scholarly journals Larval settlement rates and gene flow of broadcast-spawning (Acropora tenuis) and planula-brooding (Stylophora pistillata) corals

2003 ◽  
Vol 256 ◽  
pp. 87-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Nishikawa ◽  
M Katoh ◽  
K Sakai
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Larval Settlement ◽  
Stylophora Pistillata ◽  
Broadcast Spawning ◽  
Acropora Tenuis

scholarly journals High potential for formation and persistence of chimeras following aggregated larval settlement in the broadcast spawning coral, Acropora millepora

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1729) ◽  
pp. 699-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Puill-Stephan ◽  
M. J. H. van Oppen ◽  
K. Pichavant-Rafini ◽  
B. L. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Larval Settlement ◽  
Early Life History ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Broadcast Spawning ◽  
Acropora Millepora ◽  
Reef Corals ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
High Level

In sessile modular marine invertebrates, chimeras can originate from fusions of closely settling larvae or of colonies that come into contact through growth or movement. While it has been shown that juveniles of brooding corals fuse under experimental conditions, chimera formation in broadcast spawning corals, the most abundant group of reef corals, has not been examined. This study explores the capacity of the broadcast spawning coral Acropora millepora to form chimeras under experimental conditions and to persist as chimeras in the field. Under experimental conditions, 1.5-fold more larvae settled in aggregations than solitarily, and analyses of nine microsatellite loci revealed that 50 per cent of juveniles tested harboured different genotypes within the same colony. Significantly, some chimeric colonies persisted for 23 months post-settlement, when the study ended. Genotypes within persisting chimeric colonies all showed a high level of relatedness, whereas rejecting colonies displayed variable levels of relatedness. The nearly threefold greater sizes of chimeras compared with solitary juveniles, from settlement through to at least three months, suggest that chimerism is likely to be an important strategy for maximizing survival of vulnerable early life-history stages of corals, although longer-term studies are required to more fully explore the potential benefits of chimerism.

scholarly journals Gene Flow and Genetic Diversity of a Broadcast-Spawning Coral in Northern Peripheral Populations

PLoS ONE ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. e11149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuichi Nakajima ◽  
Akira Nishikawa ◽  
Akira Iguchi ◽  
Kazuhiko Sakai
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Peripheral Populations ◽  
Broadcast Spawning

scholarly journals Microplastic Contamination Has Limited Effects on Coral Fertilisation and Larvae

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn L. E. Berry ◽  
Hannah E. Epstein ◽  
Phoebe J. Lewis ◽  
Nora M. Hall ◽  
Andrew P. Negri
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Larval Settlement ◽  
Particle Removal ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Tissue Surface ◽  
Coral Reef Ecosystems ◽  
Acropora Tenuis ◽  
Dose Dependent

Microplastics are ubiquitous throughout the world’s oceans and contaminate coral reef ecosystems. There is evidence of microplastic ingestion by corals and passive contact with coral tissues, causing adverse health effects that include energy expenditure for particle removal from the tissue surface, as well as reduced growth, tissue bleaching, and necrosis. Here, it was examined whether microplastic contamination impairs the success of gamete fertilisation, embryo development and larval settlement of the reef-building coral Acropora tenuis. Coral gametes and larvae were exposed to fifteen microplastic treatments using two types of plastic: (1) weathered polypropylene particles and (2) spherical polyethylene microbeads. The treatments ranged from five to 50 polypropylene pieces L−1 and 25 to 200 microbeads L−1. Fertilisation was only negatively affected by the largest weathered microplastics (2 mm2), but the effects were not dose dependent. Embryo development and larval settlement were not significantly impacted by either microplastic type. The study shows that moderate–high levels of marine microplastic contamination, specifically particles <2 mm2, will not substantially interfere with the success of critical early life coral processes.

scholarly journals A Vital Staining Practice That Discerns Ancestry within Groups of Settling Larvae of a Brooding Coral

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 616
Author(s):  
Dor Shefy ◽  
Nadav Shashar ◽  
Baruch Rinkevich
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Larval Settlement ◽  
Vital Staining ◽  
Neutral Red ◽  
Larval Metamorphosis ◽  
Coral Larvae ◽  
Stylophora Pistillata ◽  
Settlement Location ◽  
Experimental Tool

Xenogeneic and allogeneic encounters following aggregated and clustered settlements of coral larvae (planulae) may carry important ecological consequences in shaping coral reefs’ communities. However, larval settlement behaviors and settlement location choices in the presence of conspecifics or heterospecifics have not been examined in detail, due to a lack of experimental tools. One potential approach is the employment of vital staining of planulae with dyes that do not impair larval metamorphosis processes, are stable for prolonged periods, and do not diffuse to un-labeled counterpart planulae. For these purposes, we examined the use of neutral red (NR) dye, as an identification marker, on the planulae of Stylophora pistillata, a Red Sea branching coral species. To examine possible NR impacts on larval settlement in the presence of conspecific planulae, we followed the settlement ratios of kin, non-kin, and mixed assemblages, as a proxy for metamorphosis success. We found no differences in settlement rates of stained vs. unstained larvae, lack of stain diffusion to other larvae and that NR stain is maintained for more than a week under a still water regimen. Thus, staining with NR may serve as a useful experimental tool, opening new opportunities in studying larval settlement patterns in sessile marine organisms.

