Response of fluorescence morphs of the mesophotic coral Euphyllia paradivisa to ultra-violet radiation

Ben-Zvi, Or; Eyal, Gal; Loya, Yossi

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-41710-3

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…This observation, that %UVR best predicts the occurrence of shallow coral communities, while the %PAR is more appropriate for mesophotic communities, may have several potential explanations. Mesophotic species may be light-limited, but, moreover, have a lower resilience to UVR and its potential damages (Ben-Zvi et al 2019).…”

Section: Light Limitation and Solar Stress May Control The Shallow-tomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Ben‐Zvi et al. ). Under high light levels, there is the potential for damage to the holobiont (bleaching; Dunne and Brown ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Ben‐Zvi et al. ). Dunne and Brown () tested the penetration of solar UVB radiation in shallow tropical waters and reported DNA damage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Under high light levels, there is the potential for damage to the holobiont (bleaching; Dunne and Brown 1996). The biologically damaging effects of UVR are well known and include the direct effects of ultraviolet B radiation (UVB, 280-315 nm;Holm-Hansen et al 1993), and possible effects mediated through ROS (Mallick and Mohn 2000, Tchernov et al 2011, Ben-Zvi et al 2019). Dunne and Brown (1996) tested the penetration of solar UVB radiation in shallow tropical waters and reported DNA damage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Light environment drives the shallow‐to‐mesophotic coral community transition

et al. 2019

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Light quality is a crucial physical factor driving coral distribution along depth gradients. Currently, a 30 m depth limit, based on SCUBA regulations, separates shallow and deep mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs). This definition, however, fails to explicitly accommodate environmental variation. Here, we posit a novel definition for a regional or reef‐to‐reef outlook of MCEs based on the light vs. coral community–structure relationship. A combination of physical and ecological methods enabled us to clarify the ambiguity in relation to the mesophotic definition. To characterize coral community structure with respect to the light environment, we conducted wide‐scale spatial studies at five sites along shallow and MCEs of the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba (0–100 m depth). Surveys were conducted by technical‐diving and drop‐cameras, in addition to one year of light spectral measurements. We quantify two distinct coral assemblages: shallow (<40 m) and MCEs (40–100 m), exhibiting markedly different relationships with light. The depth ranges and morphology of 47 coral genera were better explained by light than depth, mainly, due to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) (1% at 76 and 36 m, respectively). Branching coral species were found mainly at shallower depths, that is, down to 36 m. Among the abundant upper‐mesophotic specialist corals, Leptoseris glabra, Euphyllia paradivisa, and Alveopora spp. were found strictly between 40 and 80 m depth. The only lower‐mesophotic specialist, Leptoseris fragilis, was found deeper than 80 m. We suggest that shallow coral genera are light‐limited below a level of 1.25% surface PAR and that the optimal PAR for mesophotic communities is at 7.5%. This study contributes to moving MCE ecology from a descriptive phase into identifying key ecological and physiological processes structuring MCE coral communities. Moreover, it may serve as a model enabling the description of a coral zonation worldwide on the basis of light quality data.

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Section: Light Limitation and Solar Stress May Control The Shallow-tomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Ben‐Zvi et al. ). Under high light levels, there is the potential for damage to the holobiont (bleaching; Dunne and Brown ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Ben‐Zvi et al. ). Dunne and Brown () tested the penetration of solar UVB radiation in shallow tropical waters and reported DNA damage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Light environment drives the shallow‐to‐mesophotic coral community transition

et al. 2019

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“…The fluorescent proteins (FPs) may exhibit a diversity of excitation and emission peaks (Alieva et al, 2008), and an individual coral may possess a single or multiple FPs (Dove et al, 2001;Ben-Zvi et al, 2014Eyal et al, 2015). Fluorescence polymorphism within the same coral species has been previously described as resulting either from a difference in the expression levels of a single protein (Gittins et al, 2015;Takahashi-Kariyazono et al, 2018), or the presence of different FPs (Eyal et al, 2015;Ben-Zvi et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photosynthesis and Bio-Optical Properties of Fluorescent Mesophotic Corals

