Variations in the density of two ectoparasitic gastropods (Coralliophila spp.) on scleractinian corals on a coast-reef scale

Kaullysing, Deepeeka; Taleb-Hossenkhan, Nawsheen; Kulkarni, B G; Bhagooli, Ranjeet

doi:10.1007/s13199-019-00608-4

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…on invertebrate corallivores such as Drupella spp., which may also significantly affect coral health (Rotjan and Lewis 2008). This study did not analyse invertebrate corallivory due to low invertebrate predation upon P. lutea at the study sites, with only the sea snail species Coralliophila violacea and C. radula previously recorded as predating P. lutea in the Mauritian lagoon (Kaullysing et al 2017(Kaullysing et al , 2019. However, Stegastes spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Outplanting of branching Acropora enhances recolonization of a fish species and protects massive corals from predation

et al. 2021

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Damselfish of the genus Stegastes inhabit territories and cultivate algal gardens on branching corals of the genus Acropora, aggressively protecting their territories from other fish and preventing predation upon corals within the territory. This behaviour has important ecological impacts and could also be useful in reducing predation on outplanted corals during reef restoration efforts. However, the degree of protection from predators may depend on the ability of Stegastes spp. to recolonise outplanted or newly established coral colonies. Protection of bleaching-resilient massive corals within territories may be of particular importance due to the role of these corals in maintaining coral cover following bleaching events. This study examined whether the presence of Stegastes spp. reduces predation on the massive bleaching-resilient coral Porites lutea in the Mauritian lagoon, and whether Stegastes spp. readily colonise outplanted branching coral fragments and provide adjacent massive corals with indirect protection from predation. Predation levels on wild-occurring and outplanted P. lutea within and outside Stegastes spp. territories were measured. In addition, Acropora muricata branches were outplanted adjacent to wild P. lutea colonies outside Stegastes spp. territories, and recolonisation of these outplants by Stegastes spp. and the impacts of recolonisation on predation were monitored. Both wild and outplanted P. lutea colonies within Stegastes spp. territories sustained less predation damage compared to colonies outside territories. Stegastes spp. recolonized outplanted A. muricata colonies within six months of outplanting, and in doing so returned predation protection to adjacent P. lutea colonies. The ability of Stegastes spp. to colonise outplanted corals and provide indirect protection to adjacent massive bleaching-resilient corals may inform coral outplanting efforts in systems where Stegastes spp. are common. Encouraging Stegastes spp. recolonisation may help to reduce predation damage to corals within territories and potentially improve the success of rehabilitation efforts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Outplanting of branching Acropora enhances recolonization of a fish species and protects massive corals from predation

et al. 2021

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“…However, to further elucidate the response of these corals to thermal stress conditions additional chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters such as the maximum relative electron transport rate (rETRmax) and the maximum non-photochemical quenching (NPQmax) could be used as done by Bhagooli and Hikada (2006). Other management factors also need to be locally under control or within appropriate limits for survival of corals, such as water quality and predators, for instance, the corallivore Drupella cornus, following overgrowth of macroalgae (Kaullysing et al 2016). There are other coral eating snail species (Kaullysing et al 2019) that may require further investigations with respect to their links with water quality, macroalgal overgrowth on corals and predation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other management factors also need to be locally under control or within appropriate limits for survival of corals, such as water quality and predators, for instance, the corallivore Drupella cornus, following overgrowth of macroalgae (Kaullysing et al 2016). There are other coral eating snail species (Kaullysing et al 2019) that may require further investigations with respect to their links with water quality, macroalgal overgrowth on corals and predation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential responses of effective quantum yield to acute thermal stress in scleractinian corals including pre- and post-transplanted Acropora muricata

JEETUN

RICOT

Taleb-Hossenkhan

et al. 2023

Indo Pac J Ocean Life

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Abstract. Jeetun S, Ricot M, Taleb-Hossenkhan N, Kaullysing D, Flot J-F, Bhagooli R. 2023. Differential responses of effective quantum yield to acute thermal stress in scleractinian corals including pre- and post-transplanted Acropora muricata. Indo Pac J Ocean Life 6: 54-63. Global climate change has had a serious impact on the health status of coral reefs and has led to the use of active reef restoration measures to remediate the decline in coral cover and assist in the recovery of depleted coral populations. This study aimed to assess the thermal photo-physiological responses of Acropora muricata pre- and post-transplantation from reef, lagoon, and nearshore stations to the experimental nearshore station and of four other non-transplanted coral species, namely, Acropora cytherea, Galaxea fascicularis, Pocillopora damicornis and Lithophyllon repanda from the reef. A visual assessment of dinoflagellate symbiont loss was conducted during summer bleaching events in 2011, 2016, and 2019 for A. muricata at the three stations, nearshore, lagoon, and reef, and for the other four corals at the reefs of Belle Mare (BM), Mauritius. The 2016 bleaching event appeared to be more severe for P. damicornis and L. repanda. A first experiment was carried out using pre-transplanted A. muricata from the reef, lagoon, and nearshore, respectively, in 2012, and a second one was conducted with post-transplanted A. muricata from the nearshore station in 2020, and A. cytherea, G. fascicularis, P. damicornis and L. repanda from the reef in both 2012 and 2020. The coral specimens were incubated at 28°C, 30°C, and 32°C for 3hrs. The results showed an enhanced photo-physiological thermo-tolerance through the measurement of the effective quantum yield of A. muricata following transplantation from the reef and lagoon to the nearshore station. Significantly different photo-physiological responses of the other four corals occurring on the reef were also reported between 2012 and 2020. These findings suggest that the nearshore transplanted A. muricata may have acclimatized, leading to enhanced thermo-tolerance when exposed to 30°C and A. cytherea among the test corals may have improved its thermo-tolerance at 30°C and 32°C possibly following several bleaching events. Further studies using longer experimental exposures and involving the symbiont species, antioxidant responses, symbiont cell density, and chlorophyll content along with coral genetics may shed light on possible mechanisms for such enhanced thermo-tolerance.

