Monitoring of coral communities in the inner Gulf of Thailand influenced by the elevated seawater temperature and flooding

Pengsakun, Sittiporn; Yeemin, Thamasak; Sutthacheep, Makamas; Samsuvan, Watchara; Klinthong, Wanlaya; Chamchoy, Charernmee

doi:10.1007/s13131-019-1376-8

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…During the past few decades, corals have been reported to be continuously reduced in abundance, aerial coverage, and general health. For example, in Mun Island (Rayong Province) and Chang Island (Trat Province), the reported decreases ranged from approximately 37.4% in 1995 to 33.3% in 2006 and 22.2% in 2011, with more severe declines noted in 2011 related to thermal bleaching events (Phongsuwan et al, 2013;Pengsakun et al, 2019). Because the declines in corals have been continuous and are growing worse with time in the uGoT, we undertook studies aimed to reveal the healthy and bleached, coral-associated microbiome profiles to support restoration of Thailand coral reefs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiomes of Healthy and Bleached Corals During a 2016 Thermal Bleaching Event in the Upper Gulf of Thailand

et al. 2021

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Global warming has caused elevated seawater temperature and coral bleaching, including events on shallow reefs in the upper Gulf of Thailand (uGoT). Previous studies have reported an association between loss of zooxanthellae and coral bleaching. However, studies on the microbial diversity of prokaryotes and eukaryotes (microbiome) as coral holobionts are also important and this information is still limited in the uGoT. To address this shortcoming, this report provided baseline information on the prokaryotic (bacteria and archaea) and eukaryotic microbes of healthy and bleached colonies of four prevalent corals Acropora humilis, Acropora millepora, Platygyra sinensis, and Porites lutea and surrounding seawater and sediments, using 16S and 18S rRNA gene next-generation sequencing. Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes showed isolated community profiles among sample types (corals, sediment, and seawater) (ANOSIM: P < 0.001, R = 0.51 for prokaryotic profiles and P < 0.001, R = 0.985 for eukaryotic microbe profiles). Among coral species, P. sinensis showed the most diverse prokaryotic community compared with the others (ANOSIM: P < 0.001, R = 0.636), and P. lutea showed the most diverse eukaryotic microbes (P = 0.014, R = 0.346). Healthy and bleached corals had some different microbiomes in species and their prevalences. For instance, the significant increase of Alphaproteobacteria in P. sinensis resulted in reduced prokaryotic community evenness and altered potential metabolic profiles (i.e., increased amino acid metabolism and genetic information processing and transcription, but decreased prokaryotic functions in cell motility, signaling, and transduction). For eukaryotic microbes, the loss of the algal Symbiodinium (colloquially known as zooxanthellae) in bleached corals such as P. lutea resulted in increased Chromista and Protista and, hence, clearly distinct eukaryotic microbe (including fungi) communities in healthy vs. bleached colonies of corals. Bleached corals were enriched in bacterial pathogens (e.g., Acinetobacter, Helicobacter, Malassesia, and Aspergillus) and decreased coral-beneficial prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes (e.g., Rhizobiales and Symbiodinium). Additionally, this study identified microbiome species in bleached P. lutea that might help bleaching recovery (e.g., high abundance of Rhizobiales, Oceanospirillales, Flavobacteriales, and Alteromonadales). Overall, our coral-associated microbiome analyses identified altered diversity patterns of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and eukaryotic microbes between healthy and bleached coral species that are prevalent in the uGoT. This knowledge supports our ongoing efforts to manipulate microbial diversity as a means of reducing the negative impacts of thermal bleaching events in corals inhabiting the uGoT.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiomes of Healthy and Bleached Corals During a 2016 Thermal Bleaching Event in the Upper Gulf of Thailand

et al. 2021

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“…Coral colonies can be impacted by hurricanes via physical damage from waves, smothering by sediments (Highsmith et al, 1980;Bries et al, 2004), and reductions in water quality (e.g., Manzello et al, 2013;Edmunds, 2019;Nelson and Altieri, 2019). Low salinity caused by heavy rainfall associated with extreme storms can trigger mass loss of the algal endosymbionts of corals (Family Symbiodiniaceae, Goreau, 1964;Bries et al, 2004;LaJeunesse et al, 2018;Pengsakun et al, 2019). Increased turbidity due to terrestrial runoff during storms can significantly reduce light penetration over reefs, which diminishes the algal symbionts' photosynthetic efficiencies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene Expression of Endangered Coral (Orbicella spp.) in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary After Hurricane Harvey

et al. 2019

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“…Poor water quality can harm corals through a variety of mechanisms including reduced salinity and aragonite saturation state and increased turbidity, nutrients, and pollutants. Low salinity caused by heavy rainfall associated with extreme storms can trigger mass loss of the algal endosymbionts of corals (Family Symbiodiniaceae;Goreau 1964;Bries, Debrot, and Meyer 2004;Pengsakun et al 2019). For example, rainfall from Tropical Storm Isaac in 2012 caused a week-long reduction in aragonite saturation along the Florida Keys reef tract, which resulted in reduced coral calcification (Manzello et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene expression of endangered coral (Orbicella spp.) in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary after Hurricane Harvey

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et al. 2019

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About 160 km south of the Texas-Louisiana border, the East and West Flower Garden Banks (FGB) have maintained >50% coral cover with infrequent and minor incidents of disease or bleaching since monitoring began in the 1970s. However, a storm that generated coastal flooding, which ultimately interacted with the reef system, triggered a mortality event in 2016 that killed 2.6% of the East FGB.To capture the immediate effects of storm-driven freshwater runoff on coral and symbiont physiology, we leveraged the heavy rainfall associated with Hurricane Harvey in late August 2017 by sampling FGB corals at two times: September 2017, when salinity was reduced; and one month later when salinity had returned to typical levels (~36 ppt in October 2017). Tissue samples (N = 47) collected midday were immediately preserved for gene expression profiling from two congeneric coral species (Orbicella faveolata and Orbicella franksi) from the East and West FGB to determine the physiological consequences of storm-derived runoff. In the coral, differences between host species and sampling time points accounted for the majority of differentially expressed genes. Gene ontology enrichment for genes differentially expressed immediately after Hurricane Harvey indicated increases in cellular oxidative stress responses. Although tissue loss was not observed on FGB reefs following Hurricane Harvey, our results suggest that poor water quality following this storm caused FGB corals to experience sub-lethal stress. We also found dramatic expression differences across sampling time points in the coral's algal symbiont, Breviolum minutum. Some of these differentially expressed genes may be involved in the symbionts' response to changing environments, whereas a group of differentially expressed post-transcriptional RNA modification genes also suggest a critical role of post-transcriptional processing in symbiont acclimatization. In this study, we cannot disentangle the effects of reduced salinity from the collection time point, so these expression patterns may also be related to seasonality. These findings highlight the urgent need for continued monitoring of these reef systems to establish a baseline for gene expression of healthy corals in the FGB system across seasons, as well as the need for integrated solutions to manage stormwater runoff in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Monitoring of coral communities in the inner Gulf of Thailand influenced by the elevated seawater temperature and flooding

Cited by 9 publications

References 56 publications

Microbiomes of Healthy and Bleached Corals During a 2016 Thermal Bleaching Event in the Upper Gulf of Thailand

Microbiomes of Healthy and Bleached Corals During a 2016 Thermal Bleaching Event in the Upper Gulf of Thailand

Gene Expression of Endangered Coral (Orbicella spp.) in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary After Hurricane Harvey

Gene expression of endangered coral (Orbicella spp.) in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary after Hurricane Harvey

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