scholarly journals Reestablishing a stepping-stone population of the threatened elkhorn coral Acropora palmata to aid regional recovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 461-473
Author(s):  
IB Kuffner ◽  
A Stathakopoulos ◽  
LT Toth ◽  
LA Bartlett
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Genetic Effect ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Gauge Potential ◽  
Acropora Palmata ◽  
Assisted Migration ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Genetic Strains ◽  
Entire Experiment ◽  
Migration Experiment

Recovery of the elkhorn coral Acropora palmata is critical to reversing coral reef ecosystem collapse in the western Atlantic, but the species is severely threatened. To gauge potential for the species’ restoration in Florida, USA, we conducted an assisted migration experiment where 50 coral fragments of 5 nursery-raised genetic strains (genets) from the upper Florida Keys were moved to 5 sites across 350 km of the offshore reef. Additionally, 4 fragments from the 1 remaining colony of A. palmata in Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO) were added to the 2 DRTO experimental sites to test for local adaptation. To measure coral performance, we tracked coral survival, calcification, growth, and condition from May 2018 to October 2019. All 24 corals relocated to the DRTO sites survived and calcified ~85% faster than the fewer surviving corals transplanted to the 2 upper Keys sites. While coral survival across the entire experiment did not depend on genet, there was a weak but statistically significant genetic effect on calcification rate among the corals relocated to DRTO. The DRTO native genet was among the fastest growing genets, but it was not the fastest, suggesting a lack of local adaptation at this scale. Our results indicate that DRTO, a remote reef system inhabited by the species during the Holocene and located at the nexus of major ocean currents, may be a prime location for reestablishing A. palmata. Assisted migration of A. palmata to DRTO could restore a sexually reproducing population in <10 yr, thereby promoting the species’ regional recovery.

scholarly journals Genetic structure and diversity of the mustard hill coral Porites astreoides along the Florida Keys reef tract

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique N. Gallery ◽  
Michelle L. Green ◽  
Ilsa B. Kuffner ◽  
Elizabeth A. Lenz ◽  
Lauren T. Toth
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Genetic Population ◽  
High Genetic Diversity ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Porites Astreoides ◽  
Single Well ◽  
Reef Tract

AbstractIncreases in local and global stressors have led to major declines in coral populations throughout the western Atlantic. While abundances of other species have declined, however, the relative abundance of the mustard hill coral, Porites astreoides, has increased. Porites astreoides is relatively resilient to some stressors, and because of its mixed reproductive strategies, its populations often recover quickly following disturbances. The ability for P. astreoides to continue as a potential “winner” in western Atlantic reefs relies on maintaining sufficient genetic variation within populations to support acclimatization and adaptation to current and future environmental change. Without high genetic diversity and gene flow within the population, it would have limited capacity for adaptation and the species’ competitive advantages could be short-lived. In this study, we determined the genetic relatedness of 37 P. astreoides colonies at four shallow reefs along the offshore Florida Keys Reef Tract (FKRT), a region particularly hard-hit by recent disturbances. Using previously designed microsatellite markers, we determined the genetic diversity and connectivity of individuals among and between sites. Our results suggest that the FKRT likely contains a single, well-mixed genetic population of P. astreoides, with high levels of gene flow and evidence for larval migration throughout the region. This suggests that regional populations of P. astreoides likely have a higher chance of maintaining resilience than many other western Atlantic species as they face current and future disturbances.

Gene Flow, Spatial Structure, Local Adaptation, and Assisted Migration in Trees

2012 ◽  
pp. 71-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin V. Krutovsky ◽  
Jaroslaw Burczyk ◽  
Igor Chybicki ◽  
Reiner Finkeldey ◽  
Tanja Pyhäjärvi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Assisted Migration

Geochemical Evidence of Saharan Dust Parent Material for Soils Developed on Quaternary Limestones of Caribbean and Western Atlantic Islands

1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Muhs ◽  
Charles A. Bush ◽  
Kathleen C. Stewart ◽  
Tracy R. Rowland ◽  
Russell C. Crittenden
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
External Source ◽  
Parent Material ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Caribbean Island ◽  
Trade Winds ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Parent Materials ◽  
External Sources

AbstractMost previous workers have regarded the insoluble residues of high-purity Quaternary limestones (coral reefs and oolites) as the most important parent material for well-developed, clay-rich soils on Caribbean and western Atlantic islands, but this genetic mechanism requires unreasonable amounts of limestone solution in Quaternary time. Other possible parent materials from external sources are volcanic ash from the Lesser Antilles island arc and Saharan dust carried across the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast trade winds. Soils on Quaternary coral terraces and carbonate eolianites on Barbados, Jamaica, the Florida Keys (United States), and New Providence Island (Bahamas) were studied to determine which, if either, external source was important. Caribbean volcanic ashes and Saharan dust can be clearly distinguished using ratios of relatively immobile elements (Al2O3/TiO2, Ti/Y, Ti/Zr, and Ti/Th). Comparison of these ratios in 25 soils, where estimated ages range from 125,000 to about 870,000 yr, shows that Saharan dust is the most important parent material for soils on all islands. These results indicate that the northeast trade winds have been an important component of the regional climatology for much of the Quaterary. Saharan dust may also be an important parent material for Caribbean island bauxites of much greater age.