scholarly journals High genetic connectivity in a scleractinian coral (Lobophyllia corymbosa) around Sulawesi, Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Widyastuti Umar ◽  
ASMI CITRA MALINA A.R. TASSAKKA ◽  
JAMALUDDIN JOMPA
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Scleractinian Coral ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Genetic Connectivity ◽  
Genetic Population ◽  
Larval Phase ◽  
Broadcast Spawning ◽  
Mitochondrial Coi ◽  
Geographical Distances

Abstract. Umar W, Tassakka ACMAR, Jompa J. 2019. High genetic connectivity in a scleractinian coral (Lobophyllia corymbosa) around Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 3484-3492. The life cycle of scleractinian corals begins with a pelagic larval phase subject to the influence of currents, with the potential to disperse propagules over vast geographical distances. We investigated the mitochondrial COI genome to investigate genetic population structure and potential biophysical barriers (in particular water mass movements) that could affect connectivity between populations in the seas around Sulawesi, in the Indonesian Coral Triangle. Lobophyllia corymbosa was selected as representative of corals with a broadcast spawning reproductive strategy and relatively long Pelagic Larval Dispersal (PLD) period. Analysis of mtDNA sequences from 103 colonies collected at depths of 3 to 10 meters in 4 locations (Manado, Toli-Toli, Spermonde, and Wakatobi) resulted in FST = 0.00632, indicating no genetic isolation or significant differentiation. The tendency towards genetic homogeneity across the entire population indicates that gene flow has been maintained, most likely through widespread dispersal of propagules within the study area. The dominant surface flow directions recorded during the reproductive period of this species provide support for this gene flow model, as the currents could enable dispersal and recruitment patterns maintaining connectivity between L. corymbosa populations around Sulawesi.

scholarly journals Adding insult to injury: Effects of chronic oxybenzone exposure and elevated temperature on two reef-building corals

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Wijgerde ◽  
Mike van Ballegooijen ◽  
Reindert Nijland ◽  
Luna van der Loos ◽  
Christiaan Kwadijk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Elevated Temperature ◽  
Heat Wave ◽  
Effect Study ◽  
List Type ◽  
Stylophora Pistillata ◽  
Coral Microbiome ◽  
The Face ◽  
Acropora Tenuis ◽  
Coral Health

AbstractWe studied the effect of chronic oxybenzone exposure and elevated temperature on coral health. Microcolonies of Stylophora pistillata and Acropora tenuis were cultured in 20 flow-through aquaria, of which 10 were exposed to oxybenzone at a field-relevant concentration of ~0.06 μg L−1 at 26 °C. After two weeks, half of the corals experienced a heat wave culminating at 33 °C. All S. pistillata colonies survived the heat wave, although heat reduced growth and zooxanthellae density, irrespective of oxybenzone. A. tenuis survival was reduced to 0% at 32 °C, and oxybenzone accelerated mortality. Oxybenzone and heat significantly reduced photosynthetic yield in both species, causing a 5% and 22−33% decrease, respectively. In addition, combined oxybenzone and temperature stress altered the abundance of five bacterial families in the microbiome of S. pistillata. Our results suggest that oxybenzone adds insult to injury by further weakening corals in the face of global warming.Highlights➢Chronic effect study on corals combining oxybenzone and elevated temperature➢Oxybenzone affected photosystem II of coral photosymbionts and altered coral microbiome➢Temperature effects were stronger than oxybenzone effects➢Sensitivities were species-dependent➢Oxybenzone adds insult to injury by weakening corals in the face of global warming

scholarly journals Maternal effects and Symbiodinium community composition drive differential patterns in juvenile survival in the coral Acropora tenuis

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 160471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate M. Quigley ◽  
Bette L. Willis ◽  
Line K. Bay
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Effects ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Larval Settlement ◽  
Early Life Stage ◽  
Early Life History ◽  
Juvenile Survival ◽  
Coral Communities ◽  
Acropora Tenuis ◽  
Population Demographic

Coral endosymbionts in the dinoflagellate genus Symbiodinium are known to impact host physiology and have led to the evolution of reef-building, but less is known about how symbiotic communities in early life-history stages and their interactions with host parental identity shape the structure of coral communities on reefs. Differentiating the roles of environmental and biological factors driving variation in population demographic processes, particularly larval settlement, early juvenile survival and the onset of symbiosis is key to understanding how coral communities are structured and to predicting how they are likely to respond to climate change. We show that maternal effects (that here include genetic and/or effects related to the maternal environment) can explain nearly 24% of variation in larval settlement success and 5–17% of variation in juvenile survival in an experimental study of the reef-building scleractinian coral, Acropora tenuis . After 25 days on the reef, Symbiodinium communities associated with juvenile corals differed significantly between high mortality and low mortality families based on estimates of taxonomic richness, composition and relative abundance of taxa. Our results highlight that maternal and familial effects significantly explain variation in juvenile survival and symbiont communities in a broadcast-spawning coral, with Symbiodinium type A3 possibly a critical symbiotic partner during this early life stage.

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