaii and the Ryukyu Islands are maintained by both sexually and asexually derived recruits (Stoddart 1984a, Richmond 1987, Adjeroud & Tsuchiya 1999. In contrast, on the Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe Island reefs, patterns of genetic variation are consistent with sexual reproduction as the primary mode of reproduction (Benzie et al 1995, Ayre et al 1997a, Ayre & Hughes 2004, Miller & Ayre 2004, though see Ayre & Miller 2004.…”

“…Fuelling this debate are studies of coral community assemblages (Done 1982) and recruitment (Bak & Engel 1979, Sammarco & Andrews 1988, simulations of oceanographic processes (Black et al 1990, Black 1993 and, more recently, population genetic studies (Whitaker 1997, 2004, Ayre & Hughes 2000, 2004, Miller & Ayre 2004) that support the view that reefs are primarily self-seeding. An important difference between these 2 views is that support for the connectedness of reefs is based largely on studies of sexually produced propagules, whereas studies of community assemblages, recruitment and population genetics include individuals potentially derived through both asexual and sexual reproduction.…”

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

“…In high-latitude corals, phenotypic plasticity may support their survival, through diverse coral symbiont communities (Wicks et al, 2010b), enhanced symbiont tolerance to extreme (low) temperatures (Wicks et al, 2010a), enhanced heterotrophic plasticity (Bessell-Browne et al, 2014) and evidence of shifted thermal optima for calcification at cooler temperatures (Ross et al, 2015). High-latitude coral communities around the world have also been found to reproduce sexually and are therefore not solely dependent on recruitment from tropical region coral stocks (e.g., Babcock et al, 1994;van Woesik, 1995;Wilson and Harrison, 2003;Miller and Ayre, 2004;Madsen et al, 2014).…”

Marginal coral populations: the densest known aggregation of Pocillopora in the Galápagos Archipelago is of asexual origin

“…In addition to asexual reproduction via fragmentation, P. damicornis can produce asexual (ameiotic) (Yeoh and Dai, 2010) as well as sexual planula larvae leading to populations of mixed asexual and sexual origin, e.g., in the Western Australia, Panama, Hawaii and the Ryukyu Islands (Stoddart, 1984;Richmond, 1987;Adjeroud and Tsuchiya, 1999;Whitaker, 2006). In contrast, on the Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe Island reef, sexual reproduction dominates (Benzie et al, 1995;Ayre et al, 1997;Ayre and Miller, 2004;Miller and Ayre, 2004). Sexual reproduction in Eastern Pacific pocilloporids occurs via spawning of female and male gametes into the water column where fertilization occurs .…”

“…Considerable variability in genotypic evenness and richness on small spatial scales is common in corals, ranging from minimal clonal replication to reefs dominated by just one genet (Hunter, 1993;Ayre and Hughes, 2000;Miller and Ayre, 2004;Baums et al, 2006;Sherman et al, 2006). Often asexual reproduction is common at the edges of a species range where sexual partners may be absent (Baums, 2008;Silvertown, 2008).…”