Recovery of Acropora Palmata in Curaçao: a Comparison with the Florida Keys

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 747-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan J Bright ◽  
Dana E Williams ◽  
K Lindsey Kramer ◽  
Margaret W Miller
Keyword(s):  
Florida Keys ◽  
Acropora Palmata

scholarly journals Systematic Analysis of White Pox Disease in Acropora palmata of the Florida Keys and Role of Serratia marcescens

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (13) ◽  
pp. 4451-4457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Joyner ◽  
Kathryn P. Sutherland ◽  
Dustin W. Kemp ◽  
Brett Berry ◽  
Ashton Griffin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Serratia Marcescens ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Disease Status ◽  
Acropora Palmata ◽  
Overlying Water ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Apparently Healthy

ABSTRACTWhite pox disease (WPD) affects the threatened elkhorn coral,Acropora palmata. Owing in part to the lack of a rapid and simple diagnostic test, there have been few systematic assessments of the prevalence of acroporid serratiosis (caused specifically bySerratia marcescens) versus general WPD signs. Six reefs in the Florida Keys were surveyed between 2011 and 2013 to determine the disease status ofA. palmataand the prevalence ofS. marcescens. WPD was noted at four of the six reefs, with WPD lesions found on 8 to 40% of the colonies surveyed.S. marcescenswas detected in 26.9% (7/26) of the WPD lesions and in mucus from apparently healthy colonies both during and outside of disease events (9%; 18/201).S. marcescenswas detected with greater frequency inA. palmatathan in the overlying water column, regardless of disease status (P= 0.0177).S. marcescenscould not be cultured fromA. palmatabut was isolated from healthy colonies of other coral species and was identified as pathogenic pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type PDR60. WPD lesions were frequently observed on the reef, but unlike in prior outbreaks, no whole-colony death was observed. PathogenicS. marcescenswas circulating on the reef but did not appear to be the primary pathogen in these recent WPD episodes, suggesting that other pathogens or stressors may contribute to signs of WPD. Results highlight the critical importance of diagnostics in coral disease investigations, especially given that field manifestation of disease may be similar, regardless of the etiological agent.

Revision of the family Euryplacidae Stimpson, 1871 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Goneplacoidea)

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2375 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER CASTRO ◽  
PETER K. L. NG
Keyword(s):  
Florida Keys ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Nominal Species ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Atlantic Region ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
The Family ◽  
The World ◽  
Pacific Species

The family Euryplacidae Stimpson, 1871, traditionally included in the Goneplacidae MacLeay, 1838, is revised based on the examination of the type material of many of its species as well as unidentified and previously identified material from around the world. The revised family now consists of 31 species (including five that are described as new) belonging to 13 genera (including four that are described as new): Eucrate De Haan, 1835, with eight species, of which one is new; Euryplax Stimpson, 1859, with two species; Frevillea A. Milne-Edwards, 1880, with three species; Henicoplax n. gen., with five species of which three are new; Heteroplax Stimpson, 1858, monotypic; Machaerus Leach, 1818, with two species; Nancyplax Lemaitre, García-Gómez, von Sternberg & Campos, 2001, monotypic; Platyozius Borradaile, 1902, monotypic; Psopheticoides Sakai, 1969, monotypic; Systroplax n. gen., monotypic; Trissoplax n. gen., with two species, of which one is new; Trizocarcinus Rathbun, 1914, with two species; Villoplax n. gen., monotypic; and Xenocrate Ng & Castro, 2007, monotypic. The genus Platyozius and Eucrate formosensis Sakai, 1974, are removed from the synonymy of Eucrate and E. alcocki Serène, in Serène & Lohavanijaya, 1973, respectively. Neotypes are selected for Heteroplax dentata Stimpson, 1858, and Pilumnoplax sulcatifrons Stimpson, 1858, two species described from Hong Kong that have a confusing taxonomic history. A neotype is also selected for Euryplax nitida Stimpson, 1859, described from the Florida Keys. Seven nominal species described by other authors were found to be junior subjective synonyms for other species: Eucrate affinis Haswell, 1882, E. costata Yang & Sun 1979, E. haswelli Campbell 1969, and Pseudorhombila sulcatifrons var. australiensis Miers, 1884, of Trissoplax dentata (Stimpson, 1858); Galene laevimanus (Lucas, in Jacquinot & Lucas, 1853) of Eucrate dorsalis (White, 1849); Heteroplax nagasakiensis Sakai, 1934, of H. transversa Stimpson, 1858; and Pilumnoplax sulcatifrons Stimpson, 1858, of Eucrate crenata (De Haan, 1835). Eight euryplacid genera are exclusively found in the Indo-West Pacific region (except one species introduced in the Mediterranean), one is exclusive to each the Eastern Atlantic and Tropical Eastern Pacific regions, three to the Western Atlantic region, and one genus has both Western Atlantic and Tropical Eastern Pacific species.

