Light induced intraspecific variability in response to thermal stress in the hard coral Stylophora pistillata

PeerJ

article

Arjen Tilstra¹  Tim Wijgerde³  Francisco Dini-Andreote⁴  Britas Klemens Eriksson¹  Joana Falcão Salles⁴  Ido Pen⁵  Ronald Osinga⁶  Christian Wild² 

[1] Department of Marine Benthic Ecology & Evolution, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen;Marine Ecology Group, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen;Coral Publications;Microbial Ecology cluster, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen;Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen;Marine Animal Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research

关键词: Stylophora pistillata;    Thermal tolerance;    Light stress;    Necrosis;    Photoprotection;    Bleaching;    Intraspecific variability;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.3802

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Recent research suggests that prior exposure of several months to elevated irradiance induces enhanced thermal tolerance in scleractinian corals. While this tolerance has been reported at the species level, individual coral colonies may react differently due to individual variability in thermal tolerance. As thermal anomalies are predicted to become common in the upcoming future, intraspecific variation may be key to the survival of coral populations. In order to study light-history based thermal stress responses on individual colonies, we developed a preliminary microcosm experiment where three randomly chosen, aquacultured colonies of the model coral Stylophora pistillata were exposed to two irradiance treatments (200 and 400 μmol photons m−2 s−1) for 31 days, followed by artificially induced heat stress (∼33.4 °C). We found different responses to occur at both the intraspecific and the intracolonial levels, as indicated by either equal, less severe, delayed, and/or even non-necrotic responses of corals previously exposed to the irradiance of 400 compared to 200 μmol photons m−2 s−1. In addition, all individual colonies revealed light-enhanced calcification. Finally, elevated irradiance resulted in a lower chlorophyll a concentration in one colony compared to the control treatment, and the same colony displayed more rapid bleaching compared to the other ones. Taken together, this study highlights the potential importance of intra-individual variability in physiological responses of scleractinian corals and provides recommendations for improving methodological designs for future studies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY