Coral symbioses under prolonged environmental change: living near tolerance range limits.

As climate change progresses, understanding the long-term response of corals and their endosymbionts (Symbiodinium) to prolonged environmental change is of immediate importance. Here, a total of 1152 fragments from 72 colonies of three common coral species (Stylophora pistillata, Pocillopora damicornis, Seriatopora hystrix) underwent a 32-month reciprocal depth transplantation. Genetic analysis showed that while S.

High natural gene expression variation in the reef-building coral Acropora millepora: potential for acclimative and adaptive plasticity.

Background: Ecosystems worldwide are suffering the consequences of anthropogenic impact. The diverse ecosystem of coral reefs, for example, are globally threatened by increases in sea surface temperatures due to global warming. Studies to date have focused on determining genetic diversity, the sequence variability of genes in a species, as a proxy to estimate and predict the potential adaptive response of coral populations to environmental changes linked to climate changes.

Unprecedented mass bleaching and loss of coral across 12° of latitude in Western Australia in 2010-11.

Background: Globally, coral bleaching has been responsible for a significant decline in both coral cover and diversity over the past two decades. During the summer of 2010-11, anomalous large-scale ocean warming induced unprecedented levels of coral bleaching accompanied by substantial storminess across more than 12° of latitude and 1200 kilometers of coastline in Western Australia (WA).

Methodology/principal Findings: Extreme La-Niña conditions caused extensive warming of waters and drove considerable storminess and cyclonic activity across WA from October 2010 to May 2011.

Genetic divergence across habitats in the widespread coral Seriatopora hystrix and its associated Symbiodinium.

Background: Coral reefs are hotspots of biodiversity, yet processes of diversification in these ecosystems are poorly understood. The environmental heterogeneity of coral reef environments could be an important contributor to diversification, however, evidence supporting ecological speciation in corals is sparse. Here, we present data from a widespread coral species that reveals a strong association of host and symbiont lineages with specific habitats, consistent with distinct, sympatric gene pools that are maintained through ecologically-based selection.

Bacterial communities of two ubiquitous Great Barrier Reef corals reveals both site- and species-specificity of common bacterial associates.

Background: Coral-associated bacteria are increasingly considered to be important in coral health, and altered bacterial community structures have been linked to both coral disease and bleaching. Despite this, assessments of bacterial communities on corals rarely apply sufficient replication to adequately describe the natural variability. Replicated data such as these are crucial in determining potential roles of bacteria on coral.