scholarly journals Where's the reef?: a critical reevaluation of the role of framework

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 138-138
Author(s):  
Dennis K. Hubbard
Keyword(s):  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Acropora Palmata ◽  
Void Space ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Carbonate Production ◽  
High Carbonate ◽  
Carbonate Material ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Destructive Processes

Despite suggestions to the contrary by Norman Newell, in 1971, the presence of in-place, interlocking framework remains primary among the list of criteria used to recognize “true reefs” in the rock record. This is a logical outgrowth of observations made in modern systems, emphasizing 1) high carbonate-production rates of modern corals, 2) their commonly upright and interlocking architecture, and 3) the abundance and diversity of closely packed organisms on the surface of many modern reefs.Applying a framework-dominated model to ancient reefs, however, has led to repeated frustration and the assumption that the problem is by and large related to the changing nature of reefs through time. Our present attempt to apply uniformitarianism to modern reefs and their ancient counterparts was perhaps best summarized by H. A. Lowenstam, “The present is the key to the Pleistocene… perhaps”.A growing data base from cores through modern reefs implies that much of the problem is related to real differences between what we think constitutes the interior of modern reefs and what is really there. Recognizable coral generally constitutes less than 30% of the reef fabric, based on examination of over 50 cores from a variety of reef types throughout the eastern Caribbean region. Volumetrically, loose sediment and void space comprise a significantly higher portion of the reef interior. Furthermore, obviously in-place and interlocking “framework” is conspicuously absent. Branching Acropora palmata is invariably found in a variety of orientations, implying largely detrital emplacement rather than the preservation of intact and undisturbed colonies. Head corals are generally separated by intervals of detritus or open cavities, rather than sitting atop older colonies. Where rigidity of the reef fabric can be observed, it is almost always a function of secondary encrustation by coralline algae and/or post-depositional marine cementation.The patterns seen in cores are supported by previous budget calculations of carbonate cycling in modern reefs around St. Croix. Bioerosion reduces original carbonate material to sediment, leaving recognizable coral to represent only a small part of the total reef volume. While still a significant component of the total reef fabric, few of the recognizable corals are bound together, and it is difficult to clearly demonstrate that the samples were recovered from life position (although some probably were). At Salt River, recovery was very low, and corals have been demonstrably moved from their original sites of growth.Effective modeling of ancient reefs must take into account the importance of secondary processes that reduce and redistribute the original carbonate material produced by corals. Combined with physical reworking, cementation and encrustation, these destructive processes result in a deposit that resembles more a pile of reef debris than the coherent assemblage of in-place, interlocking framework usually conjured up to represent the modern-reef interior. While still of great importance, constructional processes that are so evident on the reef surface must be viewed within the context of other physical, chemical and biological processes that are reflected in the growing body of core data from modern reefs in the western Atlantic and throughout the world.

scholarly journals Genotypic variation in disease susceptibility among cultured stocks of elkhorn and staghorn corals

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret W. Miller ◽  
Philip J. Colburn ◽  
Emma Pontes ◽  
Dana E. Williams ◽  
Allan J. Bright ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Susceptibility ◽  
Coral Disease ◽  
Genotypic Variation ◽  
Genetic Resistance ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Tissue Loss ◽  
Acropora Palmata ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Primary Driver

Disease mortality has been a primary driver of population declines and the threatened status of the foundational Caribbean corals, Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis. There remain few tools to effectively manage coral disease. Substantial investment is flowing into in situ culture and population enhancement efforts, while disease takes a variable but sometimes high toll in restored populations. If genetic resistance to disease can be identified in these corals, it may be leveraged to improve resistance in restored populations and possibly lead to effective diagnostic tests and disease treatments. Using a standardized field protocol based on replicated direct-graft challenge assays, we quantified this important trait in cultured stocks from three field nurseries in the Florida Keys. Field tests of 12 genotypes of A. palmata and 31 genotypes of A. cervicornis revealed significant genotypic variation in disease susceptibility of both species measured both as risk of transmission (percent of exposed fragments that displayed tissue loss) and as the rate of tissue loss (cm2 d–1) in fragments with elicited lesions. These assay results provide a measure of relative disease resistance that can be incorporated, along with consideration of other important traits such as growth and reproductive success, into restoration strategies to yield more resilient populations.

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