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Widespread prevalence of cryptic Symbiodinium D in the key Caribbean reef builder, Orbicella annularis

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An Erratum to this article was published on 20 March 2015

Abstract

Symbiodinium D, a relatively rare clade of algal endosymbiont with a global distribution, has attracted interest as some of its sub-cladal types induce increased thermal tolerance and associated trade-offs, including reduced growth rate in its coral hosts. Members of Symbiodinium D are increasingly reported to comprise low-abundance ‘cryptic’ (<10 %) proportions of mixed coral endosymbiont communities, with unknown ecological implications. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) targeted to specific types is sufficiently sensitive to detect these background symbiont levels. In this study, RT-PCR was employed to screen 552 colonies of the key Caribbean reef builder Orbicella annularis sampled across a 5.4 million km2 range for the presence of cryptic Symbiodinium ‘D1’ (i.e., the principal Caribbean ITS2 variants, D1 and D1–4). All but one out of 33 populations analysed were shown to host low abundances of Symbiodinium D1, with an average of >30 % of corals per site found to harbour the symbiont. When the same samples were analysed using the conventional screening technique, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, Symbiodinium D1 was only detected in 12 populations and appeared to be hosted by <12 % of colonies where present (in agreement with other reported low prevalence/absences in O. annularis). Cryptic Symbiodinium D1 showed a mainly uniform distribution across the wider Caribbean region, although significantly more Mesoamerican Barrier Reef corals hosted cryptic Symbiodinium D1 than might be expected by chance, possibly as a consequence of intense warming in the region in 1998. Widespread prevalence of thermally tolerant Symbiodinium in O. annularis may potentially reflect a capacity for the coral to temporarily respond to warming events through symbiont shuffling. However, association with reduced coral calcification means that the ubiquitous nature of Symbiodinium D1 in O. annularis populations is unlikely to prevent long-term declines in reef health, at a time when maintaining reef growth is vital to sustain reef ecosystem function.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded primarily by the European Union FP7 project Future of Reefs in a Changing Environment (FORCE) under Grant Agreement No. 244161 (EVK, JRS and PJM), and a University of Exeter studentship (EVK) with additional support from the Great Barrier Reef Foundation (EVK). We thank L. Tonk for DGGE training and for invaluable edits on the manuscript. Additionally, we are grateful to P. Hamilton, R. A. King, A. Griffiths, and A. Lange for guidance with HRM analyses, and J. C. Ortiz for feedback on the manuscript. Finally, we would like to thank topic editor S. Davy along with X. Pochon and a second anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK

    Emma V. Kennedy & Jamie R. Stevens

  2. Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Kessels Road, Nathan, 4111, Australia

    Emma V. Kennedy

  3. School of Marine Science and Engineering, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK

    Nicola L. Foster

  4. Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Peter J. Mumby

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  1. Emma V. Kennedy
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  2. Nicola L. Foster
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Kennedy, E.V., Foster, N.L., Mumby, P.J. et al. Widespread prevalence of cryptic Symbiodinium D in the key Caribbean reef builder, Orbicella annularis . Coral Reefs 34, 519–531 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-015-1264-4

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