Community dynamics and physiology of <i>Symbiodinium</i> spp. before, during, and after a coral bleaching event

Kemp, Dustin W.; Hernández-Pech, Xavier; Iglesias-Prieto, Roberto; Fitt, William K.; Schmidt, Gregory W.

doi:10.4319/lo.2014.59.3.0788

Cited by 143 publications

(161 citation statements)

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“…Symbiont abundances (per coral surface area), higher in M. meandrites than in the other two species, are known to be a species-specific trait and probably related to threedimensional space availability within the coral tissue [8] and to the genetically constrained cell size of particular symbiont lineages. [52] Although Symbiodinium numbers inside the coral tissue are known to vary over time and space for individual species, [36,53] neither time of the day nor depth explained their variation in the current study. Approximately 60 % of the variation in DMSP concentration per unit area was, according to our multiple linear regression models, explained by symbiont abundance within the tissue (see Fig.…”

Section: Dmsp Concentration In Coral Tissue and De Novo Productionmentioning

confidence: 87%

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Dimethylsulfoniopropionate in corals and its interrelations with bacterial assemblages in coral surface mucus

Frade¹,

Schwaninger²,

Glasl³

et al. 2016

Environ. Chem.

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Environmental context. Corals produce copious amounts of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a sulfur compound implicated in climate regulation. We studied DMSP concentrations inside corals and unveiled the linkage between DMSP availability and the abundance of DMSP-degrading bacterial groups inhabiting the corals' surface. Our findings suggest that DMSP mediates the interplay between corals and microbes, highlighting the importance of sulfur compounds for microbial processes in corals and for the resilience of coral reef ecosystems.Abstract. Corals produce copious amounts of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a sulfur compound thought to play a role in structuring coral-associated bacterial communities. We tested the hypothesis that a linkage exists between DMSP availability in coral tissues and the community dynamics of bacteria in coral surface mucus. We determined DMSP concentrations in three coral species (Meandrina meandrites, Porites astreoides and Siderastrea siderea) at two sampling depths (5 and 25 m) and times of day (dawn and noon) at Curaçao, Southern Caribbean. DMSP concentration (4-409 nmol cm À2 coral surface) varied with host species-specific traits such as Symbiodinium cell abundance, but not with depth or time of sampling. Exposure of corals to air caused a doubling of their DMSP concentration. The phylogenetic affiliation of mucus-associated bacteria was examined by clone libraries targeting three main subclades of the bacterial DMSP demethylase gene (dmdA). dmdA gene abundance was determined by quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) against a reference housekeeping gene (recA). Overall, a higher availability of DMSP corresponded to a lower relative abundance of the dmdA gene, but this pattern was not uniform across all host species or bacterial dmdA subclades, suggesting the existence of distinct DMSP microbial niches or varying dmdA DMSP affinities. This is the first study quantifying dmdA gene abundance in corals and linking related changes in the community dynamics of DMSP-degrading bacteria to DMSP availability. Our study suggests that DMSP mediates the regulation of microbes by the coral host and highlights the significance of sulfur compounds for microbial processes in coral reefs.

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Section: Dmsp Concentration In Coral Tissue and De Novo Productionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…However, no statistical interaction effect was found between these two explanatory factors (F (1,53) ¼ 0.129, P . 0.01).…”

Section: Dmsp Concentration In Coral Tissuementioning

confidence: 95%

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate in corals and its interrelations with bacterial assemblages in coral surface mucus

Frade¹,

Schwaninger²,

Glasl³

et al. 2016

Environ. Chem.

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“…Work on Palauan and Caribbean reefs indicate that corals with S. trenchii have greater thermal tolerance to increased seawater temperatures [13,14]. In the Caribbean, there is some evidence that the symbiosis is sub-optimal for some coral species as these colonies showed a lower level of calcification [16], though this may not be the case in Palau.…”

Section: Spectral Response To Heatingmentioning

confidence: 96%

Spectral Reflectance of Palauan Reef-Building Coral with Different Symbionts in Response to Elevated Temperature

et al. 2016

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Spectral reflectance patterns of corals are driven largely by the pigments of photosynthetic symbionts within the host cnidarian. The warm inshore bays and cooler offshore reefs of Palau share a variety of coral species with differing endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (genus: Symbiodinium), with the thermally tolerant Symbiodinium trenchii (S. trenchii) (= type D1a or D1-4) predominating under the elevated temperature regimes inshore, and primarily Clade C types in the cooler reefs offshore. Spectral reflectance of two species of stony coral, Cyphastrea serailia (C. serailia) and Pachyseris rugosa (P. rugosa), from both inshore and offshore locations shared multiple features both between sites and to similar global data from other studies. No clear reflectance features were evident which might serve as markers of thermally tolerant S. trenchii symbionts compared to the same species of coral with different symbionts. Reflectance from C. serailia colonies from inshore had a fluorescence peak at approximately 500 nm which was absent from offshore animals. Integrated reflectance across visible wavelengths had an inverse correlation to symbiont cell density and could be used as a relative indicator of the symbiont abundance for each type of coral. As hypothesized, coral colonies from offshore with Clade C symbionts showed a greater response to experimental heating, manifested as decreased symbiont density and increased reflectance or "bleaching" than their inshore counterparts with S. trenchii. Although no unique spectral features were found to distinguish species of symbiont, spectral differences related to the abundance of symbionts could prove useful in field and remote sensing studies.

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“…Relative to the initial mean, symbiont abundance declined by 63.5%, 71.8% and 82.2% after low, medium and high bleaching severity, respectively. Corals that bleached more severely had higher total symbiont abundance after recovery, which may represent greater symbiont population growth (or reduction of host cells) after bleaching [42], and/or the shift towards dominance by clade D, which tends to be maintained at higher standing stocks [26,34]. rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org Proc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the causes and consequences of symbiont shuffling in a multi-partner reef coral symbiosis under environmental change

2015

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Dynamic symbioses may critically mediate impacts of climate change on diverse organisms, with repercussions for ecosystem persistence in some cases. On coral reefs, increases in heat-tolerant symbionts after thermal bleaching can reduce coral susceptibility to future stress. However, the relevance of this adaptive response is equivocal owing to conflicting reports of symbiont stability and change. We help reconcile this conflict by showing that change in symbiont community composition (symbiont shuffling) in Orbicella faveolata depends on the disturbance severity and recovery environment. The proportion of heat-tolerant symbionts dramatically increased following severe experimental bleaching, especially in a warmer recovery environment, but tended to decrease if bleaching was less severe. These patterns can be explained by variation in symbiont performance in the changing microenvironments created by differentially bleached host tissues. Furthermore, higher proportions of heat-tolerant symbionts linearly increased bleaching resistance but reduced photochemical efficiency, suggesting that any change in community structure oppositely impacts performance and stress tolerance. Therefore, even minor symbiont shuffling can adaptively benefit corals, although fitness effects of resulting trade-offs are difficult to predict. This work helps elucidate causes and consequences of dynamism in symbiosis, which is critical to predicting responses of multi-partner symbioses such as O. faveolata to environmental change.

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Community dynamics and physiology of Symbiodinium spp. before, during, and after a coral bleaching event

Cited by 143 publications

References 50 publications

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate in corals and its interrelations with bacterial assemblages in coral surface mucus

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate in corals and its interrelations with bacterial assemblages in coral surface mucus

Spectral Reflectance of Palauan Reef-Building Coral with Different Symbionts in Response to Elevated Temperature

Investigating the causes and consequences of symbiont shuffling in a multi-partner reef coral symbiosis under environmental change

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