et al. 2021

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Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are light-dependent coral-associated communities found at 30–150 m depth. Corals inhabiting these deeper reefs are often acclimatized to a limited and blue-shifted light environment, enabling them to maintain the relationship with their photosynthetic algal symbionts (family Symbiodiniaceae) despite the seemingly suboptimal light conditions. Among others, fluorescent proteins produced by the coral host may play a role in the modulation of the quality and spectral distribution of irradiance within the coral tissue through wavelength transformation. Here we examined the bio-optical properties and photosynthetic performances of different fluorescence morphs of two mesophotic coral species Goniopora minor and Alveopora ocellata, in order to test the photosynthesis enhancement hypothesis proposed for coral fluorescence. The green morph of G. minor and the low fluorescence morph of A. ocellata exhibit, in their natural habitats, higher abundance. The morphs also presented different spectral reflectance and light attenuation within the tissue. Nevertheless, chlorophyll a fluorescence-based, and O2 evolution measurements, revealed only minor differences between the photosynthetic abilities of three fluorescence morphs of the coral G. minor and two fluorescence morphs of A. ocellata. The fluorescence morphs did not differ in their algal densities or chlorophyll concentrations and all corals harbored Symbiodiniaceae from the genus Cladocopium. Thus, despite the change in the internal light quantity and quality that corals and their symbionts experience, we found no evidence for the facilitation or enhancement of photosynthesis by wavelength transformation.

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Experimental evidence of temperature-induced bleaching in two fluorescence morphs of a Red Sea mesophotic coral

et al. 2020

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Coral bleaching, as one of the major threats to the well-being of coral reefs worldwide, has been extensively studied. However, corals from mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs), found at 30 to 150 m depth and considered as a potential refuge, have not yet been well studied experimentally under thermal stress. As mesophotic corals are also highly fluorescent, and fluorescence under heat stress is known to undergo change, we examined the involvement of fluorescence during heat-induced bleaching, by incorporating both high-and low-fluorescence morphs in our experiments. We collected colonies of the mesophotic coral Alveopora ocellata and subjected them to elevated temperatures in both winter and summer in controlled laboratory experiments. We followed their physiological response and their bleaching at a high sampling resolution (every 48 h following the temperature ramping period). We found that A. ocellata bleached after a short-term (14 days) thermal stress of ?4 °C above ambient sea temperature during the summer, but did not bleach during the winter despite the elevated temperature (?5 °C; max temperature of 32 °C and 28 °C, respectively). After experiencing temperatures higher than 29.5 °C, the peak summer temperature, the corals gradually lost their algal symbionts during the summer experiment, while exhibiting an increase in symbiont density during the winter experiment. A similar response was also observed in chlorophyll a concentration, host fluorescence intensity, and maximal quantum yield of PSII (F v /F m ). Throughout the experiments (in both seasons and treatments), the highfluorescence corals presented lower zooxanthellae densities, higher cellular chlorophyll a concentration, and up to sixfold higher fluorescence. The differences found between the two morphs suggest that fluorescence may be favorable under thermal stress, strengthening the possibility of using coral fluorescence as a noninvasive monitoring tool for early detection of bleaching. This demonstration of a bleaching process in a mesophotic coral indicates the vulnerability of MCEs to the increase, in recent decades, in the frequency and intensity of temperature anomalies.

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Response of fluorescence morphs of the mesophotic coral Euphyllia paradivisa to ultra-violet radiation

Cited by 13 publications

References 58 publications

Light environment drives the shallow‐to‐mesophotic coral community transition

Light environment drives the shallow‐to‐mesophotic coral community transition

Photosynthesis and Bio-Optical Properties of Fluorescent Mesophotic Corals

Experimental evidence of temperature-induced bleaching in two fluorescence morphs of a Red Sea mesophotic coral

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