In recent years, a few colonial marine invertebrates have shown intracolonial genetic variability, a previously unreported phenomenon. Intracolonial genetic variability describes the occurrence of more than a single genotype within an individual colony. This variability can be traced back to two underlying processes: chimerism and mosaicism. Chimerism is the fusion of two or more individuals, whereas mosaicism mostly derives from somatic cell mutations. Until now, it remained unclear to what degree the ecologically important group of hermatypic (reef building) corals might be affected. We investigate the occurrence of intracolonial genetic variability in five scleractinian corals: Acropora florida, Acropora hyacinthus, Acropora sarmentosa, Pocillopora species complex and Porites australiensis. The main focus was to test different genera for the phenomenon via microsatellite markers and to distinguish which underlying process caused the genetic heterogeneity. Our results show that intracolonial genetic variability was common (between 46.6% for A. sarmentosa and 23.8% for P. species complex) in all tested corals. The main process was mosaicism (69 cases of 222 tested colonies), but at least one chimera existed in every species. This suggests that intracolonial genetic variability is widespread in scleractinian corals and could challenge the view of a coral colony as an individual and therefore a unit of selection. However, it might also hold potential for colony survival under rapidly changing environmental conditions.

Anthropogenically released CO accumulates in the global carbon cycle and is anticipated to imbalance global carbon fluxes [1]. For example, increased atmospheric CO induces a net air-to-sea flux where the oceans take up large amounts of atmospheric CO (i.e., ocean acidification [2-5]). Research on ocean acidification is ongoing, and studies have demonstrated the consequences for ecosystems and organismal biology with major impacts on marine food webs, nutrient cycles, overall productivity, and biodiversity [6-9]. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the impact of anthropogenically caused CO on freshwater systems due to their more complex biogeochemistry. The current consensus, yet lacking data evidence, is that anthropogenic CO does indeed affect freshwater carbon hydrogeochemistry, causing increased pCO in freshwater bodies [10-13]. We analyzed long-term data from four freshwater reservoirs and observed a continuous pCO increase associated with a decrease in pH, indicating that not only the oceans but also inland waters are accumulating CO. We tested the effect of pCO-dependent freshwater acidification using the cosmopolite crustacean Daphnia. For general validity, control pCO-levels were based on the present global pCO average. Treatments were selected with very high pCO levels, assuming a continuous non-linear increase of pCO, reflecting worst-case-scenario future pCO levels. Such levels of elevated pCO reduced the ability of Daphnia to sense its predators and form adequate inducible defenses. We furthermore determined that pCO and not the resulting reduction in pH impairs predator perception. If pCO alters chemical communication between freshwater species, this perturbs intra- and interspecific information transfer, which may affect all trophic levels.

The freshwater crustacean Daphnia adapts to changing predation risks by forming inducible defences. These are only formed when they are advantageous, saving associated costs when the defence is superfluous. However, in order to be effective, the time lag between the onset of predation and the defence formation has to be short. Daphnia longicephala develop huge protective crests upon exposure to chemical cues (kairomones) from its predator the heteropteran backswimmer Notonecta glauca. To analyse time lags, we determined kairomone-sensitive stages and the developmental time frames of inducible defences. Moreover, we looked at additive effects that could result from the summation of prolonged kairomone exposure. Kairomones are perceived by chemoreceptors and integrated by the nervous system, which alters the developmental program leading to defence formation. The underlying neuronal and developmental pathways are not thoroughly described and surprisingly, the location of the kairomone receptors is undetermined. We show that D. longicephala start to sense predator cues at the onset of the second juvenile instar, defences develop with a time lag of one instar and prolonged kairomone exposure does not impact the magnitude of the defence. By establishing a method to reversibly impair chemosensors, we show the first antennae as the location of kairomone-detecting chemoreceptors. This study provides fundamental information on kairomone perception, kairomone-sensitive stages, developmental time frames and lag times of inducible defences in D. longicephala that will greatly contribute to the further understanding of the neuronal and developmental mechanisms of predator-induced defences in Daphnia.