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“…Moreover, the urgency of in-depth studies on ascidian-related threats is even more pressing given that ascidian-induced-bioinvasion has been increasingly reported worldwide, especially following mass thermalinduced coral bleaching (Dijkstra et al 2007;Tebbett et al 2019). It is noteworthy that several local studies on photophysiological responses to thermal and other stressors have been conducted on scleractinian corals (Mattan-Moorgawa et al 2015Kaullysing et al 2016;Louis et al 2020;Bhagooli et al 2021b), seaweeds (Narain et al 2023;Bhagooli et al 2021c) and seagrasses (Bhagooli et al 2021c), microalgae (Sadally et al 2016;Soondur et al 2021Soondur et al , 2022 ascidians thermal stress responses are yet to be investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diplosoma simile (Ascidiacea: Didemnidae) distribution and its photosynthetic thermal stress responses from Mauritius: Implications for invasive or opportunistic behavior

FAI

Kaullysing

JEETUN

et al. 2023

Indo Pac J Ocean Life

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Abstract. Fai ALY, Kaullysing D, Jeetun S, Soondur M, Bhagooli R. 2023. Diplosoma simile (Ascidiacea: Didemnidae) distribution and its photosynthetic thermal stress responses from Mauritius: Implications for invasive or opportunistic behavior. Indo Pac J Ocean Life 7: 16-26. This study aimed to investigate the morphological identity of the ascidian Diplosoma, its distribution, experimental thermal stress responses, and its characteristics of being potentially invasive or opportunistic in Mauritian waters. The Diplosoma species were anesthetized in menthol, fixed, and preserved in a formalin-seawater solution. Isolated zooids and embryos were examined under a microscope for distinct morphological characteristics, which revealed their identity as D. simile (Sluiter, 1909). The D. simile percentage cover studied at seven sites in 2019 around Mauritius tended to be high at the near-reef zone, with a high percentage of dead coral cover per 0.5 m2. At Flic en Flac, long-term observations in 2008, 2010, 2016, and 2019 indicated a significant decrease and increased from 61.25±3.31 to 6.15±0.60 % and 0.08±0.05 to 2.50±090% for the percentage covers of live coral and D. simile, respectively. The D. simile was recorded on five coral species, and its percentage occurrence increased from 2008 to 2019 in Acropora muricata, A. cytherea, Pocillopora damicornis, and Montipora aequituberculata with the highest levels occurring in Acropora while Porites lutea was not found to be covered by D. simile during the study. Visual observations from the thermal exposures at 27ºC, 30ºC, and 33ºC during 19 hrs revealed that D. simile was more affected by increasing temperature and exposure time. Using four observed conditions of normal, bleached/paled, tissue sloughing, and mortality, D. simile suffered from only bleaching/paling at 33ºC at 19 hrs exposure. Variable visual responses were noted for corals, with P. lutea appearing normal at all trials while A. cytherea was suffering from mortality both at 30ºC and 33ºC at 19 hrs exposure. The effective quantum yield (?PSII), measured using a Diving-PAM, declined significantly at 33ºC treatments at 6 and 19 hrs of exposure. D. simile generally tended to be more thermally tolerant than corals like P. lutea, P. damicornis, M. aequituberculata, A. muricata, A, cytherea, though the ?PSII thermal responses were variable among the tested corals. When considering the reported behavioral characteristics of D. simile, namely the lack of broad dispersal range and wide environmental tolerance, it is tempting to deduce that the species is potentially invasive. However, in this study, D. simile’s significant distribution on dead corals, its presence in zones of high anthropogenic activities, and its relatively more robust thermal stress responses than corals colonized suggest an opportunistic behavior.

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Variations in the density of two ectoparasitic gastropods (Coralliophila spp.) on scleractinian corals on a coast-reef scale

Cited by 11 publications

References 27 publications

Outplanting of branching Acropora enhances recolonization of a fish species and protects massive corals from predation

Outplanting of branching Acropora enhances recolonization of a fish species and protects massive corals from predation

Differential responses of effective quantum yield to acute thermal stress in scleractinian corals including pre- and post-transplanted Acropora muricata

Diplosoma simile (Ascidiacea: Didemnidae) distribution and its photosynthetic thermal stress responses from Mauritius: Implications for invasive or opportunistic behavior

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